WASHINGTON — For the second time in a week, action came to a screeching
halt on a bill to change laws regarding compensation for pedestrians or
cyclists hit by cars in the District of Columbia.
A D.C. Council panel voted to postpone action on the bill, which would shift
the standard for collection of compensation from “contributory negligence” to
“comparative negligence.” Council member Anita Bonds said during a Wednesday
hearing that “this bill is not yet ready for an effective vote by the
council.”
Tommy Wells, an advocate for boosting the District’s bike-friendly status,
urged his colleagues on the council not to let a chance to change the law slip
by.
“This opportunity should not be lost. We’ve gone a lot further than we ever
have in history, and very often, the District leads,” Wells said.
Right now, advocates for cyclists and pedestrians argue, the contributory-
negligence standard favors the driver: If a pedestrian or cyclist is found to
have failed to exercise care, or failed to anticipate a driver’s actions that
could lead to a crash, that pedestrian or cyclist is out of luck.
Council member Mary Cheh disputed the notion that the chances for a victim to
collect are slim to none, calling it “absolutely not true,” but she added that
“there’s a need, perhaps, for reform here, and we’re going to be looking at
that in many different perspectives.”
Council member Jack Evans warned against creating a law that’s out of step
with those in neighboring jurisdictions. During Wednesday’s hearing, he
reminded his colleagues of which states have contributory negligence as a
standard.
“They happen to be Maryland and Virginia.” Evans referred to decisions on tax
laws that he said sent business out of the District, and advised regarding
this bill, “when we put ourselves out of step with Maryland and Virginia — as
unfair as that is — we suffer from it.”
The discussion ended with a vote to postpone further action. The issue could
come up again before the end of the month.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
