New law for passing bicyclists starts Tuesday in CA

As a daily cylist, this would annoy me.

Ok our roads in the UK are a lot narrower, but not all California roads are massive.

I'll often go past a queue of traffic, fully expecting it to come back past me when the traffic lights change - with such a rule I'd now cause considerable inconvenience to the traffic if the traffic was to follow this..

Is this only for highways? I don't see many riders on highways.

It's not only for highways. It pertains to any street or road (at least it does here in VA)

The Three Feet for Safety Act goes into effect Tuesday. According to Banning-based California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Darren Meyer, it will be enforced statewide like all traffic laws.

The law reads: “A driver of a motor vehicle shall not overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.”

If there is insufficient room for the 3-feet gap, motorists will be required to slow to safely pass riders.

http://www.pe.com/articles/bicycle-749809-safety-law.html

What's not mentioned is that is if there is a double yellow line, even if there is no oncoming traffic, it would be a violation to overtake by crossing the double yellow line.

My city has bike lanes and paths, but in alot of the urban areas and backroads, I'm sure there will be backlash from drivers. Especially if on the back roads riders decide to go 2-3 wide on rides.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

They have passed this law here in the past few years. There are no issues that have arisen that I am aware of and my job would allow me to be aware of such issues. And as a cyclist, I haven't seen any issues from that end either.

I can't speak for where you are but where I am, while driving left of center is not allowed on a double solid line, there is a stipulation in the motor vehicle act that allows you cross over it where it is "reasonable and prudent to do so due to weather and other conditions". This would be one of those conditions.

There is no Federal 3-feet law pertaining to cyclists. This is a state by state statute.

Thanks for clearing that up. I usually have a camera on my bike, so if there ever is a concern, it's recorded. A lot of us have cameras now that the technology has become so much more affordable. Mostly, I find this to be true: Don't be a jerk on the road, not in your car and not on your bike; not on the bus, train, nor even airplane. Even better if you can apply it to all parts of your life: Don't be a jerk.

Here's some info that is also helpful to anyone curious...

http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/bicycle-and-pedestrian-safety.aspx

3-Feet/Safe Bicycle Passing

A bicycle safety policy that has gained significant interest and activity in state legislatures is 3-feet or safe passing laws. These laws seek to ensure that, when passing bicycles, motor vehicles allow adequate space to avoid sideswiping bicyclists or causing them to overcorrect to avoid a vehicle. Skeptics doubt such laws can be enforced and whether 3 feet allows sufficient space for bicyclists. In addition, many bicyclists feel that laws dictating they must ride to the far right of a lane are of more concern because they often encourage too-close passing and leave bicyclists vulnerable to being “doored” by a parked car or to encountering roadside debris. Advocates state that these passing laws at least create a legal framework to protect bicyclists who are hit or buzzed from behind, create a less arbitrary standard and raise awareness of the importance of safe passing.

In 1973, Wisconsin became first state to enact such a law; several more states have since enacted such measures. As of October 2011, 20 states—Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin—and the District of Columbia have enacted 3-feet passing laws. Since 2008, 12 states have enacted 3 foot passing measures.

Delaware, Georgia, Kansas and Nevada laws were enacted in 2011. Not all legislation introduced in 2011 passed, however. California’s bill was vetoed, as was a 5-feet passing measure in New Mexico. Bills in Iowa and Missouri did not pass. An attempt failed in Rhode Island to amend its law to require 3-feet passing, rather than safe passing. Virginia introduced legislation to increase the passing buffer from 2 feet to 3 feet, but that measure also failed.

A few states—including New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont (its law applies to all vulnerable users) and West Virginia—have more general “safe passing laws. These laws typically state that vehicles must pass bicyclists at a safe distance and speed, but usually are not more specific. Statutes in states with 3-feet passing laws contain varying degrees of detail. Some simply lay out the 3-feet threshold, while others are more distinct. The New Hampshire language, for example, is quite specific, stating “The distance shall be presumed to be reasonable and prudent if it is at least 3 feet when the vehicle is traveling at 30 miles per hour or less, with one additional foot of clearance required for every 10 miles per hour above 30 miles per hour.”
The Colorado law, passed in 2009, reads, “Allow the bicyclist at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors or other projections, and the left side of the bicyclist at all times.”

State penalties for violating 3-feet passing laws also vary. Florida law states that a violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction that carries a $60 fine and three points on the license. Louisiana law carries a maximum fine of $250. The Arkansas law carries a $100 fine, although the fine for causing physical injury or death is only $1,000.