On a recent group ride, a car came up quickly behind myself and nine other riders on a narrow road. Someone called “car back,” and everyone moved right. The road, near Mount Joy, passed between open farm fields and it was clear there was no oncoming traffic. Still, the driver did not move any farther left than necessary to pass. He buzzed us with less than two feet clearance.
“I guess he showed us,” a rider commented.
Under a bill pending in the Pennsylvania Senate, the driver’s actions would become illegal.
The “Safe Passing” law would require motorists to stay four feet from bicyclists while passing. If there is less than four feet of clearance, due to oncoming traffic, or it being a narrow, single-lane road, the motorist is required to wait until there is adequate room to pass. The proposal does not require the bicyclist to pull off the road.
The proposal would also outlaw motorists making a right turn in front of a bicyclist, the dreaded “right hook.”
Senate Bill 156 was sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer, who represents part of northwestern Lancaster County and Lebanon County. It is presently before the Transportation Committee, chaired by Sen. John Rafferty, who is a bill co-sponsor. The state House of Representatives passed a version of the bill last year by a vote of 197-1.
If the bill becomes law, Pennsylvania would become the 19th state to approve a safe passing law. Some of those statutes require a three-foot distance for a vehicle to safely pass. Other states require five feet.
In 2010, 1,485 crashes involving a bicycle were reported throughout Pennsylvania, compared to 1,401 in 2009, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Pennsylvania ranked 10th nationwide with 15 bicyclist traffic deaths in 2009, the latest figures available.
Lawmakers who support the bill say the Safe Passing Law is critical to helping reduce fatalities on the road.
Bob Mionske, a Portland, Ore. lawyer who specializes in bicycle law, and who writes a column on the subject for Bicycling magazine, told the Harrisburg Patriot News recently that safe passing laws are a good idea. The problem, he said, is that they are seldom enforced.
Tennessee has had a three-foot law several years but Mionske said police have never cited anyone for violating it.
He recommended that safe passing laws be accompanied by strong efforts to educate the drivers and police officers. Drivers’ education courses need to do a better job of teaching young drivers about cyclists, he said.
A link to the Patriot News article is here.
