Cali drivers - stay 3 feet from cyclists.

[LTC8K6]

First I heard of this law in the other states.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013...-to-stay-3-feet-away-when-passing-bicyclists/

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday he has signed legislation requiring California drivers to stay at least 3 feet away when passing bicyclists.

The proposal from Assemblyman Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, is intended to better protect cyclists from aggressive drivers. It states that if drivers cannot leave 3 feet of space, they must slow down and pass only when it would not endanger the cyclist’s safety.

The law will go into effect Sept. 16, 2014. Current law requires a driver to keep a safe distance when passing a bicyclist but does not specify how far that is.

At least 22 states and the District of Columbia define a safe passing distance as a buffer of at least 3 feet, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.

Bradford’s bill, AB1371, was sponsored by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, an avid cyclist who was injured in 2010 after a taxi driver abruptly pulled in front of him. It also drew support from several cyclist groups, such as the California Association of Bicycling Organizations.

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[MBentz]

Absolutely insane.

 

[LTC8K6]

It's apparently 5 feet in NC...

 

[Pacfanweb]

It's apparently 5 feet in NC...

Here in NC, the bicyclists seem to think they own the roads.

When they start obeying all the same traffic laws that cars have to, I'll worry about their rights more. And they're supposed to, they just don't...mostly.

 

[AMCRambler]

Nothing wrong with that law and sounds like it is needed to allow police to enforce safe driving around cyclists. However I also hope it includes some portions towards the cyclists requiring them to ride as close to the shoulder as possible, single file, adherance to traffic control devices, etc if they don't already have laws to that effect. I've seen stupidity on both sides of this issue with little enforcement by the police.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's about time! I've been buzzed by douchebags in trucks, mommy wagons, even a city bus. I have no idea why the bus was so fricken close to me either, we were on a divided 4 lane road with no traffic either direction and I was in the bike lane. I know why the pickup truck driver buzzed me, he was actually hell bent on "teaching me a lesson," almost came to blows with that fuckwad.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Here in NC, the bicyclists seem to think they own the roads.

When they start obeying all the same traffic laws that cars have to, I'll worry about their rights more. And they're supposed to, they just don't...mostly.

Ah the immature "street justice" attitude. I thought that was reserved mainly for OT.

 

[smackababy]

I am not sure if this is still the case, but in Austin, it was illegal to honk at cyclists when I was there around 10 years ago. Some garbage harassment law...

 

[SparkyJJO]

I try to leave space anyway, unless they're being stupid and riding in the middle of the road (in which case they don't give me much choice). Most don't, but some do and create more problems. Then pretend they are the victims if something goes wrong

Should also be a law in this case that they ride SINGLE FILE on the right side of the road. Not 2-3 bikes wide filling up the road and plugging up traffic, just because.

There are idiots on both sides, as is the case with anything. The worst is when the idiots from both sides collide.

 

[Kaido]

I try to leave space anyway, unless they're being stupid and riding in the middle of the road (in which case they don't give me much choice). Most don't, but some do and create more problems. Then pretend they are the victims if something goes wrong

Should also be a law in this case that they ride SINGLE FILE on the right side of the road. Not 2-3 bikes wide filling up the road and plugging up traffic, just because.

There are idiots on both sides, as is the case with anything. The worst is when the idiots from both sides collide.

http://imgur.com/c2Vugav

 

[Kaido]

I am a big fan of road biking, but have two complaints:

1. The jerks who ride bikes like jerks & ruin it for the rest of us

2. 2,000-pound cars vs. me on a metal frame

I hate it when I see a biker being a jerk, especially one who is in full garb, i.e. nice bike, good helmet, spandex, etc. and goes through stop signs, red lights, pulls jerk moves in front of cars, etc. It gives the rest of us bikers a bad name. But expecting everyone to behave is like expecting everyone to drive carefully, it's just never going to happen. And it's unfortunate, but in my local bike area we consistently have one death per year.

The other thing is the reality of the situation: you are a naked human riding with 2-ton monstrosities that have crumple zones & airbags. You are not going to win, no matter who is right. I've almost been smooshed on multiple occasions, so I started going out earlier (4 or 5am). I was clothing-clipped (car hit my pantleg whipping in the wind) by a lady on her cell phone who never even noticed me. My biking buddy was ahead of me and was slammed into the rock wall by the wind force of her car. She drove off never knowing she almost killed two people, she was totally off in la-la land on her phone. I mostly gave up my road biking not too long after that and decided to do safer things so I'll be around for my kids

Fortunately we have rail trails & other safe places to go. It's a shame that more places don't have good bike systems like this, because it's healthy, it's fun, it's good for the environment, it's good on your wallet, etc. It's simply just not that safe to ride in traffic. The only person you ever need to worry about is the idiot not watching, because he's the one who is going to hit you while everyone else is driving carefully.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I am a big fan of road biking, but have two complaints:

1. The jerks who ride bikes like jerks & ruin it for the rest of us

2. 2,000-pound cars vs. me on a metal frame

I hate it when I see a biker being a jerk, especially one who is in full garb, i.e. nice bike, good helmet, spandex, etc. and goes through stop signs, red lights, pulls jerk moves in front of cars, etc. It gives the rest of us bikers a bad name. But expecting everyone to behave is like expecting everyone to drive carefully, it's just never going to happen. And it's unfortunate, but in my local bike area we consistently have one death per year.

The other thing is the reality of the situation: you are a naked human riding with 2-ton monstrosities that have crumple zones & airbags. You are not going to win, no matter who is right. I've almost been smooshed on multiple occasions, so I started going out earlier (4 or 5am). I was clothing-clipped (car hit my pantleg whipping in the wind) by a lady on her cell phone who never even noticed me. My biking buddy was ahead of me and was slammed into the rock wall by the wind force of her car. She drove off never knowing she almost killed two people, she was totally off in la-la land on her phone. I mostly gave up my road biking not too long after that and decided to do safer things so I'll be around for my kids

Fortunately we have rail trails & other safe places to go. It's a shame that more places don't have good bike systems like this, because it's healthy, it's fun, it's good for the environment, it's good on your wallet, etc. It's simply just not that safe to ride in traffic. The only person you ever need to worry about is the idiot not watching, because he's the one who is going to hit you while everyone else is driving carefully.

I do too but you can't judge a group of people on the actions of a few idiots. You would think that this problem, if it is one, would be self correcting anyway but I wouldn't wish death or injury on anyone.

We have at least a few cyclists killed here every year too. A guy I work with who is an avid cyclist was hit by a car last year. He survived fortunately and is back on the bike. Another guy I work with commutes regularly on his road bike. He's also an avid motorcyclist and he is one of the safest riders/cyclists I've ever ridden with (and I have gone cycling with him as well as motorcycling).

Most people aren't idiots on the bike. People just tend to remember the worst ones... it's human nature I guess.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Sounds like a reasonable law. I'm an avid road rider. I stay off of fast roads as much as possible and stay to the right. For the most part people are courteous and steer way clear of me. Only one ahole I can recall that got way too close. Some redneck in a truck that obviously was jealous because he's a fat chain smoker.

 

[RiDE]

Probably won't change much seeing how oblivious drivers here are.

 

[brainhulk]

YES!

 

[Kaido]

I do too but you can't judge a group of people on the actions of a few idiots. You would think that this problem, if it is one, would be self correcting anyway but I wouldn't wish death or injury on anyone.

We have at least a few cyclists killed here every year too. A guy I work with who is an avid cyclist was hit by a car last year. He survived fortunately and is back on the bike. Another guy I work with commutes regularly on his road bike. He's also an avid motorcyclist and he is one of the safest riders/cyclists I've ever ridden with (and I have gone cycling with him as well as motorcycling).

Most people aren't idiots on the bike. People just tend to remember the worst ones... it's human nature I guess.

Yeah that's really it - some people see a few bad bikers and judge the entire group as bad or annoying, because that's what sticks out in their minds when they remember bikers. It's unfortunate but yeah, that's how human nature works I guess.

 

[hanoverphist]

First I heard of this law in the other states.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013...-to-stay-3-feet-away-when-passing-bicyclists/

Bradford’s bill, AB1371, was sponsored by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, an avid cyclist who was injured in 2010 after a taxi driver abruptly pulled in front of him. It also drew support from several cyclist groups, such as the California Association of Bicycling Organizations.

whats pulling out in front of a bicycle have to do with 3 ft of passing room? hell, i dont get 3 ft of passing room when im driving a car or truck either.

Nothing wrong with that law and sounds like it is needed to allow police to enforce safe driving around cyclists. However I also hope it includes some portions towards the cyclists requiring them to ride as close to the shoulder as possible, single file, adherance to traffic control devices, etc if they don't already have laws to that effect. I've seen stupidity on both sides of this issue with little enforcement by the police.

i totally agree with this. i know theres plenty of douchenozzles that will get as close as they can to bicyclists, but that isnt the norm that ive seen. just so, ive seen way too many bicyclists that dont follow ANY road rules unless it serves their progress or purpose. i think it should be both sides that have to follow the rules, not just the car/ truck drivers.

 

[olds]

I read it differently. I thought this was a $35 permit to run over cyclists?

 

[hanoverphist]

Yeah that's really it - some people see a few bad bikers and judge the entire group as bad or annoying, because that's what sticks out in their minds when they remember bikers. It's unfortunate but yeah, that's how human nature works I guess.

you can reverse the cyclist/ truck owner (fat, redneck chainsmoker) in this post and it would still be relevant. goes both ways, people. i give consideration to cyclists and motorcycles all the time, and ill slow down to avoid blowing past if it is necessary. i had a cyclist reach into my truck, attempt to swing at me from the passenger side and then flip me off while yelling profanities in my 9 yr old sons face before because i gave him ONLY half a lane when passing him. my son rolled up the window in his face, he was almost met with a 9mm instead tho. its tools like that who ruin it for the other safe riding people.

 

[brainhulk]

Cool, no more close calls from jerk drivers

 

[KentState]

I know we had the law in Georgia shortly after I moved here in 2008.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I do too but you can't judge a group of people on the actions of a few idiots.

[...]

People just tend to remember the worst ones... it's human nature I guess.

Yup. Including SUV drivers :sneaky:

 

[Exophase]

I tend to keep a lot of distance from bicyclists anyway. Not going to risk anything.

I never really understood why bicyclists aren't allowed on sidewalks. Yes pedestrians would have to move aside or you'd have to stop. But that's more reliable than cars moving out of the way or stopping, and the potential consequences of hitting someone with a bike are a lot lower than a car hitting someone in a bike. And I don't know how it is generally, but here the sidewalks tend to be more empty than the streets. That and bicycles tend to hole up an entire line (we don't have a lot of bicycle lanes where I live) and tend to push cars into the opposite traffic lane which is dangerous in its own right.

 

[mmntech]

Cyclists do have this sense of entitlement on the road which is putting their lives and the lives of others at risk. You can't really dispute that. While it may not be the majority, there are a sizable number that show flagrant disregard for basic traffic rules. Running stop signs, riding on busy sidewalks, cutting off drivers, riding on the wrong side of the road.

Part of the problem is there's little recourse for penalizing them. Especially since they're virtually anonymous and difficult for cops to catch on busy roads. I've argued for a long time that bikes operating on roads should be plated, with an exception for kids bikes. One time fee, no renewal unless the bike is transferred to a new owner. Goes into a data base. Allows cops to penalize the bad ones, while at the same time aiding in theft recovery. Why this hasn't been done is beyond me.

Not to say there aren't a lot of asshole drivers two, but safe roads go both ways.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yup. Including SUV drivers :sneaky:

No, they're all scum sucking maggots who should die.