Safe passing

Our goal: Encourage more people to ride bicycles by ensuring that drives give bicyclists adequate clearance when passing from behind.

10/7/11 update: Gov. Brown has vetoed SB 910.

The problem

Too many Californians who want the health, environmental and economic benefits of riding a bicycle for transportation or recreation avoid riding their bikes because they feel uncomfortable about trying to share the road with motor vehicles, especially when they see cars and trucks pass bicyclists too closely.

Their discomfort is not simply a perception. When a driver passes too closely, the slightest error by the driver or the most minor shift by the bicyclist to avoid trash, broken glass or rough pavement can lead to a collision. This type of collision is the leading cause of adult bicyclist fatalities in California and the U.S.

Existing law requires drivers to pass other vehicles and bicycles at a “safe distance” but doesn’t specify what that distance is. If drivers don’t know what constitutes a safe passing distance, how can Californians who ride bicycles or want to ride bicycles feel confident that drivers know how to share the road safely?

By requiring drivers to give bicyclists more space when passing, we can minimize a leading cause of deadly collisions and help more people feel comfortable about choosing to ride their bikes.

The solution

The California Bicycle Coalition and the City of Los Angeles are co-sponsoring Senate Bill 910 to require drivers to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing from behind. The bill modifies existing state law that requires a driver to maintain an unspecified safe distance when passing another vehicle or a bicycle.

Nineteen other states have already enacted a specified minimum passing distance for motorists. The nation’s newest 3-foot passing law took effect in Georgia on July 1, 2011.

A specified passing distance provides drivers with a more objective and easily understood measure of what constitutes “safe” and gives law enforcement and the courts a more objective basis for enforcing California’s safe passing requirement. Most importantly, it helps emphasize a driver’s special responsibility to safeguard more vulnerable road users like bicyclists.

The California Legislature took its final vote to approve SB 910 on Sept. 8. The bill has been sent to the Governor to be signed into law.

What you can do

UPDATE (9/13/11): Urge Gov. Brown to sign SB 910 into law.

1) Download a sample letter of support (Word doc) and modify it by replacing the text in brackets (<<TEXT>>) with today’s date and your name and mailing address. Feel free to put things in your own words, but keep it concise and on-topic. IMPORTANT: If you’ve been buzzed or hit by a passing driver, briefly describe the incident to help the Governor more clearly understand why this law is needed.

2) You have two options for sending your message:

- Email us your message and we’ll deliver it to the Governor’s office. This link opens a ready-to-send email message. You’ll see a space at the bottom for adding your own personal message. (This is space for your own message — you don’t need to copy and paste the main message into this box.)

OR

- Fax it to the Governor’s office at 916-558-3177 or mail it to the address on the sample letter.

The Governor must ask on SB 910 no later than Oct. 9 and may make his decision sooner. Please send your letter as soon as possible.

Please also consider making a donation to help us continue this kind of advocacy at the State Capitol.

What we’ve done

On Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, CBC delivered the following package of materials (pdf format) to Gov. Brown:

Sponsor this campaign

We want to hear from people and organizations that can help underwrite the CBC’s personnel, office and outreach costs associated with winning passage of this bill. To learn more, contact CBC Executive Director Dave Snyder at (916) 251-9433 or by email.