As the PI reported this morning, Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-43) has proposed legislation that would require both bicyclists and drivers to use roads more responsibly around each other. The PI’s description of bicyclists’ responsibilities in the bill tripped my trigger a little—according to their report, the bill would require cyclists to “ride as near to the right or left side of the streets” as possible. That can be dangerous when the right side of the street is a line of parked cars (and opening doors).
Fortunately, though, the language of the bill itself is a lot smarter and more nuanced than the PI makes it sound. It actually amends current law to say, “Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a rate of speed less than the legal and normal flow of traffic … shall, when traffic is present, ride as near to the right side of the right through lane as is judged reasonably safe by the bicyclist.” Later on, the bill defines “safe” as “a reasonable space of pavement on either side of the bicyclist, a position so as to be seen and safe from opening vehicle doors and to avoid being passed at less than a safe distance, and a surface that is free from hazards, pavement defects, and objects or materials, whether fixed or moveable, that may obstruct travel, cause a collision or fall, or damage the bicycle.”
The bill also would require cyclists to use bike lanes or shoulders when they deem them safe, and to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians on sidewalks; and it lays out specific rules for cycling when a car is trying to pass on the left or the right (on one-way streets).
The real heart of the bill, of course, is the language that would require drivers to stay three feet away from cyclists when going less than 35 miles an hour, and five feet away when going faster. It’s unclear how the state would enforce such a law—as Pedersen told me this morning, “It isn’t likely that police are going to be out in large numbers checking whether people are passing at two and a half feet or four and a half feet”—but, he said, that isn’t the main point of the bill to begin with. “Part of the point of the bill is to stimulate public education about this as we move to a world where more people are cycling on the roads.”
Pedersen told the PI he had to include the language about cyclists’ responsibilities to convince his colleagues he wasn’t just targeting drivers. If anything, though, Pedersen’s bill would be a cyclist-friendly improvement on current law, which requires cyclists to ride as far to the right as possible without regard for things like potholes, opening doors, and debris on the road.
Last year, a version of Pedersen’s bill made it out of the house but got hung up in the senate, where transportation committee chair Mary Margaret Haugen (D-10) wouldn’t let it out of committee. This time, Pedersen says, he’s optimistic but not overconfident that it will pass. Even though his bill wouldn’t cost the state any money—a big plus when the state is facing record budget shortfalls—”If a bill has some controversy about it but it’s not necessary to solve the budget problem, there will be a certain amount of reluctance to make it a big priority,” Pedersen said.
