Better Bike Supports SB 910
The three-foot passing legislation that was sparked by Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa’s spill last year is winding its way though the corridors of Sacramento. This is good news for the California Bicycle Coalition and its ‘Give Me Three’ campaign, as well as local bike coalitions that have urged legislators to add California to the list of states that explicitly offer cyclists a buffer zone. Having passed in the Senate it’s now headed to the Assembly. (Streetsblog gave a nice overview back in February.)
Those following the legislation may recall that in the Senate it was sponsored by our own region’s Alan Lowenthall (D-Long Beach) and passed the Senate 26-9 and now as it moves to the Assembly it’s being shepherded by Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach/San Pedro/Palos Verdes) through the Assembly’s Transportation Committee.
Better Bike Beverly Hills has added our voice to the chorus of supporters. (See the attached correspondence below.) It’s our belief that defining a three-foot safety buffer and writing it into law can only serve to protect cyclists.
From the bill’s analysis:
This bill requires the driver of a motor vehicle passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction to pass on the left and provide a minimum clearance of three feet or drive at a speed not exceeding 15 miles per hour (mph) faster than the speed of the bicycle. It also establishes a fine of $220 for a violation of this provision and allows a driver to drive on the left side of double parallel solid lines if driving on a substandard width lane and passing a person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab in the same direction.
The legislation is not universally supported, however. Longtime cycling advocate California Association of Bicycling Organizations (CABO) has come out against the proposed three-foot law (and taken some heat for it). CABO argues that motorists already are required to pass bicyclists at a safe distance, and that in any case, three feet is measurable or enforceable in practice. CABO also argues that some aspects of the legislation’s language, like “substandard width lane” and passing when “safe to do so,” are undefined, while other particulars like prohibition of passing on the right are well-intentioned but impractical when, say, the cyclist turns left and vehicles continue ahead.
Better Bike believes that any shortcoming in the language will be addressed in Assemblymember Lowenthal’s Transportation Committee. The California Bicycle Coalition is on the job, and there is no shortage of cooks in the kitchen. We have to trust that the particulars will be addressed satisfactorily.
We also feel that the objection about safe passage is not a concern because (as attorney Bob Mionske informs us) there is a ‘reasonableness’ standard when reviewing the facts of a collision (for example) that is not subjective but rather a way to apply an objective standard. Prudence and due care, then, can be assessed by the judge or jury.
The foundation of our support rests on the practical experience of cycling in the Los Angeles region. It’s not Davis nor is it the Bay Area. We share the road with too many aggressive motorists to expect that existing statutes will protect us, because experience suggests otherwise.
Indeed no small minority of road cyclists here have been on the losing end of a squeeze-play, pinned between fast-moving traffic and parked cars, or brushed by a bumper or even knocked from our saddle. Enough is enough.
Senate Bill 910 will come for a vote in the Assembly Transportation Committee on Monday, June 27th. If you want to comment on the bill, contact Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair of the Transportation Committee. The deadline for comment is 5 pm on Tuesday, June 21st.
Call (916) 319-2093
Fax: (916) 327-9113.
Email: Senator.Lowenthal@senate.ca.gov
Web comment submission (note that your comment may be screened if you’re outside the district)
By post:
Honorable Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
Assembly Transportation Committee
State Capitol, Room 112
Sacramento, CA 95814