Frank et al,
I agree that it would be good to have the law include #7 on your list; however, whether it is legal or not probably won't affect motorists behavior. I think motorists in general would be apt to go over the dbl yellow line without thinking if it was legal or not. We might as well follow PA's lead and make #1 4 feet. A dimensional requirement like that seems to be more tangible to the average person than stating that it is OK to cross the dbl yellow line, as well as being easier to advertise in PSA's.
Chip
-----Original Message----- From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com Sent 2/27/2013 1:15:34 PM To: "Bicycle Board" bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Subject: [Bikeboard] 3-foot passing law
PLEASE DISREGARD THE MESSAGE I JUST SENT. I SENT IT BEFORE I FINISHED IT.
Dear Bicycle Board Members,
I'm thinking of changing my advocacy for a 3-foot passing law to advocacy for a law that would require motorists to change lanes when passing bicycles. I would like your thoughts and guidance.
Attached is a report, "The 3 ft. Law: Lessons Learned from a National Analysis of State Policies and Expert Interviews" by Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
My reading of the report leads me to the following:
The greatest benefit of the 3-foot law is educational by increasing motorist awareness of bicyclists but the educational benefit may be short-lived. The 3-foot law is hardly enforced if enforced at all in 20 states that have adopted it and it might be practically unenforceable. 3-feet is insufficient when motor vehicles are passing while traveling more than 25 mph faster than bicyclists. Motorists must change lanes when passing slower moving motor vehicles so changing lanes when passing bicyclists shouldn't be any more difficult or inconvenient. In WV, there are hardly any travel lanes wide enough that a motorist can pass without encroaching into the adjacent lane. While motorists and police officers may not be able to accurately judge 3-feet, they can all accurately judge which lane they're in or whether they're straddling two lanes. Since crossing the double yellow center line is common practice, the law should be modified to recognize such, particularly to permit crossing the center line when it is safe to do so.
The WV Connecting Communities Legislative Agenda that we recommended includes a recommendation for a 4-foot rule. I think WVCC is trying to get legislation introduced in the session that is happening now. So, this would probably not be a good time to say, "Hey, wait. We changed our mind." However, quite commonly, legislation gets recycled through multiple sessions before it finally passes.
The legislative process of getting a 3-foot law passed can have undesirable consequences such as requiring cyclists to ride on shoulders and banning bicycles from roadways that don't have shoulders.
_______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
I send messages to the BB and nobody replies. I send a message to the BB that says PLEASE DISREGARD THE MESSAGE and 3 people reply in one day. Sheesh!
In inadvertently clicked Send when I meant to click Save As Draft. Since several people want to jump in anyway, I now attached the Rutgers report that I referenced.
I was not ready to send the message because I am currently searching for states that require motorists to change lane to pass. I don't know if or when I will have those data. Who will help me find them?
The main point of my message is that requiring motorists to change lanes to pass is more definitive, enforceable and safe than 3-feet. It's also congruous with the R4-11 Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign. As I say in point #6, we know which lane we're in even if we can't judge 3-feet or 4-feet. There's a line to show us.
I anticipate that whether we advocate for 3-feet, 4-feet or changing lanes to pass, all of those involve crossing the center line and we will have to be prepared to address that issue. The attached report cites some states that modified their center lane law. Now, who wants to dig that out and summarize it?
Frank
On Feb 27, 2013, at 5:50 PM, Chip Wamsley wrote:
Frank et al,
I agree that it would be good to have the law include #7 on your list; however, whether it is legal or not probably won't affect motorists behavior. I think motorists in general would be apt to go over the dbl yellow line without thinking if it was legal or not. We might as well follow PA's lead and make #1 4 feet. A dimensional requirement like that seems to be more tangible to the average person than stating that it is OK to cross the dbl yellow line, as well as being easier to advertise in PSA's.
Chip
-----Original Message----- From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com Sent 2/27/2013 1:15:34 PM To: "Bicycle Board" bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Subject: [Bikeboard] 3-foot passing law
PLEASE DISREGARD THE MESSAGE I JUST SENT. I SENT IT BEFORE I FINISHED IT.
Dear Bicycle Board Members,
I'm thinking of changing my advocacy for a 3-foot passing law to advocacy for a law that would require motorists to change lanes when passing bicycles. I would like your thoughts and guidance.
Attached is a report, "The 3 ft. Law: Lessons Learned from a National Analysis of State Policies and Expert Interviews" by Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
My reading of the report leads me to the following: The greatest benefit of the 3-foot law is educational by increasing motorist awareness of bicyclists but the educational benefit may be short-lived. The 3-foot law is hardly enforced if enforced at all in 20 states that have adopted it and it might be practically unenforceable. 3-feet is insufficient when motor vehicles are passing while traveling more than 25 mph faster than bicyclists. Motorists must change lanes when passing slower moving motor vehicles so changing lanes when passing bicyclists shouldn't be any more difficult or inconvenient. In WV, there are hardly any travel lanes wide enough that a motorist can pass without encroaching into the adjacent lane. While motorists and police officers may not be able to accurately judge 3-feet, they can all accurately judge which lane they're in or whether they're straddling two lanes. Since crossing the double yellow center line is common practice, the law should be modified to recognize such, particularly to permit crossing the center line when it is safe to do so. The WV Connecting Communities Legislative Agenda that we recommended includes a recommendation for a 4-foot rule. I think WVCC is trying to get legislation introduced in the session that is happening now. So, this would probably not be a good time to say, "Hey, wait. We changed our mind." However, quite commonly, legislation gets recycled through multiple sessions before it finally passes.
The legislative process of getting a 3-foot law passed can have undesirable consequences such as requiring cyclists to ride on shoulders and banning bicycles from roadways that don't have shoulders. _______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
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Chip Wamsley -
Frank Gmeindl