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Community Corner

Do You Support SB 1464, the 3-Foot Passing Rule?

A bill has passed the state Senate requiring automobiles to give bicyclists a minimum 3-foot clearance when passing cyclists and is up for consideration Friday in the state Assembly.

A proposed bicycle safety law that would make it a legal requirement for automobile drivers to give bicyclists a minimum 3-foot clearance when passing will be considered Friday by the state Assembly.

The City of Los Angeles and the California Bicycle Coalition have co-sponsored SB1464, which was authored by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach.

The proposed state law has gained the support of some Los Angeles cyclists:

"The state of California is one step closer to safer cycling!" blogger Jordan Miles wrote on the LADOT Bike Blog in June, after the California Assembly Transportation Committee voted in favor of the bill.

An earlier version of the bill was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, because it would have required motorists to reduce their speed to at least 15 mph, if providing three feet of passing space were not be possible, Miles explained.

This past spring, the City of Los Angeles, with the support of organizations across the state, including the California Bicycle Coalition, initiated a second attempt at a 3-foot passing law, Senate Bill 1464. This bill, which has the same intentions for increasing the safety of bicyclists throughout California, has changed some of its language in order to better appeal to the Governor.

Rather than require a specific reduced speed when the 3-foot passing space is not feasible, the new bill allows vehicles to slow to “a speed that is slow and prudent,” taking into consideration other traffic conditions.

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SB 1464 has now passed the state Senate and is up for a vote by the Assembly Friday. An analysis of the bill is available right here.

How would you vote if it were up to you? Tell us in the comments.

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