Community Corner

Move Over Drivers: New Law Requires 3-Foot Passing Zone Around Bicyclists

Assembly Bill 1371 mandates that drivers maintain a three-foot buffer zone when passing bicyclists.

By Nicole Mooradian/Patch Staff

The roads may become a little safer for bicyclists thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Monday. 

Motorists trying to pass bikes will have to stay at least three feet away starting next September.

The law applies when bicyclists are riding in a regular roadway; not when a bicyclist is in a bike lane. (For more FAQs about the new three-foot law, click here.)

This is the third attempt to pass such a law in as many years. In 2011 and 2012, Brown cited safety concerns when he vetoed two previous versions of the law.

Last year's proposed law would have allowed motorists to cross a double yellow line to give the required three feet; 2011's version would have required motorists to slow to 15 mph if they could not provide three feet of passing room.

AB 1371 does not allow motorists to cross a double yellow line; if there is not enough room to provide a three-foot buffer zone, motorists must slow to a safe and reasonable speed. 

Across the San Francisco Bay Area, the world is definitely getting more bike friendly. Cities and communities are adding miles of new bike lanes. 

The Regional Bicycle Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, put together by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is looking at "reversing decades of automobile‐oriented development."

The MTC's Regional Transportation Plan through 2035 boosts bicycle spending over prior Regional Bicycle Plan expenditures (from $20 million to $1billion), increases funding for compact transit‐oriented development and launches a new Climate Action Program that will include new programs for bicycle facilities.

—Patch editors Kari Hulac and Jessica Davis contributed to this report.

Do you think this new law will prove difficult to enforce, or will it be a welcome change? Will it make bicycling in the city safer? Tell us in the comments. 


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