Passed by 6 inches - "Drive fair, Pass Bicyclists With Care"

It's such a real shame but I feel more and more like I'm cycling on borrowed time despite being a highly experienced LCI who rides in near perfect compliance with New Jersey law and doing all that I can to avoid busy, narrow roadways.

I was having an exceptionally great ride in beautiful Hunterdon County, NJ yesterday.  As it was early afternoon on a weekday, traffic was exceptionally sparse making the already lightly traveled country roads in the area all that much more bicycle friendly.

I was heading south on County Rd 579 just north of Ringoes, NJ.  I had just passed County Rd 609 (Rosemont-Ringoes Rd) as a large semi truck heading north was coming towards me.  I could also hear that there was a vehicle coming up from behind.  I held my line riding no more than 2 feet from the white fog line.  Simultaneously as the semi truck passed, the vehicle from behind suddenly overtook me as significant speed.  It was a black mid 1990's Chevy pickup.  I don't know how I wasn't hit by the passenger review mirror as the Chevy passed me by a mere SIX INCHES!!!

I know for sure that it was only 6 inches because I smacked the back of pickup truck as it passed.  Doing so my elbow barely extended before the back of my knuckles hit the sheet-metal of the side of the truck bed.  I also remember my hand never got more than 10 inches away from the outside of my handlebars which also means that the truck must have missed my shoulder by no more than 6 inches.



View Larger Map Site of my near miss on County Rod 579 just north of Ringoes, NJ.

This was by far the closest NEAR MISS I've ever experienced in my 20 years and 50,000 miles of riding. But what is sadder even still was that this was the second of three scary close overtaking maneuvers that I would experience over 2 days of riding.  On Tuesday I was passed dangerously close on Canal Road in Griggstown and later on Thursday I would be passed by about two feet on Amwell Road just west of Neshanic.  In all three situations the driver of the overtaking vehicle decided it was his right to pass despite oncoming traffic making such maneuvers nothing less than reckless.  Also in all three situations, traffic was very light and overtaking drivers could have safely passed me if they only slowed down and waited a few moments.

It is my opinion that dangerous passing maneuvers by overtaking drivers is the most serious threat to experienced cyclist and is something that should be address immediately by those at NJDOT and at the NJ Bike Ped Resource Center.  There is very little that even an experienced cyclist can do and one cannot see the dangerous pass coming.  Yes, as an experienced LCI, I know you could take the lane but that is Russian Roulette of another sort and takes an extremely high level of "fortitude" to stick one's 12mph derriere out in front of 2 tons of 50mph metal traffic.  All that one can realistically do is hope and pray.

So what can be done on the state level? Well here are a two simple suggestions:

• Pass a New Jersey version of Pennsylvania's "4-foot Law" that also clarifies many aspects of how to properly and now legally pass a bicyclist.
• Start a message campaign on NJDOT variable message boards that inform drivers how to safely pass bicyclists in the vein of "Click it or Ticket" or "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaigns.  Something like "Drive fair, Pass Bicyclists With Care."  This would a nearly expense free way of quickly getting the message out.  It should be followed up by a TV and radio PSA campaign by NJ Highway Traffic Safety.

Oh yeah!  Regarding the driver of that six inch passing black Chevy pickup, despite "coming in contact with me" (my hand made a loud notable thud) the driver didn't even slow down.

Pennsy passes progressive Safe Bicycle Passing Law

It's official.  Pennsylvania now has a FOUR Foot Safe Passing Law!

Joe Stafford of Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes is reporting that Governor Corbett has signed HB170 on Thursday which does much to clarify and codify what drivers must do to safely pass a bicyclist.  According to language directly from the new law:

The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a pedalcycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left of the pedalcycle within not less than four feet at a careful and prudent reduced speed (emphasis mine).

Not only does this law require more from drivers than the three foot minimum required in many other state's "safe passing" laws but PA's new law also requires drivers to reduce their speed to what must assumed to be less than the posted speed limit when passing a cyclist.

But wait!  There's more!

Besides this, the law clarifies that drivers can cross the double yellow line to pass cyclists as long as it is safe and the overtaking driver yields to all oncoming traffic. This is something that is conspicuously absent from New Jersey's vehicle code which calls into question the technical legality of crossing a double yellow line to pass not only cyclists but also slow moving vehicles like farm tractors and construction equipment.

Also, the new law states that drivers cannot interfer with cyclists riding within the law:

No turn by a driver of a motor vehicle shall interfere with a pedalcycle proceeding straight while operating in accordance with Chapter 35.

This is essential a no "right-hook" law.  Way to go PA!

Finally, this new law allows would seem to allow cyclists the full use of a lane on a road that is no more than one lane in each direction.  This legal privilege comes with the very reasonable caveat that cyclists "shall use reasonable efforts so as not to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." For the protections and privileges this new law provides it reasonable to allow cars to pass when reasonable and safe to do so.

New Jersey could learn a lot from the recent Bicycle Safe Passing Laws passed in Delaware (move over language and this week clarifications with regards to shoulder and right-turn-only lanes) and now Pennsylvania.  The language of the current "safe passing" bill floating around the New Jersey Legislature is meek at best and might make matters worse as argued by me (1 & 2) in this blog and doesn't clarify issues like passing cyclists in no passing zones. 

Important Bike Advocacy news from the Midwest

A couple interesting bits of bicycle advocacy news came out of two Midwestern States this week.

First in Kansas, their governor just signed into law and three-foot passing law that ALSO clarifies the legality of passing a bicyclist in marked no-passing zones.  Along with this, a different part of this new legislation now allows both bicyclist and motorcyclists to go through a "Dead Red" traffic signal when it is safe to do so.  Dead Reds are signals that do not change green because the sensors used to detect traffic are not calibrated properly to detect anything smaller than a car.  For comparison, New Jersey Title 39 DOES NOT address any of these three issues, leaving best on-road practices ambiguous at best and deadly at worst!  See the details of Kansas' new law from the Kansas Cyclists blog here.

In Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn ordered that the vehicle "crash" report form be modified to include a method of reporting "dooring" as a cause of a crash.  More details can be found in this Chicago Tribune article and even more in this article from WBEX 91.5 - Chicago Public Media.  It is unknown if the New Jersey vehicle crash report form (probably officially called a "motor vehicle accident form" here) has any standardized way to record this type of crash causation.

Washington State to consider a different type of Safe Passing Law

BikePortland is reporting that the Washington State Legislature is considering a Safe Passing Law that goes beyond the typical "3-foot Passing Law." The bill as it is written so far, would require passing vehicles going less than 35 mph to pass bicyclist by a minimum of 3 feet.  At any speed greater than that, the minimum passing distance would increase to 5 feet.  However in coming up with the current language bicyclists are asked to make some concessions such as requirements to keep right and to use shoulders and bike lanes with some exceptions.

Portland attorney and cyclist Ray Thomas explains Oregon's "Safe Passing Law"
in this excellent video with the help of The Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

 Most of these requirements seem reasonable.  However the one thing that has some Washington State cyclist concerned is the language that would require bicyclists to move right if they are not keeping up with the “legal and normal flow” of traffic.  I agree with them and this could be a bargain that they might not want to make in their quest for a safe passing law. BikePortland summarizes the proposed legislation well, so I quote:

To highlight a few key aspects of the bill, it:

• Defines a safe passing distance of bicycles by motorists as “three feet lateral separation between the closest part of the motor vehicle and the closest part of the bicycle or pedestrian,” when a motor vehicle is traveling less than 35 m.p.h. and five feet at greater speeds.
• Mandates “every driver of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist.”
• Specifies that cyclists traveling on a roadway slower than the “legal and normal flow” of traffic must ride as far right as “judged reasonably safe by the bicyclist.”
• Specifies that a cyclist traveling slower than the “legal and normal flow” ride in the paved shoulder, or designated bike lane when traffic is present and “such use is reasonably judged safe by the bicyclist.”
• Provides a partial list of unsafe conditions that may require a cyclist to ride in lane positions other than the far right. The list includes road hazards, the potential to be doored and being passed at “less than a safe distance.”
• Requires that bicyclists yield to pedestrians when riding on sidewalks, crosswalks, multi-use trail or trails but, does not relieve a pedestrian of the “of the obligation to exercise due care."

BikePortland also goes into detail about the faults and limitations of Oregon's own safe passing law which on the face of it has some good language, primarily that it requires overtaking drivers to give bicyclists enough clearance that if the cyclist were to fall over, they would not be hit by the car.  This essentially requires drivers to pass by six feet but there are significant limitations to this language (see video above).  Take a closer look for yourself.

Op-Ed: Why a "3-foot Passing Law" could be bad for cyclists

There has been much debate here in New Jersey and across the nation about the merits of the "3-foot Passing Law." First of all, as a cyclist, being passed by an automobile by just 3 feet is simply too close and downright dangerous in nearly every circumstance (3 feet of clearance from one's shoulder is just beyond the tips of your fingers if you fully extend your left arm). However, what people might not think of is that a 3-foot law may tell drivers it's okay to pass cyclists by less then they do already.

That's right! A "3-foot Passing Law" has the potential to backfire and cause drivers that already give cyclists, 5, 8 or even 12 feet of clearance, the message that it is okay to pass cyclists with less room.

I read recently on the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals list serve of a survey done in a Florida that asked drivers how much room is considered minimally acceptable to pass a cyclist. About 13 percent replied “3 feet.” By comparison, nearly 56 percent replied from 5 to 10 feet. So the socially accepted norm is well more than 3 feet. Passing a law that says 3 feet is acceptable would seem to work against the interests of cyclists, as it would tell those people who already believe 5 to 10 feet is appropriate that 3 feet is OK.

I have also read that Joe Mizereck, the creator of the website www.3feetplease.com, no longer favors 3 feet as the standard for minimum passing distance laws when he heard that 1.5 meters or 5 feet is the standard in much of Europe.

New Jersey's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council has already been working on language for a bill that requires a greater passing margin and is more enforceable by using the lane itself to give law enforcement visual cues as to when a driver is passing a cyclists by less then the acceptable distance.

Knowing all this, it would seem almost counterproductive at this time for anyone to lobby for a law in New Jersey that advocates for inadequate and dangerous passing distance when motorists overtake cyclists.

Assemblywoman to Lead Cross State Bike Ride For 3 Foot Passing Bill

SPENCER TO LEAD CROSS-STATE BIKE RIDE TO PROMOTE CYCLING SAFETY LEGISLATION

More than 100 Riders Expected to Participate In Aug. 9 120-Mile Round Trip Tour from Newark to Lambertville

(NEWARK) – Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer will lead more than 100 bicycle riders through a cross-state tour on Sunday to highlight the need for a state law that would provide cyclists with heightened safety on New Jersey’s roadways.

The tour is slated to leave Newark’s Penn Station at 7 a.m. and pass through Elizabeth, New Brunswick and Princeton and Lambertville. The schedule is subject to change and may be updated.

“’Share the road’ has been the mantra among bikers and motorists for years, but recently that tradition has begun to break down,” said Spencer (D-Essex), an avid cycler and member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey, which is sponsoring the ride. “Increasingly, road rage and impatience have put more and more bikers in dangerous positions. Cyclists, whether on a pleasure ride or their daily commute, deserve some guarantee to their small part of the road.”

Spencer is prime sponsor of legislation that would require motorists to leave a buffer of at least 3-feet when passing a bicycle travelling in the same direction. Violators would be subject to a $100 fine. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Assembly in June.

If enacted, New Jersey would become the 12th state to have a 3-foot-buffer law on its books. Since 2000, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin have enacted such a law.

“New Jersey’s network of county and local roads and mix of urban and rural landscapes has made it an ideal state for cycling,” said Spencer. “But as more people try to take in this scenery on their bicycle, state law needs to be on their side. By taking to the road together, cyclists from across the state can send a strong reminder that our roads belong to everyone, whether they travel on two wheels or four.”

The Newark-based Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey is named in honor of Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor, an African-American cyclist who held the world mile track cycling championship title from 1899 to 1901. The club sponsors numerous distance rides throughout the year.