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Legislature passes bike courtesy bill
Drivers must give bicyclists
Herald Denver Bureau
Senate Bill 148 requires drivers to leave at least 3 feet when passing cyclists.
The Senate voted 29-5 for the latest version of the bill late Monday night. The House approved it 57-7 earlier in the day.
The bill ran into trouble last month when House opponents added a prohibition on riding side by side on most state highways. The bill had to make two trips to a conference committee to get the differences ironed out.
As a solution, SB 148 now allows cyclists to ride side by side as long as they are not impeding the flow of traffic.
"It's common sense. If people are backing up, move over," said Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, who supports the bill.
Rep. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, was the sponsor of the side-by-side prohibition. He wasn't "totally happy" with the way the bill ended up, but he didn't put up a fight.
Locally, Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, and Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, voted for it. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, voted "no."
Grunig said his group will start to get the word out about the 3-foot rule. It will start circulating stickers and bike jerseys with the message, and it hopes to get the rule included in training standards for police officers.
Eleven other states have a 3-foot rule, including Utah and Arizona, Grunig said.
Gaige Sippy, director of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, said the new law will be hard to enforce, but it helps raise awareness among drivers and bicyclists to be tolerant of each other.
"I'm not sure who's riding around with a tape measure in their hands," Sippy said.
Some bicyclists ride too far out into the road, he said, and some drivers play it too close to the riders.
He compared a speeding car to a bullet whizzing past someone's head. If the bullet gets too close to someone's head, the person's comfort zone is going to diminish.
"Three feet is not as much as you think it is," Sippy said.
Mary Monroe, executive director of Trails 2000, a group that maintains trails in La Plata County, said the measure will help.
"In a town that relies so much on bicycles for commuting and recreation, and we have the fourth largest bicycle race in the world, I think it is important we have this safety standard for motorists and bicyclists."
jhanel@durangoherald.com
Herald Staff Writers Shane Benjamin and Patrick Armijo contributed to this report.
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