BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 910|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 910
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 5/10/11
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-3, 5/3/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio,
Simitian
NOES: Gaines, Harman, Huff
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Vehicles: bicycles: passing distance
SOURCE : Office of the Mayor, City of Los Angeles
California Bicycle Coalition
DIGEST : This bill requires the driver of a motor vehicle
passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction to pass
at a safe distance and provide a minimum clearance of three
feet or drive at a speed not exceeding 15 miles per hour
(mph) faster than the speed of the bicycle. It also
establishes a base fine of $35 for a violation of this
provision, or a fine of $220 if a collision occurs and the
bicyclist suffers bodily injury. In addition, this bill
allows a driver to drive on the left side of double
parallel solid lines if driving on a "substandard width
lane," as defined, and passing a person riding a bicycle or
operating a pedicab in the same direction.
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ANALYSIS : A person riding a bicycle or operating a
pedicab has all of the rights and is subject to all of the
laws applicable to the driver of a motor vehicle, except
for those laws that by their very nature can have no
application.
A person riding a bicycle at a speed less than the normal
speed of traffic moving in the same direction shall ride
"as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of
the roadway" except under certain circumstances, including
when passing another bicycle, when preparing to turn left
at an intersection or driveway, or when reasonably
necessary to avoid conditions that make it unsafe to
continue along the right-hand curb or edge.
When passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction,
the driver of a vehicle shall pass to the left "at a safe
distance without interfering with the safe operation of the
vehicle or bicycle." On a two-lane highway, no vehicle
shall be driven to the left of the center of the roadway in
passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction
unless the left side is clearly visible and free of
oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance. If double
parallel solid lines are in place, a person driving a
vehicle shall not drive to the left of those lines unless
the driver is making a legal U-turn, turning left at an
intersection or into or out of a driveway, or if signs have
otherwise been erected to permit it.
This bill:
1. Requires the driver of a motor vehicle passing a bicycle
proceeding in the same direction to pass at a safe
distance and provide a minimum clearance of three feet
or drive at a speed not exceeding 15 miles per hour
(mph) faster than the speed of the bicycle.
2. Establishes a fine of $35 for failure to provide the
minimum three-feet clearance or passing at a speed
exceeding 15 mph faster than the speed of the bicycle.
Establishes a fine of $220 if a collision occurs between
a motor vehicle and a bicycle causing bodily injury to
the bicyclist, if the driver is found to have violated
#2 above.
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3. Allows the driver of a motor vehicle to drive on the
left side of double parallel solid lines if driving on a
substandard width lane and passing a person riding a
bicycle or operating a pedicab in the same direction.
4. Defines a "substandard width lane" as a lane that is too
narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to travel
safely side by side within the lane.
Other states . According to information provided by the
California Bicycle Coalition, approximately 13 states have
enacted a three-foot passing law. The first was Wisconsin
in 1974. The majority of the others passed their laws in
the last ten years.
Recent Legislation . There have been two other recent
attempts to establish a three-foot passing law: AB 60
(Nava), Session of 2007-08 and AB 1941 (Nava), Session of
2005-06. Both measures died in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/11)
Office of the Mayor, City of Los Angeles (co-source)
California Bicycle Coalition (co-source)
Amgen Cycling Club
Channel Islands Bicycle Club
Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
Santa Cruz County Cycling Club
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/11)
AAA Northern California
Automobile Club of Southern California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states that current law
requiring a motorist to "pass to the left at a safe
distance" when passing a cyclist is vague and that this
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bill addresses that deficiency by defining safe distance as
three feet. As a co-sponsor of this bill, the Mayor of Los
Angeles states that the City of Los Angeles has recently
adopted a new citywide bicycle plan with the goals of
increasing the number and types of bicyclists in Los
Angeles, making every street a safe place to ride a
bicycle, and making the City of Los Angeles a
bicycle-friendly community. For the plan to meet these
goals, it is important that bicyclists feel safe while
riding. The Mayor explains that "unfortunately,
law-abiding people riding bicycles are still subject to
harassment by aggressive drivers; this harassment includes
driving too close to and cutting in front of bicyclists."
While the City of Los Angeles has undertaken steps to
address this situation, statewide legislation is needed to
provide a clear three-foot buffer zone for cyclists.
The California Bicycle Coalition is co-sponsoring this bill
"to promote safety in cycling and to provide law
enforcement with the structure necessary to evaluate
potential passing violations." The sponsor further
explains that a "specified passing distance provides a more
objective and easily understood measure of what constitutes
'safe' and gives law enforcement and the courts a more
objective basis for enforcing California's safe passing
requirement."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Automobile Club of Southern
California and AAA Northern California state in opposition:
"The AAA Clubs can appreciate the necessity of teaching
all modes of travel to safely share the road. For over
100 years, we have promoted and advocated for safe travel
whether by automobile, bicycle, truck or foot, among
others. This includes not only obeying traffic laws and
rules of the road but also exercising good judgment,
courtesy, and common sense.
"Under current law, a bicycle operator is required to
stay as far right as practicable on the road and the
driver of a vehicle passing the bicycle must pass to the
left at a safe distance without interfering with the safe
operation of the bicycle. SB 910 replaces reasonableness
and judgment with a fixed and arbitrary "safe distance"
rule but it is unclear how the driver, while in motion,
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will be able to accurately estimate the three feet
distance each time he/she passes a bicycle. How can a
driver know whether s/he is 3'4" away from the bike as
opposed to 2'10" away? Further, it is unclear how law
enforcement is expected to measure distance this
precisely when citing for these expensive violations."
"The provision requiring drivers to slow within 15 mph of
the bicycle if three feet cannot be maintained also
presents significant issues to drivers and traffic safety
in general. It requires the driver to estimate the speed
of the bicycle and then calculate the difference between
the speed it is traveling and the speed the bicycle is
traveling, and then adjust the speed at which his/her
vehicle should be traveling to assure it is not going 15
mph faster than the bicycle. Drivers currently are not
required to estimate the speed of other moving objects
around them, and to precisely calculate their speed in
relation to that moving object. To do so devotes a lot
of thought and attention to accomplishing the
calculations and less attention and time to observing
driving conditions and reacting to sudden changes.
Further, the 15 mph rule would apply regardless of the
posted speed limit and regardless of the level of
experience of the cyclist. A scenario where a posted
speed limit is, for example, 45 mph or where a bicycle is
traveling 5 mph up a hill or traveling downhill, has the
potential to create collisions as following cars need to
unexpectedly break.
"Rather than mandating an arbitrary three foot passing
distance and an unworkable 15 mph requirement when the
three foot passing distance cannot be maintained, the AAA
Clubs suggest that the bill be amended to clarify the law
that a driver should pass at greater than three feet when
safe and legal to do so."
JJA:kc 5/25/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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