Last week Governor Brown signed what is commonly known as “the 3 foot law,” which goes into effect in September of 2014.  The law requires that motorists maintain at least three feet of space when passing bicyclists or wait until there is adequate room to pass safely .

Why do we need a 3 foot law?  After all, isn’t it just common sense that a motorist would “share the road” with the bicyclist?

Unfortunately, as many who bicycle on a regular basis know, all too often motorists do not seem to comprehend or acknowledge the importance of safely sharing the road.

Whether you are a bicyclists or a motorist, you know how it feels to be passed too closely.  As a motorist, how often have you driven in the center lane of the freeway with a barrier no more than 3 feet to your left and an 18 wheeler to your right? If you are like most of us it is not a particularly comfortable feeling.  You think, ”what if that truck drifts just a little to the left… I’m going to be pinched between a very large truck and a concrete barrier.”  And indeed if something does goes wrong we know what happens — and it is not a pretty picture for the motorist.

Now put yourself on a bike.  That big vehicle next to you doesn’t need to be an 18-wheeler to make you feel vulnerable – - any sized car will do.   What happens when a car (most likely a pickup truck or large SUV) comes by and nearly hits you with their rear view mirror, or they give you a foot or two but pass you at 60 miles per hour or faster.  Scary, because you know what will happen if you move just a little or the car veers slightly toward you.

People who do not use a bicycle on a regular basis often don’t understand that there are times when a bicyclist needs to move quickly in order to avoid an obstacle in the roadway. But as a driver this fact really shouldn’t be all that surprising. How often as a driver have you been a situation where there was a large object on the road such as 2″x 4″, a ladder that has fallen off a truck, or perhaps a tire tread from a semi that requires you to move quickly.  What happens if at that moment there is a car or truck in the lane next to you?  These are dangerous causes of traffic accidents.

Now, put yourself in that situation on a bicycle. Imagine the 2″x”4 that appeared in front of your car and consider what that would do to a bike on skinny tires.  Things that are small to you as a driver or you might not even see from your car can be a major hazard for a bicyclist.  For example the piece of metal shown near the shoulder in the photo above can shred a tire or become caught in the wheel and cause the cyclist to crash.

Even a small piece of glass can cause major problems.  A flat tire is a common consequence of running over just a small piece of glass or small rock. So the natural response of a bicyclist when they see broken glass or small rocks is to move toward the travel lane to avoid those small nearly invisible pieces of glass.

So why the 3 foot law?

The three foot law does two things:  (1) It gives officers the power to cite motorists for dangerous behavior.  As a motorist, you can be cited for passing too closely to a cyclists.  And, (2) it provides an opportunity to educate motorists and bicyclist, not only about the law, but more importantly about the reasons for the law.  We want all motorists to know that it simply is not safe to pass too closely to a bicyclist. The bicyclist may need additional room to move around an obstacle.  The motorist may need to move toward the bicyclist to avoid something in front of them.

So, motorists, please, give bicyclists at least three feet of space and if there’s no room, just wait.  A few extra seconds won’t kill you, but if you don’t wait it might kill the bicyclist next to you.