The Colorado Bike Safety Bill (SB 148) passed this week. The bill went through a surprisingly complex legislative process, including two conference committees. As noted by House Speaker Terrance Carroll at last weekend’s Bicycle Colorado Gala, even the state budget with about a billion dollars of budget cuts didn’t go through two conference committees.

The bill sponsors, Senator Greg Brophy and Representative Michael Merrifield, worked diligently to ensure the bill passage throughout its many votes. Their strong support of safe roads has made them valuable partners for the bicycling community.

Governor Ritter, an avid cyclist, is expected to sign the bill. It’s possible he’d sign it during a ceremony at the Elephant Rock Ride on June 7th. It would then go in to effect on August 4th.

The main safety provisions of the bike safety bill are

Passing

Motorists are required to give cyclist 3 feet of clearance when passing. To keep traffic from backing up on narrow, winding mountain roads, they added a provision for motorists to cross the center when safe and clear to do so.

Lane Position

The law requires bicyclists to ride as far right as they feel is safe. The key here is that the cyclist is the one to decide how far right is safe. Also cyclists will be allowed to ride on the left side of the road on one way roads with more than one lane.

Two Abreast

The bill clarifies that bicyclists may pass one another or ride side-by-side if they are not impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

Anti-Harassment

The bill increases penalties for harassing cyclists. The actual wording is projecting any missile at or against a bicyclist. Missiles are defined as any object or substance. Harassing a cyclist will be a class 2 misdemeanor.

By this definition, I’ve had missiles used against me. I’ve had bottles thrown at me, pop bottle rockets shot at me, ice thrown at me and other harassment while riding my bike.

According to an article in the Colorado Daily, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle believes that the Colorado bike safety bill gives cyclists carte blanche. He says cyclist will be able to ride however they want without being able to prosecute them.

I think that most cyclist would agree with me that we’d rather stay alive than ride wherever we want to. The bill will allow law enforcement to better protect cyclists on the road if they choose to. We will still need to pay attention and watch out for our own safety.

You can read the full text of SB 148 online.

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The Colorado House of Representatives has the Colorado Bicycle Safety Bill on the agenda for today. There are enough bills ahead of it though that it’s not expected to be voted on until next week. There’s still time to contact your state representative.

I’ve written about the bill a couple times before but the key points of the bill are

• Passing
• Lane Position
• More than 1 Rider
• Anti-harassment

Earlier this week the Colorado bike safety bill passed the House Transportation committee 8-3. I listened to the streaming audio the other day but didn’t get the timing right and only heard discussion about an EMT law and old tire disposal. The Colorado Safety bill (SB 148) had passed the Senate about a month ago.

For more information on the bill, see Bicycle Colorado’s information page.

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The Colorado Bike Safety bill (SB148) passed the Colorado Senate on Tuesday on a vote of 27 to 6. The important 3 foot passing distance rule was kept in the bill. I just can’t imagine people thinking they need less than 3 feet to pass.

The foot rule is opposed by Larimer County Sheriff because he says it would be impossible for his agency to enforce. He says there’s no way to measure how close a motorist passes. State Sen. Greg Brophy says law enforcement officials are already allowed to make judgment calls while enforcing the law.

The bill is now in the Colorado State House of Representatives. I haven’t seen a date for a vote. If you’re a Colorado cyclist, let your representative know that the bike safety bill is important to you. Click here to find contact info for your representative.

Key points of the bike safety bill are

• Passing
• Lane Position
• More than 1 Rider
• Anti-harassment

Go to Bicycle Colorado’s bike safety bill page to get the latest info.

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Some years I ride my bike thousands of miles on the road. I’ve had motorists harass me in many ways. I’ve nearly been hit by cars passing too close, been intentionally buzzed, had a pickup pull into a gravel pullout and spin to spray me with gravel, had a couple bottles and ice thrown at me, had a bottle rocket shot into my back wheel and a passenger reach out and slap me. The list goes on.

The 2009 Colorado Bicycle Safety Bill will be voted on by the State Senate possibly as soon as this Friday, Feb. 13. This bill will help protect bicyclists on roads and makes it easier for motorists to pass bicyclists safely. Opponents are trying to remove the 3 feet safe passing distance. Bicycle Colorado has more information on Senate Bill 148.

You can help by contacting your state senator. You can find out contact info by clicking here and entering your zip code. Key points are

• I encourage you to support Senate Bill 148
• Please keep the 3 foot safe passing distance
• I believe this bill will improve road safety

You can also help by getting the word out or donating to Bicycle Colorado’s efforts.

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