Photo Credit: http://onelesscar.org
You see a lot of buzz around the interwebs about the various attempts to pass laws defining minimum distance requirements for passing cyclists. I think there are currently about 9 in various stages of debate throughout the country. The standard for those seems to be 3 feet, and while I don’t care to debate the specifics in what a minimum safe passing distance is, I do feel like some enforceable standard is better than no standard at all.
I ran across the picture above the other day and found it interesting to actually be able to see what a 3 foot passing margin actually looks like. I would have to quibble, however, that the car above is passing less than 3 feet from the cyclist due to the mirror sticking out.
However, that distance can sometimes look quite a bit smaller than it is when you’re sitting on the saddle and that big pickup truck passes with a roaring engine and a plume of exhaust!
God bless, and have a great weekend!
TW
