Cycling advocates from the Virginia Bicycling Federation (Champe Burnley, Bud Vye), Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (Tim Rosato), River City Women’s Racing (Monica Glave), and Bike Charlottesville (Scott Paisley, Heather Higgins) attended a meeting of the House Transportation Subcommittee #2 on January 26, 2011. This is the deliberation of HB 1683 (illegal to follow or pass too closely (3ft)) that we heard. The bill was laid aside (defeated).
Year after year, we try to get a 3′ passing law in Virginia, and year after year it gets killed, despite 18 other states having passed such a law, and it being in alignment with federal standards. How does this keep happening? See for yourself, in this video by Heather Higgins of Bike Charlottesville. This is a great glimpse into the process, and shows what we, bike advocates, actually do (and put up with).
Note well: SB 928, the Senate version of the 3′ passing law, is still alive, and may need your support. Stand by for action alerts.
Update: SB 928 passed unanimously in the Senate Transportation committee.
Many thanks to Heather Higgins and Scott Paisley from Bike Charlottesville, Tim Rosato from FABB, and Monica Glave from River City Women’s Racing, who came to Richmond to help us make our case.
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2010 was the FIRST time a bill requiring a 3-foot minimum distance for passing a bicyclist was ever introduced in Virginia. With strategic VBF lobbying, grassroots support, and a little luck this legislation will soon pass.
The Senate Transportation Committee just UNANIMOUSLY reported SB 928 out of committee! It will likely come before House Transportation Subcommittee #2 in a week or two.
The video is wonderfully informative. I hope every cyclist in Virginia gets to see it. Here in Florida we encounter the same objections to our 3-foot law on grounds of whether it can be enforced. We answer them as your ally did — that getting the 3-foot standard into the driver handbook is educational and does do some good.