Looks like 3 feet
Texas is getting closer to joining a handful of states that require motorists to give bicyclists at least a 3-foot gap when they pass.
The Texas Senate tentatively approved a bill on Tuesday that not only requires the 3-foot gap on two-lane roads, but yielding a full lane to bicycles on four-lane roads.
But just to put cyclists back in their place, the senators also approved an amendment that eliminated the mandatory passing distance requirement on two-lane roads without paved shoulders, because — as Republican Sen. Kim Brimer is quoted — “Bicyclists don't belong on those roads.”
Is Sen. Brimer aware of some “double secret” Texas law that allows bicycles on all public roadways, except 2 lane roads without shoulders? When I used to bicycle in the Hill Country around Austin, just about all those rural farm-to-market roads were 2 lanes, and few had shoulders.
Senate Republicans led arguments against the bill, according to the Dallas Morning News. In the debate, Republican Senator Dan Patrick asked rhetorically what should happen if he got behind a bicyclist on a 2-lane road and couldn't get past by 3 feet. “Should I stop my car and hold up traffic, or break the law and pass him?”
What a travesty that Sen. Patrick would have to be delayed in his important duties to slow down to safely pass a cyclist. Maybe he should be exempt.
The bill comes to a second vote in the Senate on Wednesday. A companion bill is making its way through the Assembly. More information at the Bicycle Texas Coalition.
The state of California also has a bill wending its way through the State House that would require a 3-foot minimum gap to pass cyclists. Information on that and other bicycle advocacy bills are available online at California Bicycle Coalition.
Also this year, Tennessee passed 3-foot minimum legislation, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
By rough calculation, the states that require a 3-foot gap comprise Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
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