Imagine bicycling with some friends on a smooth back road in the West and being passed, “uncomfortably close,” by a driver's ed car speeding by at 50 mph.
It happened recently to Bill “Wild Bill” Schneider at New West, prompting him to write “Needed: More Bicycle Sense in Driver's Manuals.” He checked his Montana driver's manual and concluded:
It’s not so much what’s on those pages, but what’s not there. The manual implies that bicyclists are hazards and impediments to motorized traffic. Most advice in the driver’s manual is directed at bicyclists, not motorists.
To Montana's defense, however, Schneider found some useful instructions in that state's manual on how to pass bicyclists on the open road.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the Montana manual tell motorists “do not share a lane with a pedestrian or bicyclist” and advise drivers to slow down and wait for a oncoming vehicle to pass “so you can give extra room to the cyclist.” Not bad, and much better than some state manuals, but it would be better to say, “cross the centerline and move into the left lane before passing a bicyclist.”
He checked the manuals of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Same thing. Most directed comments at bicyclists, except Utah, which had a special section on “Sharing the road with bicyclists:”
“Pass a bicycle in the same manner you would a car. Do not pass a bicycle in the same lane.”
Washington state
I checked my Washington state driver's manual, actually I had to go online, mine isn't around anymore. It too has a special section: “Sharing the road with bicyclists.” Here are some highlights, or lowlights:
Do not drive in a bicycle lane except when making a turn… Do not park in a bicycle lane …
Allow at least three feet of space when passing or overtaking a bicycle …
Do not drive on the left side of the roadway when you see an approaching pedestrian or bicyclist if the width of (sic) condition of the roadway, shoulder, or bicycle lane makes it unsafe…
Bicyclists have the choice to ride on the roadway, on the shoulder of the roadway, in a bicycle lane, or on a sidewalk…
Bicyclists ride with the flow of traffic and as near to the right side of the road as is safe …
The manual also suggests: “When possible, take potential hazards one at a time. … if you are overtaking a bicycle and an oncoming vehicle is approaching, slow down and let the vehicle pass first so that you can give extra room to the bicycle rider.”
The League of American Bicyclists posts three rules for motorists passing cyclists that should be adopted in every state:
Leave at least three feet of space between your car and a cyclist when passing; Wait until road and traffic conditions allow you to safely pass;
Check over your shoulder after passing a cyclist before moving back to normal position.
That's the kind of good bicycle sense that should be included in driver's manuals in all 50 states.
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