New Study Looks At Effectiveness Of 3 Foot Passing Laws

A new study on the effectiveness of bicycle safety legislation in many states nationwide reveals that three foot passing laws are viewed by many as a "vital tool to increase bicycle safety."  However, the study also laments difficulties involved in enforcement.

The study, The 3 ft. Law:  Lessons Learned from a National Analysis of State Policies and Expert Interviews, was created by the Rutgers Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.  It offers a survey of the experiences of 20 states that have 3 foot passing laws in place, and considers the pros and cons of the laws with regard to its contribution to an increase in cycling safety.  These laws mandate that drivers give cyclists on roadways at least 3 feet of space when passing.  In the end, the study is short on data demonstrating the effectiveness of the laws in increasing cycling safety.  It provides a lot of anecdotal "evidence" from bicycle advocates nationwide who tout the provisions as effective tools for educating the motoring public about the rights of cyclists.  It also notes that the laws are part of a growing fabric of policy adding legitimacy to the bicycle as a practical transportation tool.  On the other hand, the study gives a lot of space to the argument that the laws are unenforceable and of little real world consequence.  Here is a link to the full study.

The Rutgers team focuses on how the 3 foot passing statutes are used, and not used, by law enforcement nationwide.  It notes that one jurisdiction briefly set up a sting to catch motorists violating bicyclists' space, but mostly describes police officers as generally unable to consistently enforce the laws.  Sadly, the study completely neglects the role the 3 foot passing laws may pay in the civil justice context.  For our firm, and others focused on representing injured cyclists, the laws are strong, sharp arrows in our quivers to use to go after drivers who harm cyclists.  In negotiating with auto insurance carriers and their attorneys we routinely cite the 3 foot laws to demonstrate a driver's negligence.

Just law week, I represented a client at an arbitration hearing in which I cited Illinois's 3 foot law.  This particular arbitration hearing was, in essence, a mini-trial in which witnesses were called and interrogated and both sides' attorneys provided opening and closing statements.  The case involved a female bicyclist who was struck by the front quarter panel of a vehicle whose driver passed too closely on Wells Street in Chicago's Loop, a notoriously narrow street with menacing pillars on both sides which support elevated train ("El") tracks.  The defense argued that the cyclist was reckless for coming too close to the vehicle.  However, citing the 3 foot passing law, I was able to effectively demonstrate that it was the driver who failed to give the cyclist the space she was entitled too under the law.  The panel found the driver was principally negligent and provided an award in the cyclist's favor.  (They found that the cyclist was, to a small extent, contributorily negligent, but that finding served only to minimally reduce the award, rather than to preclude it altogether.) It was a fair result.

Bicycle advocates often focus only on the criminal side of law enforcement.  In my experience, the the ability of the civil justice system to provide both compensation for the individual cyclist's harms and losses, and advocacy for cycling in general is too often overlooked by bicycling supports.  I can only guess as to why.  I fear that decades of negative media coverage about personal injury lawsuits have cast our civil justice system as merely a crass money making enterprise for greedy lawyers with ruby pinky rings.  This caricature is unfair.  The work we do can, and I believe does, have a positive broad effect.  Suing someone for passing too closely to a cyclist and causing harm, or for dooring a cyclist, can have a wide social effect.  Not only is the driver being sued likely to be more careful in the future, to the extent that driver spreads the word about his or her experience with the civil justice system, the people they know are put on notice to act more carefully around cyclists.

A Look At Why Bicyclists Should Take The Lane

During last week's interview on WGN Radio one caller asked me why bicyclists sometimes ride in the middle of the lane, blocking passage by faster moving vehicles.  I explained that in order to make themselves more visible to drivers and discourage attempts to pass dangerously close, bicyclists can and should take the lane.  The idea is to encourage motorists to change lanes if they wish to pass reducing the likelihood of a dangerous miscalculation.  More and more states are passing laws which prohibit drivers from passing too closely to cyclists.  In Illinois, drivers must give them at least three feet of space when passing.

Recently, I came across an excellent graphic produced by iamtraffic.org which effectively demonstrates why is is so important for a cyclist to take the lane when riding on a road where the lane width is insufficient for sharing by bike and car together:

Courtesy iamtraffic.org

What About Western and Logan, Indeed?

When it comes to cycling around our city not much scares me.  This is not because I am particularly brave. It is just that I do it a lot and I am used to the congestion, the crappy roads and other challenges that exist in our urban streetscape.  There is one exception though:  The area around the intersection of Logan Boulevard and Western Avenue scares the hell out of me.  At the same time I find it necessary to ride through there fairly often.  Logan Boulevard provides a link to the Logan Square neighborhood and places where I shop frequently, Target, Pet Smart, Strack and Van Til, Microcenter, etc.  I suspect I am not the only one.  Logan Square is the sort of unofficial hub of Chicago bicycle culture these days.  If you live here you know.  If you do not, come on over and see what I mean.  We have The Bike Lane, Boulevard Bikes, Milwaukee Avenue, Coles and the Tour de Fat.  A lot of people here do not just ride bikes, they use their bikes as transportation year round to shop, get to work and just to go from place to place. Yet this important link -- Logan and Western -- between our neighborhood and an important shopping district is one of the most dangerous bicycle transit points in the city.

My friends over at Grid Chicago have attempted to analyze crash data from the area, but much information is missing.  There is no immediately apparent engineering solution to the problem; at least not without filling in the missing data points, which Grid Chicago's Steven Vance lists succinctly.

There are several factors which make the ride, both eastbound and westbound, on Logan across Western dangerous.  There is no bike lane, or sharrows designation in either direction.  The bicyclist must ride to the right side of the roadway and motorists are required to provide him or her with three feet of space when passing.  However, motorists face a changes in lighting, a blind curves and somewhat narrow traffic lanes in both directions.  There are no shoulders.  These factors mean that (1) it will be difficult for motorists to see the cyclist and (2) once seen, it may be challenging, depending on traffic conditions, for the motorist to give the cyclist the mandated three feet of space.  It may be prudent for the cyclist to take the lane to prevent the motorist from trying to squeeze by, but the lighting conditions and blind curves mean that a bicyclist in the middle of the lane could be struck from behind by an inattentive driver.

So what is a bicyclist to do?  Riding eastbound, I use the sidewalk.  It is illegal to do so.  In Chicago only children are permitted to ride on the sidewalk.  It is also inconsiderate to pedestrians.  However, I find that traveling east it is the most prudent course.  Just before getting to Western Avenue I hop off of the curb and back into the street, looking carefully behind me first.  Motor vehicles at the intersection are almost always preparing to stop at the light and are slowing down.  Once the light turns, I proceed along the right side of the road, just soaking up the bumps and pot holes on the east side of Western Avenue.  Again, the lane is tight so I am generally disinclined to veer to the left.  At the curb cut to turn into the Target parking lot a bike lane appears and I breath a sigh of relief.

The eastbound approach:

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Riding westbound is scarier.  I generally find myself taking the lane as I wait for the light at Logan and Western.  The lane is so narrow that there just is not much room to ride along the ride side of the road.  I then remain in the lane as I go around that terrifying blind curve past the skateboard park.  I pedal pretty hard through that section because I simply want to get through it as quickly as possible.  After the skate park I hang a right onto the inner section of Logan Boulevard then relax.

The westbound approach:

View Larger Map

Notwithstanding the risks I have described it is important to be absolutely clear about this:  Motorists traveling through this area must follow the law by watching for bicyclists and give them three feet of space.  That it may be more difficult to do so here than at other roadway spots is no defense.  If a driver fails to follow the law and injures or kills a cyclist he or she will and should face significant legal consequences.  (They certainly would if I am involved in the case.)  However, no cyclist wants a "good case."  We want to get where we are going safely.  At and near the intersection of Logan Boulevard and Western Avenue there is, I submit, a greater potential for the inattentive driver to cause harm.

The Chicago Department of Transportation, The Illinois Department of Transportation, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office are friendly to bicyclists and are working hard these days to make our infrastructure safer for cyclists.  At Logan and Western, I respectfully request that they roll up their sleeves and find a solution.

Illinois Senate Bill Would Strengthen Anti-Buzzing Law

The buzz out of Springfield is that Illinois' anti-buzzing statute is about to get a whole lot tougher. Yesterday, the state senate passed a bill amending a statute which already prohibits motor vehicles from passing less than three feet from a bicyclist on a roadway. The bill, introduced in January by Sen. Ira I. Silverstein, makes it a crime for a motorist to pass "unnecessarily close to, toward, or near a bicyclist." A driver may be charged with a felony where violation of the law results in "great bodily harm" or permanent injury. The bill also makes it a crime to throw objects at bicyclists.

The bill has been sent to the Illinois House where it is expected to pass.

Will the passage of this law make cycling on Illinois roads safer? Probably not. But it adds an arrow in the quiver of civil practice attorneys and criminal law enforcement officers when going after drivers who injure bicyclists. Bravo.