An Iowa bicycle safety bill passed in the state senate this week would require drivers to give five feet clearance when passing a bicyclist.
Drivers would face new penalties for not giving bicycles five feet of space when passing them, or for following too closely or failing to yield to bikes, under a bill before state lawmakers.
The penalties would range from $25 to $35, or $500 if a bicyclist is hurt and $1,000 if a bicyclist is killed.
The bill passed the Iowa Senate on Thursday, 30-17 with three lawmakers absent. Senate File 117 now goes to the Iowa House for more consideration.
Iowa averages about seven bike/car fatalities each year, Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said Thursday. About 430 bicyclists were hurt last year in run-ins with vehicles, he said.
I am all for laws that make it safer for bicyclists, but I would also like to see some similarities between laws from state to state. Many states have adopted or are considering a 3 foot rule. I think five feet is probably not more that is required to be safe. A lot depends on the road, and how has traffic is going.
One think in the new article that made me laugh was the idea of one Senator …
Several Republican senators’ amendments were shot down. One Republican wanted to require bikes to have a 6-foot-tall red flag when traveling on roads.
I can just see Lance Armstron showing up to ride RAGBRAI like he has done in the past with a flag on his Trek, or Team Saxo Bank pro, and Iowa native Jason McCartney out training with a big flag on his Specialized.
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