LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Cyclists may have to learn to live with a three foot buffer between them and motorists. Portage Republican Margaret O’Brien was able to convince the State Senate to adopt the same five foot passing rule that is already in place in Kalamazoo and Portage, which was approved locally after Kalamazoo’s bike tragedy, giving cyclists more room on the roadway.
But it failed to fly in the lower chamber.
The House Transportation Committee modified the bill to just three feet, and states that if it’s impractical, that motorists “shall pass at a safe distance and speed”.
Law enforcement officials testified that setting a particular distance made enforcement difficult because it left no wriggle room, and there was no way to document the distance.
They were presented with the Senate’s five foot rule, but some Representatives were concerned that on streets with bike lanes and narrow city streets, that there just wasn’t enough room.
The bill now heads to the House Floor and if it passes there, it will be bounced back to the Senate for their reconsideration.
