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Legislative update from the office of California Governor Jerry Brown:

9-23-2013 SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has signed the following bills: … AB 1371 by Assemblymember Steven C. Bradford (D-Gardena) – Vehicles: bicycles: passing distance

Read the press release issued earlier today here.

AB 1371 is Steven Bradford’s “Three Feet for Safety Act” that mandates (sorta kinda) a minimum three feet of clearance when a motor vehicle passes a cyclist. And because people keep asking about this, the law specifies “3 feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.”

“I sincerely thank the Governor for signing this commonsense measure to protect cyclists on our roads,” Bradford said. “When cars and bikes collide, it often turns to tragedy. This bill is a great reminder that we all have to work together to keep our roads safe for all users.”

Bradford’s original bill was a work of genius; subsequent amendments in committee of both chambers of the California legislature weakens the law, mostly to incorporate compromises that Brown deemed essential to guarantee his signature.

The most important compromise is the so-called “Part D exception,” which says:

If the driver of a motor vehicle is unable to [pass more than three feet away from the cyclist] due to traffic or roadway conditions, the driver shall slow to a speed that is reasonable and prudent, and may pass only when doing so would not endanger the safety of the operator of the bicycle, taking into account the size and speed of the motor vehicle and bicycle, traffic conditions, weather, visibility, and surface and width of the highway.

Still, cyclist and cycling advocate organizations statewide supported AB 1371 as a symbolic measure that recognizes the importance of taking increased care while driving around cyclists.

The law will take effect September 16, 2014. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 22 states currently have a minimum passing distance law on the books.

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