For a while now, Bicycle Colorado has been distributing bumper stickers urging motorists to maintain a 3-foot distance when passing cyclists. Pretty soon, it could become state law.

Here’s hoping it does. Three feet isn’t too much to ask, is it?

A new bicycle safety bill passed the Colorado House on Monday and went to the Senate, where it originated under the sponsorship of Sen. Greg Brophy and passed in its original form, 27-6. If the Senate passes the version approved by the House, it goes to Gov. Bill Ritter.

Being 36 inches from a growling diesel driven by a guy who believes bicyclists don’t belong on the road would still be an unnerving experience for cyclists, but making that buffer the law would make us feel a little safer, at least.

“The current law is, basically, as long as you don’t hit the bicyclist, it was considered a safe pass under the law,” said Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado. “That’s just not good enough. That doesn’t provide very clear instruction, very clear guidance for motorists.”

The bill also would:

• Clarify language regarding lane positioning for bicyclists, requiring them to be as far right as is safe but giving them the right to move left as needed to avoid hazards such as potholes and broken glass. It also would allow cyclists to ride in the left lane on one-way roads with more than one lane.

• Stipulate that bicyclists may ride two abreast if they are not “impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.”

• Criminalize harassment by making it a misdemeanor to throw an object at a cyclist. Driving in a threatening manner — swerving at cyclists or slamming on brakes in front of them — would be construed as a careless driving offense.

“With changes to any traffic law, the big goal is to make the road safer,” Grunig said. “We believe this bill really does that.”

The 3-foot restriction would allow motorists to cross the center line to maintain the lawful distance between them and a cyclist, as long as it is safe to do so.

The language in the bill regarding side-by-side cycling is a minor change from the current law, which says riders shall ride single file except when riding two abreast does not impede traffic.

I’m not a big fan of side-by-side riding, whether I’m on my bike or driving a car, but Grunig points out safety advantages.

“One of the reasons most often cited by a motorist involved in a car- bike crash is that they never saw the cyclists,” Grunig said. “When cyclists are two abreast, they’re more visible.”

I’ve learned from experience that writing in defense of bicyclists and their safety is sure to generate all sorts of angry e-mails and phone calls excoriating bicyclists. But most bicyclists I know are extremely careful and vigilant, in part because so many of us know bicyclists who were killed, paralyzed or otherwise seriously injured in accidents involving motor vehicles.

“Bicyclists, because they’re more vulnerable on the roads, are doing what they believe will make them as safe as possible,” Grunig said. “They will not purposefully put themselves in harm’s way.”

And all those irate motorists so quick to criticize cyclists forget that bicyclists are usually motorists too. The motorist who doesn’t ride doesn’t know how scary it can be to ride a bike in traffic, but bicyclists know what it’s like to be behind the wheel of a car when cyclists are present.

“It gets down to, are bikes equal vehicles?” Grunig said. “Do they have a right to be there? These are publicly owned right of ways. Bicycles are defined as vehicles in Colorado statute, and have equal rights and responsibilities on the road.

“Yeah, when you have different-speed vehicles on the road, it slows people down, and we’re not hiding from that. There’s nothing wrong with taking your foot off the gas pedal, even if it’s just for a couple of seconds.”

Bicycle safety bill

To read the proposed new bicycle safety bill before the legislature (Senate Bill 148) or the existing Colorado statute regarding bicycles (42-4-1412), go to bicyclecolo.org.