Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
In what way are the 30% of passes illegal, other than the 5% too close passing?
They violate the admittedly generous space provisions for overtaking motorists when passing cyclists under ORS 811.065. This statute requires overtaking motorists to give cyclists room to fall over in the direction of the overtaking vehicle when passing on a roadway with a speed limit in excess of 35 mph and no bike lane.
It was passed into law in response to a local college instructor's death at the hands of an aggressive log truck driver. She apparently lost concentration and crossed wheels with a bike in front of her and fell down. The log truck ran over her, resulting in her death. No charges were filed nor was a citation given to her killer. If that is indeed how it went down, she was riding way past her skill level and was a fool for doing so when she was being tailgated by an aggressive log hauler (redundant).
While she is not blameless, our legislature felt that her lack of skill should not have resulted in her death and set out to reduce the likelihood that someone else will meet the same fate. However, I'm not sure a $400 fine would do much even if the law was enforced. As I said, many motorists pass me well within the space requirements of the law, but not very many of those get my attention; I don't fall over while riding very often (as in I can't remember the last time such a thing happened), and I doubt if I would fall to my left since I generally try to leave an out to the right. I think I am more likely to get struck by lightning than to fall over in front of an overtaking vehicle. However, the law does remove, or at least make more difficult, the "sole survivor suicide swerve" defense for motorists.