JHendrix

What do you guys do about vehicles passing too closely? Here in Florida, the law states:

No one really knows about this law or seems to care though. Also, larger vehicles should give cyclists at least 5 feet of room due to the wind blast they create.

Yesterday, I had a box truck pass me within a foot:

dynodonn 

I have a similar video, just replace that green median on the right with a row of parked vehicles, the shoulder with a 5ft bike lane, and the 3 lane one way with a 2 way with 10 ft lanes with no center buffer.

Some motorists cannot be bothered in slowing down or moving left a couple of feet to make a safe pass.

JHendrix

I've had the camera for about a week now and that's the worst past I've caught on video so far. It scared the **** out of me when he passed me, and I was pushed to the right a little. He was going around 45 mph.

Doohickie

Looks like more than a foot to me. (Maybe a foot from your side of the white line, and you're not right on the line.)

Is that a bike lane or just a shoulder?

Do you use a mirror in traffic?

dynodonn 

The trucker that passed me, I clocked him doing 40 mph in residential area. Since the section of road that you were videoing had no parked vehicles or intersections to contend with, I would be scanning my rear view mirror 2 to 3 times more often so not to get caught off guard as easily.

JHendrix

It was about a foot to a foot and a half from the left side of my handlebar. The camera is mounted on top of my helmet in the center, so it's not going to look as close with that angle. The left part of my handlebar was just to the right of the white line.

It's a bike lane. I don't have a mirror. What kind should I buy?

10 Wheels

Looks like 2 feet to me.

Get a mirror and watch your back, move right when big trucks are comming up behind you.
Most of the time they don't move over is because of another vehicle on their left.

You cut the vid to short. I wanted to see if there was a car on the left side of the truck.

10 Wheels

I use this one....https://www.messengermirror.com/

Get one of these....It lets you be seen way back and gives truck drivers a chance to move over.

https://store.dinottelighting.com/din...-mount-p5.aspx

JHendrix

There were two cars in the middle lane around the time he passed me, but the truck and two cars were the last in the group. After that, there's a gap in traffic, and another car doesn't pass me for another 20 seconds. The truck driver had plenty of time to see me and adjust. It's a relatively flat road, and I wear a bright yellow shirt. He could've slowed down a little and got into the middle lane.

You might be right about it being two feet. It's sort of hard to tell, but in the video after he passes me, I look down, so I could see where my handlebars were in relation to where he passed me. A fair estimate would be that he gave me about 18-24 inches of room. A large vehicle like that is supposed to give you at least 5 feet of room.

AlmostTrick

Agreed even two feet is not enough in that situation. I also recommend using a mirror so you can adjust your position as necessary. I find a helmet, eye glass or cap visor mounted unit to work best, because with a slight turn of the head you can see virtually everything.

weshigh

Not much to do about them passing closely. I usually don't even post my close passes. I believe the silver car at the beginning of this encounter is one of my closest passes.

dynodonn 

Further on in the video, I sure wouldn't be on the wrong side of the double yellow line, facing oncoming traffic and conversing with someone who obviously doesn't know cyclists' rights. I've found that it's a waste of breath, just move on and sure enough in that you got the last laugh in passing him up a few seconds later.

weshigh

Not to derail the thread, but I was forced into that lane by him. You are correct and I try not to make a habit of it. But if a driver is going to pull up on my like that I am going to get as much info on him on video as I can for potential future legal action.

dynodonn 

My rule of thumb: my personal safety first, and if I happen to get enough info on the motorist, then I might pursue legal action if the incident warranted it.

weshigh

Good rule of thumb. My other rational at the moment was to put myself in a position to avoid being rammed. To each their own.

dynodonn 

Crossing the double yellow line was probably unavoidable, but stopping and staying there was. I stopped letting motorists like the one in your video into trying to drag me down to their level, since they will always beat me from their years of experience.

Looigi

If they don't hit me, I admire their skill and judgement.

sauerwald

If a commercial vehicle makes a close, unsafe pass, I send a letter to the company, suggesting the adverse effect on their insurance rates that would happen if their driver were to damage their vehicle by squashing me.

weshigh

More or less the above. I have done this when I was buzzed multiple times by a Los Angeles Metro bus. I have the video on youtube and sent them the link with an explanation of the situation. Of course I have not heard back.

Doohickie

I prefer the kind that is mounted to my helmet; one less thing to remember and now that I'm used to it, if I forget my helmet I'm reminded when I check the aim of the mirror. If not that, a glasses-mounted mirror is great, too. I like a mirror on my head because you can get a VERY full view behind without much head movement.

As far as the bike lane thing.... I would generally ride that just inside the white line, but monitor traffic in my mirror and fade right when the heavies come by.

Chris516

Since I 'take the lane', it doesn't really bother me. Because I give myself room to move over just in case.

In Maryland it is three feet. But, I definitely agree with you. I don't think many drivers know and/or care about the law. I will give drivers a slight 'benefit of the doubt' because of when the law in Maryland went into affect. While it has been more than a year since it went into effect(Oct. 1, 2010), some drivers may not know about it.

+1 regardless of locale.

B. Carfree

Has anyone known of any motorist ever being cited for violating the passing distance law in any state? Here in OR we have a great passing distance law, albeit with a pitifully small fine, that as far as I know has never been enforced (ORS 811.065). Motorists are required to give us room to fall down in their direction when they pass us on roads with speed limits over 35 mph and no bike lane. On Tuesday afternoon I rode past a sheriff's deputy who was on traffic duty on Hwy101 (popular bike touring road). The deputy just watched as several motorists passed within a couple of feet of me. I've even had a friend of a neighbor run over under conditions where this law applies and the killer wasn't even cited (statute says contact is an automatic violation, duh).

On the OP's question of what I do when I am passed illegally: First off, I make it difficult to pass me unsafely and I don't get worked up over the motorists who can't be bothered with following the law. Once in a while I will get a chance to chat with one of the offenders. After some initial hostility, they usually relax and express some appreciation for being informed of this four-year-old change in our law. I don't make it about their ignorance or poor driving skills, rather I talk about the wonderful local woman whose death led to the law and what a shame it is that the law is a secret. We usually part with smiles, handshakes and the occasional hug. I think my wrinkly face helps defuse what could be misinterpreted as a confrontation; I suppose this would be tougher for younger cyclists.

If the offending vehicle is a school bus then I call the school district's transportation supervisor. I've had some success in altering one of my local school district's training. If the offending vehicle is a commercial vehicle, I sometimes call the company. I make it a point to be polite and let them know that I am also a commercial driver which seems to help. I've never had a repeat issue from the same company.

Chris516

I hope you do it in the form of a formal letter(Dear Madam/Sir:, To Whom It May Concern, etc.) and not 8.5x11 legal pad paper. Also that you make a copy of it and, have it FedEx'ed or something like that. To give it extra psychological weight as to the seriousness of what happened.

Six jours

I wonder what the letter of complaint will look like. "Dear Sir or Madam: The other day I was riding with my elbow in a traffic lane, and the driver of your truck passed me in his own lane while obeying the speed limit. I demand to know how you plan on addressing this serious issue."

dynodonn 

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