Originally Posted by
kickstart
The minimum passing distance laws aren't about an arbitrary distance that makes passing "safe", they're more to make an unsafe passing distance a specifically citable offence.
Yes, that's the purported logic.. Unfortunately lawmakers don't consider the practical considerations of enforcement. In all but the rarest of cases, it'll be impossible to produce acceptable evidence if the motorist decides to plead innocent. So we first have to have the police actually observe the violation, then testify as to what he saw.
The fact is that laws like this are only enforced by occasional crackdown blitzes, the same way that jaywalking is in most places.
Of course the law might help in civil cases if the bicycle is hit, but like existing law is subject to the "he swerved" defense unless physical evidence at the scene such as skid marks render that impossible.
Like I keep saying (I'm the rydabent of useless laws) laws like this about politicians making hay with a constituency, but they don't change anything. If the state cars about road safety, they'll produce PSAs about it.