Originally Posted by
JeffOYB
They will RESENT giving me the 5 feet after I squeeze past a dozen of them. I don't need the 5 feet in that situation. I *do* appreciate the 5 feet in any HIGHER SPEED scenario. Do these laws have a simple way to handle that? "Give 5 feet when passing fast?" I can't quite see it. Help?
California's nominal '3 Foot' law does have such a loophole clause. If you can't give 3' of clearance you can pass slowly at a distance that is 'safe'. Neither the passing speed nor the minimum safe distance are specified. So really the new law doesn't differ much from the old one that had no mention of a 3' passing distance and just said to pass at a safe distance. But there has been publicity about the 3' distance in the new law so it might improve driver awareness.