Originally Posted by Helmet Head
Cyclist behavior is much more likely to determine how much space a given motorist gives him than is some obscure law.
On long climbs on 4 lane roads I've played a game with a cycling buddy: he will randomly say "close pass" or "change lanes", and I, through my behavior, will cause the next motorist to either "close pass" us, or "change lanes", accordingly. They act like trained animals, once you learn how to control them.
It is an illusion of control. You are simply modifying his behavior slightly by either staying away from his line of travel, or getting in his way. You can do this in a bike laned road too, except there is a third option, the "adequate margin" pass, which you can achieve by moving slightly to the right in the bike lane.
I agree to an extent that the law doesn't really do anything. But if it takes adding a law to get the statement: "motorists must pass cyclists with 3 feet of clearance" in to the driver's manual and into driver's ed curriculum, then I have nothing against it.
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the tiniest sprinter