Three foot laws, blue lights... and drivers.
11-02-15, 10:53 AM
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genec
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Three foot laws, blue lights... and drivers.
Seems it isn't just cyclists that have a hard time with motorists not moving over when they should. Washington State police are facing a similar situation when they pull over for roadside assistance and traffic violations. The flashing blue lights on their cars are supposed to warn passing motorists to pull over, or slow down or change lanes... that doesn't happen often enough.
Much like cyclists, troopers are fed up with motorists that fail to give way when they should, and instead pass too close and too fast. <-- this doesn't just happen to cyclists... Drivers in general are just not doing their part.
Move over when you pass those flashing blue lights | HeraldNet.com - Local News
What does this have to do with cycling... well those same drivers that fail to pull over for the official flashing blue lights are likely to not bother with three foot laws either.
Much like cyclists, troopers are fed up with motorists that fail to give way when they should, and instead pass too close and too fast. <-- this doesn't just happen to cyclists... Drivers in general are just not doing their part.
Under Washington’s Move Over law, the flashing lights from patrol cars are supposed to be a message for other drivers to find another lane or, at the very least, slow down.
Few do.
Last week, troopers across the state warned or ticketed nearly 250 drivers for violating the law. It was part of a three-day campaign to bring attention to the Move Over law.
Those traffic stops were a tiny fraction of the actual violators.
Few do.
Last week, troopers across the state warned or ticketed nearly 250 drivers for violating the law. It was part of a three-day campaign to bring attention to the Move Over law.
Those traffic stops were a tiny fraction of the actual violators.
What does this have to do with cycling... well those same drivers that fail to pull over for the official flashing blue lights are likely to not bother with three foot laws either.
11-02-15, 12:34 PM
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Or the four-foot law in PA.
11-02-15, 01:14 PM
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Laws don't change the way people actually behave, they never did. Laws especially don't make a difference (except, maybe, to generate fine revenue) if there's zero awareness of their existence. (Yes, IMO, ignorance of an unpublicized law is an excuse).
I don't know who pays for it, but if some of the airtime given to campaigns like "click-it or ticket" and similar PSA spots were shifted to informing about things like move over, 3' bicycle space laws, a decent percentage of people who violate purely out of ignorance might comply.
We can debate the effectiveness of this type of PSA campaign, but someone believes they help because they're running all the time. So maybe actually informing the public of what's expected might bring some results, rather than repeating the same worn out seat belt message to a public that has to be aware of that law by now.
I don't know who pays for it, but if some of the airtime given to campaigns like "click-it or ticket" and similar PSA spots were shifted to informing about things like move over, 3' bicycle space laws, a decent percentage of people who violate purely out of ignorance might comply.
We can debate the effectiveness of this type of PSA campaign, but someone believes they help because they're running all the time. So maybe actually informing the public of what's expected might bring some results, rather than repeating the same worn out seat belt message to a public that has to be aware of that law by now.
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Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
11-02-15, 01:26 PM
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genec
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Laws don't change the way people actually behave, they never did. Laws especially don't make a difference (except, maybe, to generate fine revenue) if there's zero awareness of their existence. (Yes, IMO, ignorance of an unpublicized law is an excuse).
I don't know who pays for it, but if some of the airtime given to campaigns like "click-it or ticket" and similar PSA spots were shifted to informing about things like move over, 3' bicycle space laws, a decent percentage of people who violate purely out of ignorance might comply.
We can debate the effectiveness of this type of PSA campaign, but someone believes they help because they're running all the time. So maybe actually informing the public of what's expected might bring some results, rather than repeating the same worn out seat belt message to a public that has to be aware of that law by now.
I don't know who pays for it, but if some of the airtime given to campaigns like "click-it or ticket" and similar PSA spots were shifted to informing about things like move over, 3' bicycle space laws, a decent percentage of people who violate purely out of ignorance might comply.
We can debate the effectiveness of this type of PSA campaign, but someone believes they help because they're running all the time. So maybe actually informing the public of what's expected might bring some results, rather than repeating the same worn out seat belt message to a public that has to be aware of that law by now.
So running PSAs, and traffic law billboards and the like are probably necessary... due to the poor education of American drivers.
11-02-15, 01:33 PM
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11-02-15, 01:33 PM
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Yes, ongoing repeating of info people should know is necessary, but I was referring specifically to informing people of newly passed or changed laws that they wouldn't know about unless they were psychic. The bicycle passing laws are a perfect example. The states pass them, and there no effort to inform the public. The only ones told are the advocacy groups that pressed for passage, because legislators want to make sure they get the credit, but that's useless from a safety or functional point of view, since it's motorists (who aren't told) who have to make the adjustment.
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11-02-15, 01:51 PM
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Yes, ongoing repeating of info people should know is necessary, but I was referring specifically to informing people of newly passed or changed laws that they wouldn't know about unless they were psychic. The bicycle passing laws are a perfect example. The states pass them, and there no effort to inform the public. The only ones told are the advocacy groups that pressed for passage, because legislators want to make sure they get the credit, but that's useless from a safety or functional point of view, since it's motorists (who aren't told) who have to make the adjustment.
11-02-15, 01:51 PM
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New York tried a similar law for police but I believe it has been rescinded. Too many people feeling like they have to get over into another lane or they get a ticket led to unsafe lane changes and accidents. Then it became suggested that if possible move over but "if it's convenient" is a pretty subjective criteria for a law.
11-02-15, 02:07 PM
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New York tried a similar law for police but I believe it has been rescinded. Too many people feeling like they have to get over into another lane or they get a ticket led to unsafe lane changes and accidents. Then it became suggested that if possible move over but "if it's convenient" is a pretty subjective criteria for a law.
11-02-15, 02:22 PM
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If the drivers are making unsafe lane changes, it seems to me it is the drivers not practicing safe driving that is the problem... not the lights warning them of a problem ahead. If drivers cannot slow down and make concessions to cyclists, other traffic, and road crews, not to mention LEOs, they are driving too close to out of control.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
11-03-15, 01:40 AM
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It is three feet here in MD. I never expect a motorist to give me three feet. So I take it. So many of them are oblivious to the law, or don't care about it.
11-03-15, 07:45 AM
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Most states now have no smoking in indoor public places laws. Now people don't smoke in indoor public places. Just one example of laws that do change behavior.
If no one knows a law exists, doesn't do much good - agreed there.
If no one knows a law exists, doesn't do much good - agreed there.
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