mcours2006

Came across this today.

Police plan crackdown on one-metre safe-passing buffer for cyclists | Ottawa & R

Thoughts?

I honestly don't think motorists around here realize that this is a law. The ministry of transportation didn't do enough of an awareness campaign to inform the public.

RubeRad

So how will they be executing this crackdown? With police riding bikes with special 1m sonar devices? Will they be uniformed or undercover?

mcours2006

Yep. That's about it. When the law was first enacted they did that here downtown, but only gave offenders warnings.

Darth Lefty 

I honestly figured this was a ticket they invented to give someone who hit a bike and then didn't run

RubeRad

So undercover then? Are there actually drivers stupid enough to buzz a uniformed bicycle officer?

mcours2006

I assume they are undercover. But I am sure there are drivers dumb enough to buzz uniformed officers on a bike.

no motor?

That law is not enforced around me. I wish it was though.

Daniel4

I think the MTO should hand out pamphlets and booklets when you renew your sticker all the traffic laws that have changed since the last time you renewed.

The pamphlet will include right of way for buses to merge, clearance for emergency vehicles, pedestrians to finish clearing the crosswalk and 3 ft, 1 m clearance around bicycles.

SylvainG

Cool, I commute between Gatineau and Ottawa so I'm glad they're enforcing the law here in half of my commute.

AusTexMurf

"..... As the Austin Police Department’s first and only officer dedicated to bicycle safety, Cunningham’s ultimate objective is to make the roads safer for all users, not just bicyclists.

“I’m a cyclist on my own, so I get to combine my passion for bikes with my job to help make the roads safer for everybody,” says Cunningham, who started her new position three months ago. “With our goals for Vision Zero, this is one component to make the roads safer and they assigned me to it as a full time position.”

A new initiative Cunningham helped launch is the city-wide “Safe Passing” operation. The operation uses two bicycles that are outfitted with a tool that measures the distance between a vehicle and a bicyclist. The bikes also have a mounted readout display that shows the measured distance so officers who are conducting the sting can immediately determine if a violation is occurring...."

Article, here : Make sure you give bicyclists space, APD is watching | KXAN.com

Somewhat related article from Chattanooga, here : https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...from-cyclists/


Also, other ideas are to advertise the 3 and/or 6 feet passing laws on public transportation including city buses. Your city should be able to cut a deal with the entity providing public transportation.
In Austin, they ran several stories on the 3 feet passing ordinance and subsequent enforcement pieces in local media.
Also, check out the video of our previous Police Chief, Art Acevedo in the first linked article.

evan326

I've rarely have people pass me with more than 1 meter anywhere I've been in VA or FL running or riding my bike. I've gotten used to being passed by a semi truck 6" away.

blue192

I have watched the Ottawa police in action with this. They got a uniformed cop on a bicycle with some sort of sonar attachment and when a driver passes too close the cop signals to another cop to pull the driver over. I am actually happy the police is doing this.

blue192

I really miss living on the Gatineau side the pathways were so much smoother and scenery so much better.

blue192

Actually yes, there is indeed stupid enough drivers to do this. https://list25.com/25-stupid-criminal...ulous-reasons/ Pay special attention to #8 on that list....

AusTexMurf

"....The custom-made device, which sells for $1,400, was built by Codaxus, a two-man startup based in Austin, Texas. In the case of Chattanooga, a group called Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga footed the bill, who then donated it to the police department.

It’s a three-part setup, with a GoPro camera to capture the car (the camera has to be provided by the agency), the ultrasonic rangefinder aimed at ongoing traffic, and the centrally-mounted computer, which displays the distance in a simple two-digit format.

Christopher Stanton, one of Codaxus’ co-founders, who is also on the Austin Bicycling Advisory Council, told Ars that in his hometown, police simply have to learn what three feet looks like and then are able to issue tickets that way. But, the human eye isn’t perfect.

The device "provides a concrete way to have a verifiable result," he said..." Article, here : https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...from-cyclists/

Christopher Stanton is an extraordinary cyclist, advocate(esp. youth and elderly), non-profit founder and director, techie, intellectual, and friend. I am fortunate to have served with him on our Bicycle Advisory Council and as a volunteer and ride leader for his lower income student transportation cycling programs in our public schools.

mcours2006

Cycling advocates like Mr. Stanton are my heroes!

Perhaps someone could develop a less expensive version of the device, but replace the computer display and camera with a loud air horn so each time a car passes too close the driver gets an earful, literally....Yeah, I know. Makes the cyclist sound like an a-hole.

mcours2006

Not sure if you'd want to hire an attorney to fight a $100 ticket, let alone a tough one.

fietsbob

That's the key; put money in the part of the PD budget to pay for enforcement.


Add the Swedish approach... the ticket cost, is proportional to the wealth of the offender..

SylvainG

Yeah, my commute on the Gatineau side is mostly bike path beside the first km near my place. On the Ottawa side though, I have about 1 km on the Vanier Parkway and the other 8 km is on road. I choose not busy, large roads so I don't have cars passing by me very often.

SylvainG

In Québec, they changed the law last year. One meter is for road speed less than 50 km/h. On 50 km/h and above, it's now 1.5 meters.

Fines used to be $30-$60, now they are $200-$300. This also applies for drivers who open doors without looking.

https://www.auto123.com/en/news/queb...tection/62457/

mcours2006

They are moving in the direction. Probably the biggest obstacle to people who want to start bike commuting is the fear of being hit while riding on the road...well, that, and maybe a foot of snow.

blue192

Don't worry about the snow... Mel Lastman will just call in the army again to shovel what little you guys get. I hear our buddy Mel still got the army on speed dial too.

mcours2006

We will never, ever live that one down.

unterhausen

I'll bet they don't even have to go undercover. A cyclist with "police" in big white letters across his back will still probably get passed too closely until people get used to the idea. Pennsylvania barely did any publicity about our 4' law. The only public announcement I've seen about it was an electronic sign telling New Jersey residents about it as they crossed the Delaware river into PA.

Announcing that the police are going to be having an enforcement effort for a law is probably about as effective a way to get the word out as possible. There is a little town in West Virginia that I drive through occasionally that apparently has very effective speed traps -- nobody speeds there.

52telecaster

+100