Cyclists’ rights improving in Colorado

By Carlo Alcos On May 13, 2009 · 4 Comments

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Photo above: bradleygee / Feature photo: eric.surfdude

The cycling movement just keeps picking up steam.

Right on the heels of my post about How To Be Good (Better) Drivers and Cyclists, I read this article in the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Governor Bill Ritter just signed a bill, effective August 5, that should offer more protection to cyclists on the road. It will demand that drivers give at least three feet of space when passing a cyclist, and also make the punishment for throwing an object at a cyclist more severe. (I can only assume this is a common occurrence there.)

Under this new bill, if you’re caught throwing something at a cyclist you could get hit with a fine between $250 and $1000, and face a possible jail term of three to 12 months. Not giving the three feet berth will earn you a $110 fine.

The space considerations are nothing new in some European countries, where you will see signs along the road illustrating that you must have 1 meter of space between your car and the cyclist when passing.

North America could stand to learn more lessons from Europe when it comes to this topic.

What do you think? Will this work?

Share your comments below!

About The Author

Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos is the editor of Brave New Traveler and co-founder of Confronting Love. He blogs about his travels and life in general at Vagabonderz.com. You can also find him at the yoga studio and tweeting away as @vagab0nderz.

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view all → Carlo Alcos

http://collazoprojects.com/ Julie Schwietert

Carlo-
The US West Coast is really the frontrunning region when it comes to cyclist friendly legislation. The documentary “Veer” (veerthemovie.com) followed the process of securing safety measures like the ones you describe here in Oregon. The cycling lobby had to work vigorously to get the bill passed, but a year after its approval, cycling deaths had gone down dramatically and other outcomes had improved significantly, too.
http://thetravelersnotebook.com David Miller

this is great news. there’s a lot of disrespect in CO for ‘peddle-heads’ especially road cyclists. never understood why. . .i guess some people are intimidated by spandex.
http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo

Haha…well, to be honest, I could do with less spandex in my sightline

But yes, very good news. And to stress the point, cyclists also need to be wary of their actions. This morning on my ride in to work, at a red light, a cyclist just ahead of me used an idling car to rest on, so he didn’t have to unclip from his pedal and put his foot down. I mean, no wonder some people hate cyclists.
Lydia

Throwing something at a cyclist is never acceptable. The thing is, here in Colorado bicyclists are obnoxiously fond of riding up the twisty two-lane mountain roads that auto enthusiasts love to drive up. If cyclists value their lives they’ll stick to 4-lane roads so we are able to give them 3-feet of space. Veteran cyclists do a fairly good job of keeping out of our lanes, but newbies should stick to trails until they can pedal up a hill without swerving around erratically.

Cyclists’ rights improving in Colorado

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