SB488

Let me start off by saying this has nothing to do with bipartisanship.

Saturday was a sad day in Texas for cyclist as Gov. Perry vetoed Senate Bill 488 (aka The Safe Passing Bill). This bill would have made it law for any motor vehicle to give three feet of space between a cyclist and a vehicle while passing. The kicker is that this bill was not designed around cyclists but included runners, pedestrians, motorcyclists, children and highway construction and maintenance workers. With how much emphasis Texas puts on the safety of highway construction workers I would have thought that alone would push the bill through. This after two competitive cyclists were killed in Tulsa OK just a few weeks ago when they were hit by a drunk driver.

I can't tell you how many times I have gotten honked and yelled at for riding in a lane of traffic that I am well within my legal rights to be in. I have had many close calls from drivers that I can only assume were trying to give me a fright. Cyclists are no different than drivers in mentality, some of them are jerks that run stop signs and stop lights while many of them obey the rules of the road and are just out to have a good ride.

There are over 1,000 cyclists killed each year from being hit by a car in Texas. While I have been lucky enough to have never been struck by a car I do have a good friend that has. He was struck from behind by a car going 70mph. While he did escape with his life he suffered a broken back and has never fully recovered to be able to go back to the active life style he was used to.

Even though this bill was not passed, please give us room. On windy days that full lane is very needed commodity as between my bike and myself we come in well under 200 pounds and a gust of wind can change my path very quickly.

You can read the bill here.
The veto reason here.
Texas cycling laws here.