Boulder sheriff decries 'bicycle safety' bill approval
BOULDER, Colo. — A bill that clarifies cyclists' rights and seeks to better protect them from aggressive drivers has been approved by the Colorado Legislature and is headed to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for a final decision.
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Provisions of the bill would require drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing, allow vehicles to cross double-yellow lines to pass riders safely and allow cyclists to ride two abreast as long as they don't impede the normal flow of traffic.
But while bicycle advocates are celebrating the victory and anticipating a final approval by the governor, the Boulder County sheriff said Tuesday that the law would make cyclists virtually immune to prosecution.
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"There's really nothing now that requires them (cyclists) to yield or move over," Pelle said. "This bill gives them full access to the road."
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[Baltimore Spokes: Look at it this way, we build expressways to improve safety and to get a certain class of road user off the local streets. Now imagine having laws so you would be found at fault in an accident simply because you were not driving on a expressway. Sounds ridiculous, right? Then why do people try and do the same thing to cyclists? Laws that micro manage where you can ride and would like you to do something for courtesy do not belong in the same class of laws that determine who is at fault in an accident. ]