On Friday, Georgia’s new bicycle safety law, which requires cars to give three feet of space when passing bikes, went into effect. With this new law hopefully driver’s awareness and respect for bike riders will increase, leading to fewer crashes. HB 101 was announced across the state by a number of bike rider support groups and the local news stations are doing a great job in getting out the word. When I used to commute down Peachtree Street in the late 90s, I was hit by more than a few side view mirrors and this law would have been a blessing.
Car on bike crashes are particularly dangerous and the Georgia Department of Community Health reports that there were 795 crashes across the state in 2007, including 11 that lead to deaths.
Let us just hope that the cops are diligent in writing tickets in the early going so that the concept takes root.