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House adopts substituted bicycle‑safety bill requiring 3‑foot passing distance after floor debate
Summary
After extended floor debate over narrow roads, enforcement and defenses, the Utah House substituted and passed HB49 to require motorists to give bicyclists a 3‑foot passing buffer; the substitute passed 45–19 and is headed to the Senate.
The Utah House on Thursday adopted a substituted version of House Bill 49 that establishes a 3‑foot safe passing distance for motorists approaching bicyclists, after extended floor debate on narrow roads, driver defenses and enforcement.
Sponsor Representative Rosalind McGee urged colleagues to accept a substitute that she said resulted from consultations with traffic‑code experts and cyclists. ‘‘The intent of this bill is to provide clarification for all of us who use the common roads,’’ McGee said on the House floor.
Representative Wyatt, speaking in support, described the proposal as public education and a safety measure and summarized the safe‑passing requirement: an approaching motor vehicle must stay 3 feet away from a bicycle. ‘‘An automobile that's approaching a bicycle needs to stay 3 feet away,’’ Wyatt said.
Opponents raised practical concerns. Representative Christensen and others warned that the moving nature of bicycles and narrow roads could produce automatic citations in accident cases and that drivers must retain a defensible way to show they were not reckless when a collision occurs. Representative Hogue highlighted intersection and bike‑lane configuration issues that could make compliance difficult on some streets.
Sponsor amendments and committee changes were discussed to provide a defense for drivers when a bicyclist’s own negligence contributed to an event; Representative Christensen noted the substitute provides for a defense if the cyclist was negligent in operating the bicycle.
On penalties, Representative Wyatt said the offense would be a class C misdemeanor — comparable to minor traffic infractions — and anticipated a fine level set by the bail commission and commonly estimated on the floor at about $40.
Backers framed the bill as primarily educational and protective of the more vulnerable road users. Representative McGee noted 2004 bicycle fatalities and said the bill would prompt an education campaign and better behavior by drivers and cyclists alike.
The House approved the substituted bill on roll call, 45–19. The bill will be transmitted to the Senate for its consideration.
