The Three Foot Law…

The following is an excerpt from the website www.colobikelaw.com, at which Colorado bicycling law is codified.

As in most states, Colorado classifies a bicycle as a vehicle, stating; Every person riding a bicycle… shall have all of the rights and duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle… except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions which by their nature can have no application. Which means, of course, that a bicyclist in Colorado must operate his vehicle as if it were a car.

This is not only a legal requirement, it is also the safest method of operation for a cyclist. Riding in the road, with the flow of traffic, puts the cyclist within that flow, requiring motorists to treat him with the same respect as another motorist; allowing for the cyclist’s slower rate of travel, passing in the next lane, and forcing the driver to care for the cyclist’s safety as much as the cyclist does.

Many motorist however, seem to resent the cyclist riding in the traffic lane and so will often honk, yell or pass within the same lane. In an effort to curb this dangerous behavior on the part of motorists, the state of Colorado, as well as many other states, have passed “The Three Foot Law,” though many motorists are completely unaware of this.

In an effort to educate and make our roads safer for all cyclists, including myself, I am posting this law. Please share the link with anyone you think will benefit from it (which would be all drivers you know).

I have always thought that three feet was the minimum safe distance for a motor vehicle driver to give a cyclist when passing. Fortunately for cyclists, in Colorado its the law!
§ 42-4-1003. Overtaking a vehicle on the left

1. The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction, subject to the limitations, exceptions, and special rules stated in this section and sections 42-4-1004 to 42-4-1008:
   1. The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left of the vehicle at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle
   2. The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicyclist proceeding in the same direction shall allow the bicyclist at least a three-foot separation between the right side of the driver’s vehicle, including all mirrors or other projections, and the left side of the bicyclist at all times.
   3. Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on audible signal and shall not increase the speed of the driver’s vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.
2. Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class A traffic infraction.