Kansas House Bill 2174, ‘Duty of motorists to maintain 3 foot distance when passing bicyclists’, has been defeated in a 55-59 vote in the Kansas House, according to LJWorld.com:
A proposal to give bicyclists a little breathing room against cars and trucks was defeated in the House, 55-59.
The measure said: “The driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a distance of not less than 3 feet and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.”
Here’s the background on the bill: 3-Foot Passing Bill Moves Forward in Kansas
The HB2174 page on the Kansas Legislature has not yet been updated to reflect the result of the vote, nor is a roll call of house member votes available online yet.
Post tags: 3-Foot Passing
How do Kansas cyclists better organize to show support for these laws? I’ll admit that I did not know where to send a supporting comment while the bill was in committee. I’m disappointed that the bill apparently went to the floor with little or no notice.
Was the Kaw Valley Bicycle Club permitted to make a statement at the hearing? Did anyone else testify in support of the bill?
Yes, it’s a shame that this bill was defeated before cyclists were asked to contact their representatives. Hopefully the Kansas bicycling community can do a better job of coordinating the advocacy effort next time around.
You can find your State Legislator here: http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/vote/
I’m curious as to what reason a legislator would give when voting against this bill.
Well, here’s how it works…you raise money…you give the money to the politicians and they vote to support your cause. If you don’t give them enough money, you don’t get your way. It sucks but that’s how they operate.
Darren,
I understand the concept. I’m just curious how they’d spin it. It’s unlikely they would admit to your explaination, no?