Excerpt’s from Vicky Clarke’s Jan. 2 interview:
This morning, KUOW aired a radio interview between Casey Martin and Washington Bikes Policy Director Vicky Clarke about the new safe passing law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
Starting this year, the state is telling drivers if there is more than one lane going your direction, you must get into the left lane when passing a bicyclist, just like you do when passing slower cars.
“The difference between a safe pass with someone slowing and passing at a distance and an unsafe pass is quite literally the difference between life and death,” said Vicky Clarke.
Vicky Clarke is with the advocacy group Washington Bikes.
If there is only one lane going your way and there is no bike lane, the state says you must slow down and leave at least 3 feet of space between your car and the cyclist. This also applies when passing tractors and people on horseback. If you have trouble guessing how much 3 feet is, Vicky Clarke says “move over. When you see someone on a bike, just move over.”
You can listen to the interview streaming throughout the day on kuow.org.
