Maine
Maine – legislation passed in 2007 (2022 ranking: 26)
Summary: Maine has a “3 foot” passing law, which defines the safe passing distance as “at least three feet.” The legislation also allows for passing a cyclist in a no-passing zone “if is safe to do so.” A specific provision of the Maine law is that it allows vehicles to “cross the centerline in a no-passing zone in order to pass a bicyclist…” Many states do not have this specific provision. Maine has attempted to make it clear that maintaining three feet may occur by crossing the centerline.
For details, please see the following link:
https://www.maine.gov/mdot/bikeped/docs/MaineBicyclingLaws.pdf
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Maine.pdf
Groups to check out:
- Bicycle Coalition of Maine: https://www.bikemaine.org/
Maryland
Maryland – legislation passed in 2010 (2022 ranking: 14)
Summary: Maryland has a “3 foot” passing law which defines the safe passing distance as “not less than 3 feet”. There are however a few very important exclusions to when the law applies. Those exclusions can include situations where the “rider” is not riding to the right of the road; if the “rider” solely causes the passing distance to be less than three feet; or when the highway is not wide enough to lawfully pass with a distance of at least three feet. The Maryland law also addresses “motor scooters” and “EPAMDs – Electric Personal Assisted Mobility Device”.
For details, search with the following keywords: “Maryland Transportation Code 21-1209.”
From FindLaw.com:
https://codes.findlaw.com/md/transportation/md-code-transp-sect-21-1209.html
From Justia.com:
https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2021/transportation/title-21/subtitle-12/section-21-1209/
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Maryland.pdf
Groups to check out:
- Bike Maryland: https://www.bikemaryland.org/
Massachusetts
Massachusetts – legislation passed in 2022 (2022 ranking: 1 – TOP 5!)
Summary: Massachusetts became the third state in the country to pass a "4 foot" passing law. Massachusetts joins Pennsylvania and New Jersey with four foot laws.
For details, search with the following keywords: “Massachusetts General Laws 90 14” and “Massachusetts General Laws 89 2”
NOTE: Massachusetts became the 3rd state in the country to pass a "4 foot" law. As of 2/01/2023, the online legal resources have not yet been updated. Once they are, we will update the links on this page. In the meantime, here is a link to the Bill.
https://www.billsponsor.com/bills/306589/massachusetts-house-bill-5103-session-192nd
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Massachusetts.pdf
Groups to check out:
- MassBike: https://www.massbike.org/
Michigan
Michigan – legislation passed in 2018 (2022 ranking: 11)
Summary: Michigan has a “3 foot” passing law which defines the safe passing distance as “at least three feet”. The legislation also allows for passing a cyclist in a no-passing zone “if it is safe to do so.”
For details, search with the following keywords: “Michigan Legislature Section 257.636.”
From FindLaw.com:
https://codes.findlaw.com/mi/chapter-257-motor-vehicles/mi-comp-laws-257-636/
From Justia.com:
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Michigan.pdf
Groups to check out:
- League of Michigan Bicyclists: https://www.lmb.org/
