Ohio

Summary: Ohio has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “three feet or greater”. Ohio does add a “kicker” to this law by stating “If the offender commits the offense while distracted and the distracting activity is a contributing factor to the commission of the offense, the offender is subject to additional fine…”

For details, search with the following keywords: “Ohio Traffic Laws 4511.27.”

Note, when searching, be sure to look for the revised version after 2016.

The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:

https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Ohio.pdf

Groups to check out:

• Ohio Bike Federation: http://www.ohiobike.org/

Summary: Oregon has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “a distance that is sufficient to prevent contact with the person operating the bicycle if the person were to fall into the driver's lane of traffic.” There are restrictions however to this law and trying to define just how far away you need to be if a rider “falls into the driver’s lane of traffic” is difficult. We’ve seen falls that take up the entire lane – or more. Rhode Island has a very similar law.

Oregon often takes top honors (or close to it) in any cycling survey. Both Oregon and its neighbor to the north, Washington, have done a good job of building a cycling culture that provides cyclists with infrastructures most of us would love. The annual Seattle to Portland bike ride put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club is unbelievably well done. Like RAGBRAI in Iowa, it’s a ride that should be on every cyclist’s bucket list. Both rides are in July so you could actually do both in the same year. We did.

For details, search with the following keywords: “Oregon Traffic Laws 811.065.”

From FindLaw.com:
https://codes.findlaw.com/or/title-59-oregon-vehicle-code/or-rev-st-sect-811-065.html

The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:

https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS_Report_Card_2022_Oregon.pdf

Groups to check out:

• Cascade Bicycle Club: https://www.cascade.org/
• Bike Portland (local): https://bikeportland.org/