Washington
Washington – legislation passed in 2019 (2019 ranking: 1 – TOP 5!)
Summary: Washington has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “at least three feet.” Washington’s law gets a little more specific and requires reducing speed “relative to the speed of the individual.” Washington’s law also gets pretty specific concerning how to pass when there is insufficient distance available in the lane of travel – “When there is insufficient room to the left of the individual in the lane for traffic moving in the direction of travel to comply with (a)(ii)(A) of this subsection, before passing and until safely clear of the individual, move completely into the lane for traffic moving in the opposite direction when it is safe to do so…”
Washington often takes top honors (or close to it) in any cycling survey. Both Washington and its neighbor to the south, Oregon, have done a good job 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: “Washington State Section 46.61.110.”
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS%20Report%20Card_2019_Washington.pdf
Groups to check out:
- Cascade Bicycle Club: https://www.cascade.org/
- Washington Bikes: http://wabikes.org/
West Virginia
West Virginia – legislation passed in 2014 (2019 ranking: 34)
Summary: West Virginia has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “not less than three feet at a careful and reduced speed.”
For details, search with the following keywords: “West Virginia Code Chapter 17C-7-3.”
From FindLaw.com:
https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-17c-traffic-regulations-and-laws-of-the-road/wv-code-sect-17c-7-3.html
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS%20Report%20Card_2019_WestVirginia.pdf
Groups to check out:
- West Virginia Connecting Communities: http://wvconnectingcommunities.com/
Wisconsin
Wisconsin – legislation passed in 1973 (2019 ranking: 29)
Summary: Wisconsin has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “in no case less than 3 feet clearance.”
For details, search with the following keywords: “Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations 346.075.”
From Justia.com:
https://law.justia.com/codes/wisconsin/2015/chapter-346/section-346.075/
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS%20Report%20Card_2019_Wisconsin.pdf
Groups to check out:
- Wisconsin Bike Fed(eration): https://wisconsinbikefed.org/
Wyoming
Wyoming – legislation passed in 2015 (2019 ranking: 50)
Summary: Wyoming has a passing law that defines the safe passing distance as “at least a 3 foot separation.”
For details, search with the following keywords: “Wyoming Statutes Title 31-5-203.”
From FindLaw.com:
https://codes.findlaw.com/wy/title-31-motor-vehicles/wy-st-sect-31-5-203.html
The League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly State Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFS%20Report%20Card_2019_Wyoming.pdf
Groups to check out:
- Wyoming Pathways: https://www.wyopath.org/