A reminder to everyone that beginning on September 16, California law requires cars to give bicycles three feet of space when passing. If there isn't room in the lane to pass safely with three feet of space, cars must slow down and wait until it is safe to pass.

A reminder to everyone that before, during and after September 16, California law requires bicycles to stop at stop signs, stay off sidewalks and yield to the proper right of way.

Think that reminder will do any more good than the previous?

Wheel Wells, there are bicyclists that blow through stop signs and don't yield. I'm not one of them, and there are plenty of others like me who obey the rules. There are drivers who blow through stops signs and don't yield. It's not that bicyclists are better or worse than drivers; lots of people around here do both. Some people follow traffic laws and some don't. Some people are patient, and some people are jerks. Having a few examples of a cyclist not stopping at a stop sign doesn't justify endangering people on bicycles by passing them too closely.

Riding on the sidewalk is in my opinion dangerous but laws about riding on the sidewalk are set by local municipalities, not the CVC, so it is not technically illegal in many places.

"Having a few examples of a cyclist not stopping at a stop sign "

Shirley, you jest. A few? That's funny. Let's go find a stop sign. I get a sawbuck from you for every bike that fails to stop. You get a sawbuck from me for every stop.

"doesn't justify endangering people on bicycles by passing them too closely"

Who said they should do that? Nice try.

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GREAT news that the enforcement will continue.

It is rare for me to drive through Atherton or Menlo Park and NOT have both the driver in front of me & the driver behind me on the phone.

I've always thought that tickets for this offense alone could fund the entire budgets of both towns.

Continued enforcement is a great idea. Adding to it, enforcement of laws for cyclists would be useful as well. With cycling on the increase and traffic atrocious in some areas, it just makes sense to enforce laws for both cars and bikes.

It is important to note that distracted driving is dangerous to everyone, but that bicycle violations are dangerous to only the perpetrator. And that there are some states who allow bicycles to "blow through" stop signs.

> There are drivers who blow through stops signs
> and don't yield. It's not that bicyclists are
> better or worse than drivers; lots of people
> around here do both.

Oh puuulease.

Bicyclists are on average, by any reasonable observation, substantially more likely to blow through stop signs & red lights, drive on the wrong side of the road, violate right of ways, etc, than the typical motorized driver.

I'm in favor of improving bicycle paths and adding protections for bicyclists on roads where feasible. But what needs to come with that is increased enforcement of the rules of the road on these vehicles.

> bicycle violations are dangerous to only the perpetrator.

Not true. Try reading the news:

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His sentence was a complete joke. Community service for voluntary manslaughter?

In a car next to me on Alpine the other day, a driver was plucking her eyebrows using the rear view mirror! I have also seen women doing their nails, people picking their noses, applying mascara, and even finishing dressing. In the bike lane of Alpine the other evening there was a cyclist riding no hands, texting while having no protective gear, no lights, and wearing dark clothing.

It is about time that they enforced the distracted driving laws. How many times have we almost been rear ended by people on their phones.

@Randy D. You say " but that bicycle violations are dangerous to only the perpetrator" Not so. some years ago, as a pedestrian, I was mowed down by a cyclist who was speeding along a sidewalk. I suffered a severely broken collarbone, which required surgery and metal pins. I still have frequent pain. The cyclist? He sped off and since there was no way of identifying him, he was never caught. Some cyclists are dangerous, and to that end we should require registration plates, licensing and tests. Cyclists should contribute to the costs of the roads they ride.

I was taught in drivers ed., back in the day, that bicycles were considered to be vehicles and had to obey the same rules and laws of the road as cars. I'm not sure what happened to that, given what I've seen around town these days. Maybe a few warnings to some of these cyclists, or a ticket or two might spark some awareness? Isn't that what the "distracted driver" crack down is supposed to be about? (???) Awareness?