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Cyclists in Colorado will be given more protection from car users from August 5th, as reported by DailyCamera.
The Bicycle Safety Bill, signed this week, has been created by the state to safeguard cyclists with a wide range of measures.
Drivers will be required by law to give cyclists three feet of space when passing, or risk being given a $110 fine.
Other measures included in the law will formally give cyclists the right to ride side-by-side – unless they’re impeding the ‘normal and reasonable movement of traffic’. Cyclists will be required to ride as close to the pavement as is safe to do so.
The law goes further in protecting cyclists with an ‘anti-harassment’ measure. Throwing an object at a cyclist or driving at cyclists in a threatening manner will also be made offences.
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter said: "One of the great things about Colorado is that so many people love to bike.
"But it also means that cyclists and motorists alike must take extra precautions so that we can share the road safely. This new law will enhance safety for everyone."
Local bike organisation Bicycle Colorado’s executive director Dan Grunig welcomed the law: “The hope is that is creates safer roads. The law takes into account a lot of common sense, share-the-road practices that people do every day, and legalises them.”
