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The people who will follow this rule are the people already passing with 1m+ of space. It's a step in the right direction but without enforcement it doesn't change behaviour.
Often driving in Kelowna I can’t get people to give my bumper 1M of space. I’m glad for new protections as well but as we have seen it’s up to the “choice” of enforcement which, looks bleak.
Isn't that the truth! I'm learning to drive at 48. Combination of wonky eyeglass prescription which I was finally able to get fixed last year with Laser eye surgery, and anxiety - which I'm working on, kept me from driving for many years. Sunday morning I went out to practice, I was going just under the speed limit on a bit of a windy road and this jackass came up behind me tailgating and honking at me trying to get me to go faster. It is relevant to the conversation because there was also a cyclist on the road who I was coming up on along with oncoming traffic. I'm still learning the spatial relationships of car, center line, cyclist etc. No way in hell I was going faster just for them. As soon as I could I pulled off to let them pass, they zoomed by revving the engine. It was "special"
Also I did have the "L" prominently on the back of the car too so they had no excuse for not knowing.
You know what I actually witnessed a man in a Yukon SUV tailgating a small car with a learners “L” on it. This was not you but was in a 30kmh zone. Well all 3 of us ended up in the parking lot. I calmly called the guy out saying basically that the learner already is very nervous and that it’s also 30 because of the high pedestrian count. He didn’t like that at all. Went into a rage about how they were going 25km so somehow it’s justified…? I actually had to get back in my car and call the rcmp because homie went ballistic and wanted me to fight him lol. I was with my kid lol. Either way I’m too old for that type of shit I’ll just call it in. It’s unsafe.
Good on you for simply pulling over.
I remember driving to Kelowna. We shared the road with a large semi truck in front of us, but in the next lane over. This was a two lane road out in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple cars in front of us in our lane also.
This other car (small convertible) comes in from behind at high speeds and goes behind the truck. There is no way to pass because of the cars in front of me. Does he stay at a healthy distance behind the truck, until he is able to pass? NOPE. He tailgates this truck probably having less than a foot of space in between him and the SEMI. Semi truck didn’t move over fast enough for him (cars were to his right) and the convertible guy stayed like that for a few minutes. He was so close to the truck, I don’t even think the truck driver could see him back there. One small brake and that guy would’ve been a goner. Tailgating is stupid already, but who does that to a vehicle that could annihilate your car and you within it? What an idiot.
Yeah I’ve always left a minimum of 1m space just to be respectful + safe.
I’ve been on thin backroads before tho where that’s not possible, like roads where there’s not even a bike lane, so I’ll wait for oncoming traffic to clear then safely pass the cyclists, and I’ve been honked at and flipped off by drivers behind me lol. It might take some time for the assholes on the road to get on board unfortunately.
Thanks for doing this, it really ought to be the standard way to pass.
Is risking the life of another really worth saving like 20 seconds in a vehicle?
Of course! & I agree. Honestly I’d be embarrassed to not do it, putting the safety aspect aside for a moment I also find it rude to not give sufficient room, like it’s just a courtesy thing too. I grew up in a small town and for the most part it seems most people do it, but sadly there’s always a handful that don’t. I do the same for pedestrians that are walking in the bike lanes (there’s not really separate sidewalks in many places here, so they’re kinda forced to walk in the bike lanes). Same with folks riding their horses, I’ll wait to safely go into the oncoming lane so I’m not even partially in their lane because I don’t want to scare the horse and have them kick their rider off.
A lot of new people have been moving to the area though and I’ve noticed an uptick in aggressive driving behaviour, just makes me shake my head.
Edit- being downvoted by those who are triggered by people leaving room for cyclists/pedestrians/horses, just guessing? 😂
Yes, but at least this makes enforcement possible, with financial incentives for doing so. So it’s not just an empty gesture. Municipalities get back money from traffic fines, so people who don’t care about enforcing cycling safety for the sake of the cyclists may be more persuaded to encourage ticketing for the sake of the budget.
thats wild. i'd say most days when I drive from duncan to victoria someone is getting pulled over. And it's never the guy I saw doing forty over the speed limit ;)
Oh yes, there def is. I know for a fact because I work in admin for one of the Lower Mainland's police forces, and I process tickets. The problem is that all police forces, municipal and RCMP, are understaffed and underfunded. They do the best they can with the resources they have. The best thing you can do is, when you witness traffic violations, report it to the police. Whether they are able to get there and do anything is a different story, but in this case it's not the result that matters, but the report. Police agency funding is directly related to the number of police files the agency has. The more calls, the more police. It is that simple. The more police, the better the enforcement. The problem is that people don't call the police, because they think there isn't anything they can do. So many crimes go unreported, it compounds the problem of inadequate police staffing.
So, please, if you see or are a victim of a crime, please report it to the police. If you see something suspicious, please report it to the police. If you think there isn't anything the police can do, please report it anyways. Making that report may mean next time there will be enough officers to deter the offence before it happens.
Isn't it interesting how we feel about things often affects our beliefs. Around a half million tickets are issued yearly in BC. This stat includes littering so the number is not only for traffic tickets, but traffic tickets are the majority of tickets.
The people who are going to drive dangerously aren’t going to change their habits because of this rule. More laws is not a great solution. Teaching safe road behaviour around bikers while in driving school would be a good start. Also having dedicated bike lanes would be a good idea.
No need for superfluous laws if you build the infrastructure properly. Especially since people crashing into bikes are likely not going to change their habits even despite the fact it was already illegal to run people over
Yeah and blowing through a red light is illegal but I see it happening several times a day in Vancouver. People driving these days are too distracted, tired, dumb, and rushed.
I see people blowing through reds everyday as well….. multiple times EVERYDAY!!!! I no longer step out on the road until cars come to a complete stop on both sides
Really wish people would just like, do shit because it's a good idea.
this entire thread so far is pointing out that there is 'no enforcement' or 'this won't change anything', I'm not saying they're wrong...they're not. I just really hope humanity gets to a place where there doesn't need to be the threat of getting police brutality'd before a small change in behavior can happen on a meaningful scale
I'm glad there's someone else out there that thinks like this. It's amazing how law enforcement has to strong-arm citizens with threats into doing things that should just genuinely be considerate, safe, common sense things to do.
Maybe common sense to a born and bred Canadian, but not common sense to immigrants and visitors who come from countries without traffic signals, let alone bikes lanes or laws. There needs to be a rulebook so everyone understands the expectation. Hence the law and the police.
There's no excuse to drive like a complete asshole. The expectation is to drive courteously. While the provinces and territories are decidedly different in their paths to a full drivers license, they all have some form of written exam, physical driving exam, access to driving school, and tons of literature on driving regulations and law. Theres a plethora of available help to learn how to drive and educate yourself on the rules of the road. In fact, it's expected if you're to get a full and complete drivers license. Once you are on the road, choosing to forget all of that and drive like an idiot in direct disregard of all that learning is where the police should step in. The laws should reinforce the learning, not provide it. Coming from other countries doesn't excuse you. Pretty sure it's not legal to sideswipe pedestrians and cyclists in any country. If the police have to be the ones to tell you that it's not ok to drive within inches of pedestrians, you probably shouldn't have a driver's license.
It would be nice but, you vastly underestimate how many greedy, self-centered, shitty human beings there are on the planet, who don't care about anything further than they can throw a rock. It's a good portion of society.
We can make reports via dashcam, but if charges are pressed you have to go to court to validate the footage and most people don't want to do that for pettiness
BC is going backwards, or maybe it's because I moved to a smaller city. 3 people turning left on a yellow, no thank you when you hold the door for somebody, keeping things that other people drop. We are going in the wrong direction.
Too many of us are upset and have bought into the US right wing narrative that progressives are destroying the country. They react by trying to be more like Americans.
Truth be told, when I saw the article header I thought it was going to be some significant amount of space. I can't imagine passing a cyclist within a meter of clearance anyway.
I am curious how they would enforce this law. Watching down the road to see if someone is 90 cm vs 110 cm away from a bike doesn't seem possible, or at least without full evidence would be able to be taken to court. Video evidence would only really be possible for people that are within like .5 m of someone and I would like to think that this would be punished today.
Additionally, if a car is passing at 1.5 m away from a cyclist and is staying a straight line and the cyclist needs to veer around a grate or something as the car is passing, how would that be judged by this law? I guess this law doesn't take into account bikes passing by cars? With the increased use of electric bikes, some of those bikes, in bike lanes end up passing close by cars that are going slower than the bike can go in a bike lane? For that matter does this new law affect electric bikes (so a bike with a motor) passing other bikes?
So many questions on this, hopefully we will see some sort of campaign that explains it all in detail soon.
This gives an additional enforcement tool if contact is made. It's also similar with what various other regions do.
Edit: to your questions, [this is the law](https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debates-proceedings/42nd-parliament/4th-session/bills/first-reading/gov23-1). The requirement applies to ["motor vehicles"](https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96318_01#section1) so does not apply to bicycles or motor assisted bicycles.
Your question about a bicycle swerving is a more general question. It's not explicitly covered in this law but would be a relevant question even without this law. What happens if a bicycle swerves in front of you and you hit them? It would just depend on the situation. Should the cyclist have anticipate the pass and slowed down instead? Was the obstruction obvious and something the driver should have also seen and anticipated by taking due care when passing?
I also tried to answer your other questions, but might have edited after you read my reply. One of them (a bike veering) doesn't have a straightforward answer as far as I know and would likely depend on evaluating the specific scenario.
183(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act says, "...a person operating a cycle on a highway has the same rights and duties as a driver of a vehicle."
You must give a cyclist 1m space when passing on a bicycle.
This new section, 157.1, applies specifically to a "motor vehicle" not just a vehicle. Bicycles don't have the same duties as motor vehicles, just vehicles.
Nice gesture but it will never be enforced. How can a cop say with any certainty that a vehicle was less than a meter away from a cyclist? They can't and any ticket will be disputed and thrown out. Here's a thought, start cracking down on speeding. Take trucks with wheels that extent past the wheel wells off the road. Make the minimum passing distance two meters and make bike lanes wider. I ride all the time in Kelowna and every time I ride, I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands. The worst people are pickup drivers - they seem to really resent people on bikes.
I honestly wonder what cops do these days. Every time I drive or ride my bike I see multiple speeders and people looking at their cellphones yet I never see a vehicle get pulled over. Cops must be seeing this too, especially ones in unmarked cars but they don't do anything about it. No wonder people make their own rules because the chances of actually getting ticketed are slim to none.
Once again our govt does something to make look like they are doing something but in the end it is completely meaningless.
Wheel spaced trucks should be sent straight to the crusher.
Do I like how they look, sure.
Do I like replacing my windshield at minimum once a year because of them, nope, not one bit.
As a cyclist and pedestrian, I know that rather than bouncing off the side of a truck should I get hit, those wheels are going roll right over me. Once again, I see those vehicles, the cops must see them but they obviously aren't taking them off the road. I even see them advertised for sale.
When are they going to make fines based on a percentage of income rather than arbitrary numbers? You want people to drive and act better? Hit them with equitable fines.
This is a good for roads with no shoulder. But as a cyclist who rides on a highway with a 1m shoulder. I prefer when vehicles just continue in their lane. Especially in shoulder seasons when the centerline is usually full of sand and small pebbles which get picked up in tires. I worry way more about being hit with rocks then being hit by cars or trucks.
I love that the picture on this article has cyclists riding three abreast.
I have no problem with the law changing to protect cyclists, but if drivers are going to have their feet held to the fire, then cyclists should too for riding like this.
I dealt with this regularly 25 years ago on Marine Dr heading to UBC. No way to pass due to oncoming traffic, and cyclists riding abreast not leaving enough room to pass safely. I had a water bottle thrown at me for tooting my horn asking them to move over onto the shoulder.
One of the things that makes cyclists so unpopular in BC (in real life, not reddit) is the complete lack of responsibility for their actions. If we were creating a framework, we'd have to start training, licensing and insuring bicycle riders that plan to use vehicle infrastructure. But the entitled positions and excuses just start flying whenever that gets brought up.
The problem is your assuming that this public space is "vehicle infrastructure" when it is actually multipurpose public infrastructure.
Our road design and laws have forced cyclists to share road space with motor vehicles, so it's pretty stupid to get mad at them about that. That's a choice that we, the driving public, made. We built sidewalks in most places and have space for bicycle infrastructure of we want to build it.
Build proper separated infrastructure for cyclists and like 80% of them will be out of your way within a few months. The remainder will be experienced vehicular cyclists capable of keeping pace and following road rules.
Also lack of responsibility lol. Show me the significant incidence of injury, death, and property damage caused by cyclists and I'll start thinking they need to be held to the same level of responsibility as I am when I operate an inherently dangerous motor vehicle.
Also, there certain places that are just not safe to ride, period. I’m saying this as a cyclist.
A good example is Glenmore Road, which spans from Kelowna to Lake Country. There’s a good chunk of it that does not have a bike lane, the speed limit is 80km per hour, it’s one of 2 main arteries between Kelowna and lake country so it’s very busy.
I get why cyclists like it, it’s long and scenic and fun. I rode it once years ago and no… never again. It’s so damn dangerous for riders, and frankly, cycling that road is so incredibly irresponsible and selfish.
So I agree, there needs to be an expectation for responsibility from cyclists as well. Not just how they ride, but also where they ride. If they can’t make responsible decisions, bans need to be imposed.
That or the single cyclists that ride on the white dividing line and not fully in the bike lane. There should also be a requirement that if there’s no shoulder you must maintain a certain speed. You see far too often where bikes are lightly pedaling and holding up traffic because there’s either too much oncoming traffic or it’s a curvy road where a driver can’t safely pass while giving the cyclist room.
Can someone help me understand protocol for the sea to sky highway? I don't think 1.5 meters is possible without crossing the yellow line. Are we to not pass bikes on the sea to sky highway?
As part of these changes they now allow crossing the centre line in order to pass a vulnerable road user (when safe to do so):
>[If it is safe to do so, you can cross over a single or double yellow centre line to provide a vulnerable road user as much space as possible when passing.](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable)
They also updated the law for crossing the centre line when safe in order to pass a vulnerable road user:
>[If it is safe to do so, you can cross over a single or double yellow centre line to provide a vulnerable road user as much space as possible when passing.](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable)
The same risks as for passing a car don't exist since this case since you need to spend much less time over the centre.
Without any enforcement no changes like this, or speed limit reductions, will make any difference whatsoever except maybe a ticket after the fact, while my corpse is being pulled out of the roadside ditch.
Laws aren't just there to strong-arm people or punish people. They're also there so that everyone's on the same page about what the minimum acceptable standards are. Even if most people might have an idea on what is common sense, that idea is going to vary from person to person, this just gives a guideline for everyone to consistently follow.
This update also fixes a gap in the previous laws, where it was technically not legal to leave space by crossing the centre line in some scenarios. Now it's explicitly allowed to cross the centre line to pass a cyclist as long as it can be done safely.
I hear you, it's just been really frustrating riding lately. No matter how safe I try to be, running lights and radar and being aware of surroundings I still have so many close or punish passes, coal rolls, etc. I get that there are just people that are dicks or inconsiderate, and that applies to ALL road users, I would just love to see more enforcement that matters.
Thanks for the extra context, I appreciate learning!
I just finished the Oliver Half Iron and there was a stretch of the race course where you are riding on a shoulder of the highway that's a decent width (a little over 1m wide) I was passed by a dump truck with a trailer and all this tires were on the white line. He made it his f-ing goal to get as close to me as possible and go as fast as he could. I hate those kinds of drivers. If I cross that line, that's my own stupidity, but i always follow the rules and stop at lights, and I still see assholes like this thinking they own the road.
It’s sometimes impossible, this is what’s frustrating. I’ve had to drive behind a massive group of cyclists for over 2km before because it was a one lane (each direction) road with lots of twists and turns and the cyclists were taking up the entire lane while out for their leisurely ride.
As long as the cyclists being single file is also a rule, I’m plenty ok giving them their 1m+ of space
More comfortable than trying to find a moment to pass and taking said risk on windy road. I’m sorry, but going 40km/h for the 20km it takes to get to work is frustrating.
If it’s one lane and twisty then you should be using the other lane to pass safely. By riding in a bunch they actually made it easier for you to pass safely versus being in a long line single file.
Let’s say the cyclists were doing 20km/h, so 2km would have taken 6 minutes. Versus 2.5 minutes if you were doing 50km/h. Is 3.5 minutes really that important to you that you’d risk someone’s life? If so stop wasting your time on Reddit
If the cyclists were single file and taking up half the lane you would feel comfortable crossing the double yellow around the blind curve? What happens if you see a car coming the other way, do you drive into it head on? Or do you swerve back to the right?
So why does it matter if they're taking up a whole lane or a half lane, you can't pass them without crossing the centerline in either case. But with them two abreast the passing distance is halved if and when you get a passing opportunity.
So does that mean that they will follow the rules of the road like stops signs red lights and ride single fill on narrow roads so other users can pass safely.
Do you understand what the word vulnerable means? Like are you going to run over a child on a bike and feel cool about it if the child wasn’t following the road rules? People driving 5000 pound killing machines hold the responsibility for keeping vulnerable road users safe. If that’s too much for drivers to handle, then they don’t possess the maturity to handle such a great responsibility.
“Share the road” goes both ways but cyclists in Vancouver are the worst I’ve ever seen for this. Cyclists in Victoria are far better but their infrastructure also supports it much better.
Of course not. Laws don't apply to bicycles lol. Just yesterday one blasted through a stop sign right in front of me at full speed. I didn't have a stop sign so by sheer luck that guy lives to die another day.
Even San Francisco charges cyclists who harm or [kill](https://www.kqed.org/news/90884/san-francisco-bicyclist-must-be-tried-for-manslaughter) other road users.
Everybody is expected to follow the rules of the road, no exceptions.
Honestly if you think drivers don’t run lights or stop signs or pass on double yellow, or brush my elbow when I’m on my bike in the shoulder, on the regular, then you are probably not a very vigilant road user. More likely you have normalized the extreme danger of driving on our streets and the lack of care that road users operate their vehicles with regularly, because you depend so heavily on your vehicle for your day to day life that it’s too inconvenient to accept. Once you get out of your car and onto a bike it all makes a lot more sense.
Exactly! Right turn on red when it’s prohibited is so common, and the signs saying not to are so clear. And there’s some intersections, especially on side roads where cars super regularly run stop signs and don’t look at the road with right of way before going. And speeding a chronic issue, like on 12th or broadway, I never see anyone going under 70. Also drivers speeding tailgating like crazy when they don’t think the person in front of them is speeding aggressively enough.
It’s so easy to ignore cause it’s just so common that cars do these things, it just becomes the norm. But when a small percent of cyclist break the rules, and when they break the rules they are mostly putting their own life at risk.
It’s like saying people who kill themselves are worse than murderers. Just doesn’t make sense.
I've seen a huge decrease in drivers complying with the MVA in the last couple of years. HOV lanes are treated as a joke. Texting and driving is common. Red lights are only a suggestion.
There is virtually zero enforcement of the rules of the road. Like you say, this is a great idea, but cyclists are still going to be mangled by drivers, distracted and otherwise, that don't follow the new regulations.
Go stand in a parking lot and ask your buddy to drive past you at 50 with 1m gap. Do it again at 80 with 1.5m. Now go change your underwear.
This is a stupid rule.
First off bicycles should not be allowed on roads with 80kph speed limits. Most highways have signs posted stating slow moving vehicles are prohibited.
You don't need a degree in physics to know that your vector addition needs work.
Cyclists legally have to ride on the same side of the road that cars are driving. If you're doing 20-30 km/h then you subtract that from whatever velocity the cars are driving at.
Do you feel ok if a car passes you in a parking lot at 20 km/h? That's slower than we expect cars to drive in school and playground zones.
You're really just making shit up here, but it's nice that you get a chance to show people you took high school math, I guess?
a) Nobody obeys the speed limit, especially when they're passing cyclists. A more realistic scenario is drivers passing cycists on roads with no shoulders at 80-90km/h when the posted limit is 50km/h. You might ask: why would anyone care about this law, when people flagrantly violate even more important laws? Good question!
b) The strength of a vehicle-generated pressure wave (wind side-load) is non-linearly proportional to the size of a vehicle and its velocity. Mere proximity isn't the biggest problem here. I'd ask you to apply your significant vector-addition skills to that problem, but plenty of real scientists already have.
Will they then enforce the use of bike lanes when available, they ride down my street taking up the entire lane where theirs a bike lane 10’ away that is dedicated to their use and beside that another 8 is a pedestrian walk way
Idk where you live, or who the people are that are not using that bike lane, but there's no situation where I'd prefer to ride on the street when there's a bike lane available. Usually I only do that if I need to make a left turn up ahead or something like that, or if I'm unfamiliar with the area and it isn't signed very well.
There are myriad reasons someone on a bike won't use a bike lane. Debris, poor connectivity, bumpy, construction, bad sight lines at intersections, too many pedestrians wandering into it, pot holes and drains, nearby infrastructure causing strobing or other effects (like bridge rails), too narrow to easily pass someone, merges with an upcoming automobile lane in a dangerous manner, etc.
This boggles my mind. I am traveling in eastern Europe right now - they paint their bike lanes onto the sidewalk. It seems like a no-brainer. The sidewalks are already raised which keeps them separated from cars and pedestrians stay out of the painted section. At worst, you have a bike v pedestrian accident, but that is miles better than v car or truck. In some places they widen the sidewalk and in others they have very clear "vehicle thru roads" and in others completely car-free where shops can setup patios.
It is like we picked the most dangerous, ineffective and frustrating solution and just can't change gears.
the most annoying argument i hear "Its called a sidewalk, its for walking" so riding your bike down a busy road is better? shared path sidewalks make by far the most sense
I mean, if it’s a regular sized sidewalk, then no, I don’t want a bike coming up behind me yelling “coming up behind”, expecting me to move over with my rollator basically into the shrubbery so they can whiz by….
If they can build bike lanes raised and still give pedestrians their own safe place to walk, then yes. We have that on a road here in Kelowna (Abbott), it’s sidewalk - grass strip - bike lane - step down to roadway.
i live in a town where they are changing all the sidewalks into shared pathways, and it is just so much more inviting as a biker and as a driver i dont need to worry about bikers/kids with escooters flying around me
That’s why I wish our town would put more of the raised bike paths. I really would prefer they’re separated by a couple of feet from the pedestrian sidewalks like they are on the one street I described, because as a disabled person, I can’t jump out of the way quickly when a rider comes up behind me.
This is a picture from Google street view of the street I’m talking about. It’s such an enjoyable walk, and cyclists have a safe, dedicated space.
https://preview.redd.it/3gyoxo2s7k4d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c8f57afe1c40d5aa31347647090c8dd95d27e2
Victoria did this job pretty well. We have bike lanes on almost all major roads. It’s not perfect but I probably share the road with a cyclist for like three times a month.
The problem is just the North American communities are way too reliant on the car-centered design. It’s not that hard to give cyclists half a sidewalk of a space. Victoria proved that.
Put a spiny jersey barrier between cars and non-pomv users that'll total the car if they're too shit to operate it safely. Its very simple to keep the car between the lines and avoid animals whether they move on four or two legs/wheels ab3d any failure to do so ought to bear negative consequences.
I’m not a biker but I cannot believe people don’t give these people space. I always try to stay as far away as I can while staying in my lane of course. I’m way too scared to bike beside cars. We should all remember we are driving death machines.
It's kind of a lazy, pointless law. Not enforceable. Need to do what montreal does, which is turn side streets into one-way, no turning left on red and biking roads have 4 way stops at every intersection
This can be pretty stupid in a lot of cases too. I have a truck that's 2.4m wide and a standard lane is 3m wide. This means I can't pass a bicycle unless it's a passing lane... good luck getting anywhere when stuck behind that vehicle cause I'm not the only one.
Cool beans. Since I live on the Saanich Peninsula this driving law can be conveniently ignored just like all the traffic laws as enforcement is an absolute joke.
I don’t think it is a practical rule. How much is half a metre? If I’m passing someone cycling in a bike lane, do I need to move into the other lane?
It’s very clear and intuitive to me that when there’s no bike lane and there’s a cyclist, I’m going to have to slow down and wait for a gap in oncoming traffic in order to pass. Do we now have to do that to pass a cyclist in a bike lane?
I'm guilty of doing this in New West and Burnaby and it's usually because the bike lane is full of small stones, broken bits of glass and other debris.
You mean like the drivers who have a freeway but still choose to drive in the city. Bike lanes don’t always go where you’re heading and are sometimes difficult to enter or exit, or slower than on the road
everyone who uses the road should also need a license and insurance. How is it fair someone can rip next to me on an e scooter going +30kmh and they dont follow the rules of the road. all road users should be accountable
>on roads with protected bike lanes or sidewalks, a half-metre passing distance is required
Are they implying I should ride my bike on the sidewalk if I want to be safe?
This is about 'vulnerable road users' (cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and people using e-scooters, electric wheelchairs or mobility scooters), not just cyclists.
The rules apply to various types of [vulnerable road users](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable#who), including pedestrians, not just cyclists.
Unless we're talking about highways, then no, it's always legal to ride on the road and cyclists have just as much of a right to use it as motorists. Biking on the sidewalk just puts pedestrians at risk and makes biking pointlessly slow.
How is this being advertised? YouTube ads?
I am seeing this because I’m subscribed to this subreddit, but most people aren’t going to see this or go to a government news site for info.
My in laws live on the back roads that these cyclists use every weekend. The road has no shoulder and is super dangerous, yet there they are every weekend riding and not giving a shit about anyone else. Not a fan of these pretentious people
LOL wait,
Cyclists use roads to travel around,
And that makes it dangerous?
Or do you mean the cars are dangerous, and dont’ give a shit?
Sorry but the pretentious people are the ones who think folks don’t have a right to freedom or movement unless they’re in a ten thousand plus dollar insured and licences and registered metal box they pay oil and gas companies for the right to drive.
Enjoy your cage! Some of us don’t need seven different kinds of control over our liberties.
I’m talking about recreational cyclists that take up the rural back roads which is extremely dangerous for them. There is no shoulder and they ride on the road and the only way to get around as a car is to cut across the line risking collision a with oncoming traffic. It’s a bad road, that’s it. Ride somewhere else that doesn’t risk both parties. They don’t because they think they are better than everyone with no regard for actual cars biking on roads they have no business riding on.
Never mentioned anything about restricting freedom of movement, never talked about the right to drive but appreciate you taking to a really weird place. Sounds like you have some other political issues that you need to debate with someone in a political channel.
Thanks for the reply.
so they are going to be handing out fines to the cyclists right? Just check out the picture on this thread there are 4 cyclists abreast already eating into 1 m of the lane in a no pass zone when all 4 should on the paved shoulder.
Cyclists can’t always ride on the shoulder, there is debris and sometimes it’s unsafe. Cyclists are much safer riding abreast because cars are less likely to not see them or to drive dangerously around them. Hope that helps!
I prefer passive measures like infrastructure which will provide more certainty here. I don’t trust motorists generally. One of the first rules of defensive cycling and driving is to mitigate for the decision making of others influencing your fate.
I commute on a road that has a designated separate bike path. It's a concrete path entirely detached from the main road, about 2m of grass in between the road and bike lane. Yet most mornings I see the same cyclist riding about a half meter onto the main road. When traffic is coming the other way I have no room to pass him. Who is at fault when i inevitably pass him? It's already a fairly narrow road for how busy it is, hence why they built the entirely detached bike lane. Am I just expected to drive 30 below the speed limit for the next 2km, or is this guy going to be vulnerable to a ticket too?
Lucky for them, I still have Mr. F150 a half meter behind me with his lights in my rear window while we are doing 110 in the right lane.
Maybe enforce some of the traffic laws we already have before coming up with new ones
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The people who will follow this rule are the people already passing with 1m+ of space. It's a step in the right direction but without enforcement it doesn't change behaviour.
Often driving in Kelowna I can’t get people to give my bumper 1M of space. I’m glad for new protections as well but as we have seen it’s up to the “choice” of enforcement which, looks bleak.
Isn't that the truth! I'm learning to drive at 48. Combination of wonky eyeglass prescription which I was finally able to get fixed last year with Laser eye surgery, and anxiety - which I'm working on, kept me from driving for many years. Sunday morning I went out to practice, I was going just under the speed limit on a bit of a windy road and this jackass came up behind me tailgating and honking at me trying to get me to go faster. It is relevant to the conversation because there was also a cyclist on the road who I was coming up on along with oncoming traffic. I'm still learning the spatial relationships of car, center line, cyclist etc. No way in hell I was going faster just for them. As soon as I could I pulled off to let them pass, they zoomed by revving the engine. It was "special" Also I did have the "L" prominently on the back of the car too so they had no excuse for not knowing.
[удалено]
You know what I actually witnessed a man in a Yukon SUV tailgating a small car with a learners “L” on it. This was not you but was in a 30kmh zone. Well all 3 of us ended up in the parking lot. I calmly called the guy out saying basically that the learner already is very nervous and that it’s also 30 because of the high pedestrian count. He didn’t like that at all. Went into a rage about how they were going 25km so somehow it’s justified…? I actually had to get back in my car and call the rcmp because homie went ballistic and wanted me to fight him lol. I was with my kid lol. Either way I’m too old for that type of shit I’ll just call it in. It’s unsafe. Good on you for simply pulling over.
I remember driving to Kelowna. We shared the road with a large semi truck in front of us, but in the next lane over. This was a two lane road out in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple cars in front of us in our lane also. This other car (small convertible) comes in from behind at high speeds and goes behind the truck. There is no way to pass because of the cars in front of me. Does he stay at a healthy distance behind the truck, until he is able to pass? NOPE. He tailgates this truck probably having less than a foot of space in between him and the SEMI. Semi truck didn’t move over fast enough for him (cars were to his right) and the convertible guy stayed like that for a few minutes. He was so close to the truck, I don’t even think the truck driver could see him back there. One small brake and that guy would’ve been a goner. Tailgating is stupid already, but who does that to a vehicle that could annihilate your car and you within it? What an idiot.
Yeah I’ve always left a minimum of 1m space just to be respectful + safe. I’ve been on thin backroads before tho where that’s not possible, like roads where there’s not even a bike lane, so I’ll wait for oncoming traffic to clear then safely pass the cyclists, and I’ve been honked at and flipped off by drivers behind me lol. It might take some time for the assholes on the road to get on board unfortunately.
Thanks for doing this, it really ought to be the standard way to pass. Is risking the life of another really worth saving like 20 seconds in a vehicle?
Of course! & I agree. Honestly I’d be embarrassed to not do it, putting the safety aspect aside for a moment I also find it rude to not give sufficient room, like it’s just a courtesy thing too. I grew up in a small town and for the most part it seems most people do it, but sadly there’s always a handful that don’t. I do the same for pedestrians that are walking in the bike lanes (there’s not really separate sidewalks in many places here, so they’re kinda forced to walk in the bike lanes). Same with folks riding their horses, I’ll wait to safely go into the oncoming lane so I’m not even partially in their lane because I don’t want to scare the horse and have them kick their rider off. A lot of new people have been moving to the area though and I’ve noticed an uptick in aggressive driving behaviour, just makes me shake my head. Edit- being downvoted by those who are triggered by people leaving room for cyclists/pedestrians/horses, just guessing? 😂
The assholes will never get on board. They still arent even on board with speed limits in general
Yes, but at least this makes enforcement possible, with financial incentives for doing so. So it’s not just an empty gesture. Municipalities get back money from traffic fines, so people who don’t care about enforcing cycling safety for the sake of the cyclists may be more persuaded to encourage ticketing for the sake of the budget.
I imagine this will be enforced with the same consistency as stop signs.
Do we even HAVE traffic enforcement in BC? I can think of maybe twice in the last ten years I’ve seen anyone pulled over.
thats wild. i'd say most days when I drive from duncan to victoria someone is getting pulled over. And it's never the guy I saw doing forty over the speed limit ;)
Oh yes, there def is. I know for a fact because I work in admin for one of the Lower Mainland's police forces, and I process tickets. The problem is that all police forces, municipal and RCMP, are understaffed and underfunded. They do the best they can with the resources they have. The best thing you can do is, when you witness traffic violations, report it to the police. Whether they are able to get there and do anything is a different story, but in this case it's not the result that matters, but the report. Police agency funding is directly related to the number of police files the agency has. The more calls, the more police. It is that simple. The more police, the better the enforcement. The problem is that people don't call the police, because they think there isn't anything they can do. So many crimes go unreported, it compounds the problem of inadequate police staffing. So, please, if you see or are a victim of a crime, please report it to the police. If you see something suspicious, please report it to the police. If you think there isn't anything the police can do, please report it anyways. Making that report may mean next time there will be enough officers to deter the offence before it happens.
There are RCMP speed traps in our area - same thing?
Isn't it interesting how we feel about things often affects our beliefs. Around a half million tickets are issued yearly in BC. This stat includes littering so the number is not only for traffic tickets, but traffic tickets are the majority of tickets.
Cyclist can now record close calls on action cameras and report close calls to police. That fact alone will change behaviour on time.
There's the close call database online that these videos would be good to upload to.
However at least now I can record this on my helmet cam and if someone is acting dangerous I can report it.
The people who are going to drive dangerously aren’t going to change their habits because of this rule. More laws is not a great solution. Teaching safe road behaviour around bikers while in driving school would be a good start. Also having dedicated bike lanes would be a good idea. No need for superfluous laws if you build the infrastructure properly. Especially since people crashing into bikes are likely not going to change their habits even despite the fact it was already illegal to run people over
I’d say the roads around Vancouver are really narrow. When driving in UsA , much more wide. Not sure how it is other parts in Canada tho
Yes, Vancouver has mostly sub standard lanes. Most of them barely fit a commercial vehicle.
Yeah and blowing through a red light is illegal but I see it happening several times a day in Vancouver. People driving these days are too distracted, tired, dumb, and rushed.
I see people blowing through reds everyday as well….. multiple times EVERYDAY!!!! I no longer step out on the road until cars come to a complete stop on both sides
Lol you shouldn't be stepping out in front of a moving car regardless of what you've seen.
lol! Sage advice, thanks 👍
I see people treat red lights like a stop sign at least monthly. It just is now. Like mid block u-turns.
lol I just saw one this morning while people are crossing the road too. Nobody was injured, but it’s so stupid.
Yeah, hate when cyclists do this. Not even distracted, just entitled.
Same in Victoria. Without enforcement, it means squat.
Really wish people would just like, do shit because it's a good idea. this entire thread so far is pointing out that there is 'no enforcement' or 'this won't change anything', I'm not saying they're wrong...they're not. I just really hope humanity gets to a place where there doesn't need to be the threat of getting police brutality'd before a small change in behavior can happen on a meaningful scale
I'm glad there's someone else out there that thinks like this. It's amazing how law enforcement has to strong-arm citizens with threats into doing things that should just genuinely be considerate, safe, common sense things to do.
Maybe common sense to a born and bred Canadian, but not common sense to immigrants and visitors who come from countries without traffic signals, let alone bikes lanes or laws. There needs to be a rulebook so everyone understands the expectation. Hence the law and the police.
There's no excuse to drive like a complete asshole. The expectation is to drive courteously. While the provinces and territories are decidedly different in their paths to a full drivers license, they all have some form of written exam, physical driving exam, access to driving school, and tons of literature on driving regulations and law. Theres a plethora of available help to learn how to drive and educate yourself on the rules of the road. In fact, it's expected if you're to get a full and complete drivers license. Once you are on the road, choosing to forget all of that and drive like an idiot in direct disregard of all that learning is where the police should step in. The laws should reinforce the learning, not provide it. Coming from other countries doesn't excuse you. Pretty sure it's not legal to sideswipe pedestrians and cyclists in any country. If the police have to be the ones to tell you that it's not ok to drive within inches of pedestrians, you probably shouldn't have a driver's license.
It would be nice but, you vastly underestimate how many greedy, self-centered, shitty human beings there are on the planet, who don't care about anything further than they can throw a rock. It's a good portion of society.
Does it allow reporting via bike or traffic cameras? In the UK you're allowed to report like that.
This would become my new favourite hobby if it were the case. I think tickets need to be written in person by an officer in BC, though.
We can make reports via dashcam, but if charges are pressed you have to go to court to validate the footage and most people don't want to do that for pettiness
as a cyclist that is done with this punishment pass bullshit, I'll be there with the footage, with distance calibration footage to back it up.
Common sense is not so common anymore
BC is going backwards, or maybe it's because I moved to a smaller city. 3 people turning left on a yellow, no thank you when you hold the door for somebody, keeping things that other people drop. We are going in the wrong direction.
Too many of us are upset and have bought into the US right wing narrative that progressives are destroying the country. They react by trying to be more like Americans.
Truth be told, when I saw the article header I thought it was going to be some significant amount of space. I can't imagine passing a cyclist within a meter of clearance anyway. I am curious how they would enforce this law. Watching down the road to see if someone is 90 cm vs 110 cm away from a bike doesn't seem possible, or at least without full evidence would be able to be taken to court. Video evidence would only really be possible for people that are within like .5 m of someone and I would like to think that this would be punished today. Additionally, if a car is passing at 1.5 m away from a cyclist and is staying a straight line and the cyclist needs to veer around a grate or something as the car is passing, how would that be judged by this law? I guess this law doesn't take into account bikes passing by cars? With the increased use of electric bikes, some of those bikes, in bike lanes end up passing close by cars that are going slower than the bike can go in a bike lane? For that matter does this new law affect electric bikes (so a bike with a motor) passing other bikes? So many questions on this, hopefully we will see some sort of campaign that explains it all in detail soon.
This gives an additional enforcement tool if contact is made. It's also similar with what various other regions do. Edit: to your questions, [this is the law](https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debates-proceedings/42nd-parliament/4th-session/bills/first-reading/gov23-1). The requirement applies to ["motor vehicles"](https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96318_01#section1) so does not apply to bicycles or motor assisted bicycles. Your question about a bicycle swerving is a more general question. It's not explicitly covered in this law but would be a relevant question even without this law. What happens if a bicycle swerves in front of you and you hit them? It would just depend on the situation. Should the cyclist have anticipate the pass and slowed down instead? Was the obstruction obvious and something the driver should have also seen and anticipated by taking due care when passing?
Ah good point.
I also tried to answer your other questions, but might have edited after you read my reply. One of them (a bike veering) doesn't have a straightforward answer as far as I know and would likely depend on evaluating the specific scenario.
I appreciate the edits. All good points to consider.
183(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act says, "...a person operating a cycle on a highway has the same rights and duties as a driver of a vehicle." You must give a cyclist 1m space when passing on a bicycle.
This new section, 157.1, applies specifically to a "motor vehicle" not just a vehicle. Bicycles don't have the same duties as motor vehicles, just vehicles.
Nice gesture but it will never be enforced. How can a cop say with any certainty that a vehicle was less than a meter away from a cyclist? They can't and any ticket will be disputed and thrown out. Here's a thought, start cracking down on speeding. Take trucks with wheels that extent past the wheel wells off the road. Make the minimum passing distance two meters and make bike lanes wider. I ride all the time in Kelowna and every time I ride, I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands. The worst people are pickup drivers - they seem to really resent people on bikes. I honestly wonder what cops do these days. Every time I drive or ride my bike I see multiple speeders and people looking at their cellphones yet I never see a vehicle get pulled over. Cops must be seeing this too, especially ones in unmarked cars but they don't do anything about it. No wonder people make their own rules because the chances of actually getting ticketed are slim to none. Once again our govt does something to make look like they are doing something but in the end it is completely meaningless.
Wheel spaced trucks should be sent straight to the crusher. Do I like how they look, sure. Do I like replacing my windshield at minimum once a year because of them, nope, not one bit.
As a cyclist and pedestrian, I know that rather than bouncing off the side of a truck should I get hit, those wheels are going roll right over me. Once again, I see those vehicles, the cops must see them but they obviously aren't taking them off the road. I even see them advertised for sale.
I worked at a dealership that they did up like that. It drove like absolute trash. Great way to ruin a truck.
In other words, pass when safe to do so. Why do people need new laws for this?
Because near misses used to be okay and the threshold for enforcement was contact with the vulnerable user.
Possibly to make it easier to apply penalties to drivers who injure someone as a result of not leaving enough room.
When are they going to make fines based on a percentage of income rather than arbitrary numbers? You want people to drive and act better? Hit them with equitable fines.
This is a good for roads with no shoulder. But as a cyclist who rides on a highway with a 1m shoulder. I prefer when vehicles just continue in their lane. Especially in shoulder seasons when the centerline is usually full of sand and small pebbles which get picked up in tires. I worry way more about being hit with rocks then being hit by cars or trucks.
As a pedestrian I appreciate this. A guy making a right hand turn almost ran over my toes in a marked crosswalk.
Can we do something about eScooters and eBikes on sidewalks. Nearly everyday I almost get hit from one flying past from behind while I'm walking.
There's been some new legislation on ebikes, but I'm not sure it addresses that specific gripe, which is probably already converted by the MVA.
I refuse to use Uber eats or skip the dishes, haha Those guys are a menace. But they’re getting incentivized for it.
I love that the picture on this article has cyclists riding three abreast. I have no problem with the law changing to protect cyclists, but if drivers are going to have their feet held to the fire, then cyclists should too for riding like this. I dealt with this regularly 25 years ago on Marine Dr heading to UBC. No way to pass due to oncoming traffic, and cyclists riding abreast not leaving enough room to pass safely. I had a water bottle thrown at me for tooting my horn asking them to move over onto the shoulder.
I don't know about marine drive, but it's important to remember that the shoulder is often filled with debris that makes unsafe to cycle in.
Debris wasn't a problem there. And it's not an excuse for riding two abreast.
One of the things that makes cyclists so unpopular in BC (in real life, not reddit) is the complete lack of responsibility for their actions. If we were creating a framework, we'd have to start training, licensing and insuring bicycle riders that plan to use vehicle infrastructure. But the entitled positions and excuses just start flying whenever that gets brought up.
The problem is your assuming that this public space is "vehicle infrastructure" when it is actually multipurpose public infrastructure. Our road design and laws have forced cyclists to share road space with motor vehicles, so it's pretty stupid to get mad at them about that. That's a choice that we, the driving public, made. We built sidewalks in most places and have space for bicycle infrastructure of we want to build it. Build proper separated infrastructure for cyclists and like 80% of them will be out of your way within a few months. The remainder will be experienced vehicular cyclists capable of keeping pace and following road rules. Also lack of responsibility lol. Show me the significant incidence of injury, death, and property damage caused by cyclists and I'll start thinking they need to be held to the same level of responsibility as I am when I operate an inherently dangerous motor vehicle.
When a cyclists kill a driver, I’m sure we’ll all hold them accountable.
Also, there certain places that are just not safe to ride, period. I’m saying this as a cyclist. A good example is Glenmore Road, which spans from Kelowna to Lake Country. There’s a good chunk of it that does not have a bike lane, the speed limit is 80km per hour, it’s one of 2 main arteries between Kelowna and lake country so it’s very busy. I get why cyclists like it, it’s long and scenic and fun. I rode it once years ago and no… never again. It’s so damn dangerous for riders, and frankly, cycling that road is so incredibly irresponsible and selfish. So I agree, there needs to be an expectation for responsibility from cyclists as well. Not just how they ride, but also where they ride. If they can’t make responsible decisions, bans need to be imposed.
Glenmore is planned to get some significant upgrades, including a separated 2 way bike lane. It won't happen quickly but it is coming.
That or the single cyclists that ride on the white dividing line and not fully in the bike lane. There should also be a requirement that if there’s no shoulder you must maintain a certain speed. You see far too often where bikes are lightly pedaling and holding up traffic because there’s either too much oncoming traffic or it’s a curvy road where a driver can’t safely pass while giving the cyclist room.
Sometimes I wonder if cyclists feel bad about holding up traffic.
Cyclists ARE traffic!
Can someone help me understand protocol for the sea to sky highway? I don't think 1.5 meters is possible without crossing the yellow line. Are we to not pass bikes on the sea to sky highway?
As part of these changes they now allow crossing the centre line in order to pass a vulnerable road user (when safe to do so): >[If it is safe to do so, you can cross over a single or double yellow centre line to provide a vulnerable road user as much space as possible when passing.](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable)
You pass when safe to do so. If you’re in that section where there’s no shoulder and it’s twisty, you follow the bicycle, and pass when safe to do so.
Then you cross the yellow line or wait for it to be safe
Crossing the yellow line is illegal, no? (And unsafe)
They also updated the law for crossing the centre line when safe in order to pass a vulnerable road user: >[If it is safe to do so, you can cross over a single or double yellow centre line to provide a vulnerable road user as much space as possible when passing.](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable) The same risks as for passing a car don't exist since this case since you need to spend much less time over the centre.
Without any enforcement no changes like this, or speed limit reductions, will make any difference whatsoever except maybe a ticket after the fact, while my corpse is being pulled out of the roadside ditch.
Laws aren't just there to strong-arm people or punish people. They're also there so that everyone's on the same page about what the minimum acceptable standards are. Even if most people might have an idea on what is common sense, that idea is going to vary from person to person, this just gives a guideline for everyone to consistently follow. This update also fixes a gap in the previous laws, where it was technically not legal to leave space by crossing the centre line in some scenarios. Now it's explicitly allowed to cross the centre line to pass a cyclist as long as it can be done safely.
I hear you, it's just been really frustrating riding lately. No matter how safe I try to be, running lights and radar and being aware of surroundings I still have so many close or punish passes, coal rolls, etc. I get that there are just people that are dicks or inconsiderate, and that applies to ALL road users, I would just love to see more enforcement that matters. Thanks for the extra context, I appreciate learning!
I just finished the Oliver Half Iron and there was a stretch of the race course where you are riding on a shoulder of the highway that's a decent width (a little over 1m wide) I was passed by a dump truck with a trailer and all this tires were on the white line. He made it his f-ing goal to get as close to me as possible and go as fast as he could. I hate those kinds of drivers. If I cross that line, that's my own stupidity, but i always follow the rules and stop at lights, and I still see assholes like this thinking they own the road.
That’s why cyclists ride abreast, you could have been killed!
It’s sometimes impossible, this is what’s frustrating. I’ve had to drive behind a massive group of cyclists for over 2km before because it was a one lane (each direction) road with lots of twists and turns and the cyclists were taking up the entire lane while out for their leisurely ride. As long as the cyclists being single file is also a rule, I’m plenty ok giving them their 1m+ of space
If the cyclists were to go single file. Would you feel comfortable passing 100?m of cyclists on a windy road. I certainly wouldn't be.
More comfortable than trying to find a moment to pass and taking said risk on windy road. I’m sorry, but going 40km/h for the 20km it takes to get to work is frustrating.
So you just wait and pass when safe to do so. I probably haven’t ridden a bicycle in over a decade, but this isn’t rocket science.
If it’s one lane and twisty then you should be using the other lane to pass safely. By riding in a bunch they actually made it easier for you to pass safely versus being in a long line single file. Let’s say the cyclists were doing 20km/h, so 2km would have taken 6 minutes. Versus 2.5 minutes if you were doing 50km/h. Is 3.5 minutes really that important to you that you’d risk someone’s life? If so stop wasting your time on Reddit
So you should cross the double solid into a blind curve to pass safely? Is that what your first sentence is implying?
If the cyclists were single file and taking up half the lane you would feel comfortable crossing the double yellow around the blind curve? What happens if you see a car coming the other way, do you drive into it head on? Or do you swerve back to the right?
You don’t pass in the first place if you can’t guarantee it’s safe to do so.
So why does it matter if they're taking up a whole lane or a half lane, you can't pass them without crossing the centerline in either case. But with them two abreast the passing distance is halved if and when you get a passing opportunity.
So does that mean that they will follow the rules of the road like stops signs red lights and ride single fill on narrow roads so other users can pass safely.
> like stop signs That's not a cyclist problem. That's a Canada problem.
Do you understand what the word vulnerable means? Like are you going to run over a child on a bike and feel cool about it if the child wasn’t following the road rules? People driving 5000 pound killing machines hold the responsibility for keeping vulnerable road users safe. If that’s too much for drivers to handle, then they don’t possess the maturity to handle such a great responsibility.
“Share the road” goes both ways but cyclists in Vancouver are the worst I’ve ever seen for this. Cyclists in Victoria are far better but their infrastructure also supports it much better.
> Cyclists in Victoria are far better There's a ton of ignoring stop signs and red lights over here.
If you watch cars most of them don't stop and stop signs either. its not a bike issues its a people issue.
Of course not. Laws don't apply to bicycles lol. Just yesterday one blasted through a stop sign right in front of me at full speed. I didn't have a stop sign so by sheer luck that guy lives to die another day.
Even San Francisco charges cyclists who harm or [kill](https://www.kqed.org/news/90884/san-francisco-bicyclist-must-be-tried-for-manslaughter) other road users. Everybody is expected to follow the rules of the road, no exceptions.
what is "confirmation bias"
Does that also mean you will do all of what you mentioned? If you say you already do, you are a liar.
Sorry - are you suggesting it's not the norm for vehicle drivers to stop at stop signs or red lights, or to travel single-file on two-lane roads?
How about follow speed limits?
Yeah, drivers constantly break the rules, are you seriously ignorant of that?
Honestly if you think drivers don’t run lights or stop signs or pass on double yellow, or brush my elbow when I’m on my bike in the shoulder, on the regular, then you are probably not a very vigilant road user. More likely you have normalized the extreme danger of driving on our streets and the lack of care that road users operate their vehicles with regularly, because you depend so heavily on your vehicle for your day to day life that it’s too inconvenient to accept. Once you get out of your car and onto a bike it all makes a lot more sense.
Exactly! Right turn on red when it’s prohibited is so common, and the signs saying not to are so clear. And there’s some intersections, especially on side roads where cars super regularly run stop signs and don’t look at the road with right of way before going. And speeding a chronic issue, like on 12th or broadway, I never see anyone going under 70. Also drivers speeding tailgating like crazy when they don’t think the person in front of them is speeding aggressively enough. It’s so easy to ignore cause it’s just so common that cars do these things, it just becomes the norm. But when a small percent of cyclist break the rules, and when they break the rules they are mostly putting their own life at risk. It’s like saying people who kill themselves are worse than murderers. Just doesn’t make sense.
People (including some who've apparently blocked me) have jumped to an erroneous conclusion based on a question. Weird!
If they are side by side riding in the road and not the bike lane they can go fuck themselves.
I just drove to grande Prairie to Williams lake and back and saw zero police. Nobody getting tickets anywhere I guess.
About freaking time
I am afraid, this is yet another regulation which is amazing if it could be enforced, otherwise, its just another PR !
I've seen a huge decrease in drivers complying with the MVA in the last couple of years. HOV lanes are treated as a joke. Texting and driving is common. Red lights are only a suggestion. There is virtually zero enforcement of the rules of the road. Like you say, this is a great idea, but cyclists are still going to be mangled by drivers, distracted and otherwise, that don't follow the new regulations.
Go stand in a parking lot and ask your buddy to drive past you at 50 with 1m gap. Do it again at 80 with 1.5m. Now go change your underwear. This is a stupid rule.
First off bicycles should not be allowed on roads with 80kph speed limits. Most highways have signs posted stating slow moving vehicles are prohibited.
you are mixing up highways and freeways.
No problem, let's take a lane away on the 80kph roads for a protected bike lane if you don't want to play nice and get along.
You don't need a degree in physics to know that your vector addition needs work. Cyclists legally have to ride on the same side of the road that cars are driving. If you're doing 20-30 km/h then you subtract that from whatever velocity the cars are driving at. Do you feel ok if a car passes you in a parking lot at 20 km/h? That's slower than we expect cars to drive in school and playground zones.
You're really just making shit up here, but it's nice that you get a chance to show people you took high school math, I guess? a) Nobody obeys the speed limit, especially when they're passing cyclists. A more realistic scenario is drivers passing cycists on roads with no shoulders at 80-90km/h when the posted limit is 50km/h. You might ask: why would anyone care about this law, when people flagrantly violate even more important laws? Good question! b) The strength of a vehicle-generated pressure wave (wind side-load) is non-linearly proportional to the size of a vehicle and its velocity. Mere proximity isn't the biggest problem here. I'd ask you to apply your significant vector-addition skills to that problem, but plenty of real scientists already have.
They should have their own dedicated lanes. /s
Will they then enforce the use of bike lanes when available, they ride down my street taking up the entire lane where theirs a bike lane 10’ away that is dedicated to their use and beside that another 8 is a pedestrian walk way
Idk where you live, or who the people are that are not using that bike lane, but there's no situation where I'd prefer to ride on the street when there's a bike lane available. Usually I only do that if I need to make a left turn up ahead or something like that, or if I'm unfamiliar with the area and it isn't signed very well.
seethe and cope.
There are myriad reasons someone on a bike won't use a bike lane. Debris, poor connectivity, bumpy, construction, bad sight lines at intersections, too many pedestrians wandering into it, pot holes and drains, nearby infrastructure causing strobing or other effects (like bridge rails), too narrow to easily pass someone, merges with an upcoming automobile lane in a dangerous manner, etc.
Neat, too bad this will change literally nothing.
If only we could restrict vulnerable road users, from being on the road. Then this problem wouldn't be a problem.
This would be great. We can build them an efficient and safe alternative network instead. It would cost far less than building roads.
This boggles my mind. I am traveling in eastern Europe right now - they paint their bike lanes onto the sidewalk. It seems like a no-brainer. The sidewalks are already raised which keeps them separated from cars and pedestrians stay out of the painted section. At worst, you have a bike v pedestrian accident, but that is miles better than v car or truck. In some places they widen the sidewalk and in others they have very clear "vehicle thru roads" and in others completely car-free where shops can setup patios. It is like we picked the most dangerous, ineffective and frustrating solution and just can't change gears.
the most annoying argument i hear "Its called a sidewalk, its for walking" so riding your bike down a busy road is better? shared path sidewalks make by far the most sense
I mean, if it’s a regular sized sidewalk, then no, I don’t want a bike coming up behind me yelling “coming up behind”, expecting me to move over with my rollator basically into the shrubbery so they can whiz by…. If they can build bike lanes raised and still give pedestrians their own safe place to walk, then yes. We have that on a road here in Kelowna (Abbott), it’s sidewalk - grass strip - bike lane - step down to roadway.
i live in a town where they are changing all the sidewalks into shared pathways, and it is just so much more inviting as a biker and as a driver i dont need to worry about bikers/kids with escooters flying around me
That’s why I wish our town would put more of the raised bike paths. I really would prefer they’re separated by a couple of feet from the pedestrian sidewalks like they are on the one street I described, because as a disabled person, I can’t jump out of the way quickly when a rider comes up behind me. This is a picture from Google street view of the street I’m talking about. It’s such an enjoyable walk, and cyclists have a safe, dedicated space. https://preview.redd.it/3gyoxo2s7k4d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c8f57afe1c40d5aa31347647090c8dd95d27e2
this is the ideal pathway! although it does take up lots of space
Oh that’s great, as long as you only works, eat, live, and visit along one single road that sounds great.
Why can’t we do better?
this law is actually geared towards workers on the road, not bicyclists
Victoria did this job pretty well. We have bike lanes on almost all major roads. It’s not perfect but I probably share the road with a cyclist for like three times a month. The problem is just the North American communities are way too reliant on the car-centered design. It’s not that hard to give cyclists half a sidewalk of a space. Victoria proved that.
Put a spiny jersey barrier between cars and non-pomv users that'll total the car if they're too shit to operate it safely. Its very simple to keep the car between the lines and avoid animals whether they move on four or two legs/wheels ab3d any failure to do so ought to bear negative consequences.
I’m not a biker but I cannot believe people don’t give these people space. I always try to stay as far away as I can while staying in my lane of course. I’m way too scared to bike beside cars. We should all remember we are driving death machines.
And this is why I’ll never ride a road bike.
It's kind of a lazy, pointless law. Not enforceable. Need to do what montreal does, which is turn side streets into one-way, no turning left on red and biking roads have 4 way stops at every intersection
How on earth would anyone enforce this?!?
I thought this was already the rule lol.
This can be pretty stupid in a lot of cases too. I have a truck that's 2.4m wide and a standard lane is 3m wide. This means I can't pass a bicycle unless it's a passing lane... good luck getting anywhere when stuck behind that vehicle cause I'm not the only one.
Cool beans. Since I live on the Saanich Peninsula this driving law can be conveniently ignored just like all the traffic laws as enforcement is an absolute joke.
I don’t think it is a practical rule. How much is half a metre? If I’m passing someone cycling in a bike lane, do I need to move into the other lane? It’s very clear and intuitive to me that when there’s no bike lane and there’s a cyclist, I’m going to have to slow down and wait for a gap in oncoming traffic in order to pass. Do we now have to do that to pass a cyclist in a bike lane?
Yes, that's how the law was written.
Yea and then you have the cyclists that have a bike lane and still choose to bike on the road surface outside of the bike lane. SMH at these idiots
I'm guilty of doing this in New West and Burnaby and it's usually because the bike lane is full of small stones, broken bits of glass and other debris.
You mean like the drivers who have a freeway but still choose to drive in the city. Bike lanes don’t always go where you’re heading and are sometimes difficult to enter or exit, or slower than on the road
ITT: Drivers finding out they have to slow down sometimes.
Cool, so does this apply when I get buzzed by cyclists on a walking path as well?
everyone who uses the road should also need a license and insurance. How is it fair someone can rip next to me on an e scooter going +30kmh and they dont follow the rules of the road. all road users should be accountable
>on roads with protected bike lanes or sidewalks, a half-metre passing distance is required Are they implying I should ride my bike on the sidewalk if I want to be safe?
This is about 'vulnerable road users' (cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and people using e-scooters, electric wheelchairs or mobility scooters), not just cyclists.
No. Take the lane.
The rules apply to various types of [vulnerable road users](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/vulnerable#who), including pedestrians, not just cyclists.
Ah, that makes sense
In some areas that's the only option.
Unless we're talking about highways, then no, it's always legal to ride on the road and cyclists have just as much of a right to use it as motorists. Biking on the sidewalk just puts pedestrians at risk and makes biking pointlessly slow.
How is this being advertised? YouTube ads? I am seeing this because I’m subscribed to this subreddit, but most people aren’t going to see this or go to a government news site for info.
This is a global news article. It's probably not the only news outlet reporting on this.
Distancing - we’re trained on this from Covid, this should be easy! Right?
My in laws live on the back roads that these cyclists use every weekend. The road has no shoulder and is super dangerous, yet there they are every weekend riding and not giving a shit about anyone else. Not a fan of these pretentious people
LOL wait, Cyclists use roads to travel around, And that makes it dangerous? Or do you mean the cars are dangerous, and dont’ give a shit? Sorry but the pretentious people are the ones who think folks don’t have a right to freedom or movement unless they’re in a ten thousand plus dollar insured and licences and registered metal box they pay oil and gas companies for the right to drive. Enjoy your cage! Some of us don’t need seven different kinds of control over our liberties.
I’m talking about recreational cyclists that take up the rural back roads which is extremely dangerous for them. There is no shoulder and they ride on the road and the only way to get around as a car is to cut across the line risking collision a with oncoming traffic. It’s a bad road, that’s it. Ride somewhere else that doesn’t risk both parties. They don’t because they think they are better than everyone with no regard for actual cars biking on roads they have no business riding on. Never mentioned anything about restricting freedom of movement, never talked about the right to drive but appreciate you taking to a really weird place. Sounds like you have some other political issues that you need to debate with someone in a political channel. Thanks for the reply.
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All the countries that tried this realised it wasn’t worth the effort because cyclists can do fuck all damage compared to a 2 ton SUV
sure they're still the biggest liability on the road and should have zero concessions
Drivers are, I agree
so they are going to be handing out fines to the cyclists right? Just check out the picture on this thread there are 4 cyclists abreast already eating into 1 m of the lane in a no pass zone when all 4 should on the paved shoulder.
Cyclists can’t always ride on the shoulder, there is debris and sometimes it’s unsafe. Cyclists are much safer riding abreast because cars are less likely to not see them or to drive dangerously around them. Hope that helps!
I prefer passive measures like infrastructure which will provide more certainty here. I don’t trust motorists generally. One of the first rules of defensive cycling and driving is to mitigate for the decision making of others influencing your fate.
As someone sandwiched between a moving vehicle and a parked car on their bike in Vancouver, this is great. Asshole didn’t even stop.
I commute on a road that has a designated separate bike path. It's a concrete path entirely detached from the main road, about 2m of grass in between the road and bike lane. Yet most mornings I see the same cyclist riding about a half meter onto the main road. When traffic is coming the other way I have no room to pass him. Who is at fault when i inevitably pass him? It's already a fairly narrow road for how busy it is, hence why they built the entirely detached bike lane. Am I just expected to drive 30 below the speed limit for the next 2km, or is this guy going to be vulnerable to a ticket too?
You absolutely need to have a camera(s) on your vehicle. Even as a cyclist.
Lucky for them, I still have Mr. F150 a half meter behind me with his lights in my rear window while we are doing 110 in the right lane. Maybe enforce some of the traffic laws we already have before coming up with new ones