Police use ultrasonic device to make sure drivers stay 3 feet from cyclists

Post by minikites » Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:03 AM UTC

oostevo wrote: post #10

minikites wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do ask people to guess whether or not they are committing DWI/DUI though, which is a huge problem in my opinion. Cockeyed.com sums it up better than I can: http://www.cockeyed.com/science/breathalyzer/breathalyser01.... > Monitoring blood alcohol levels is difficult. Holding people accountable for crossing the .08 limit is like holding them accountable for trespassing once they walk past a particular longitude. Th…

There's two ways to ensure that you aren't inadvertently running afoul of drinking and driving laws: you can either not drink, or wait a large amount of time after drinking before you drive. Same with passing bicycles - you can give them so much more than three feet that there's no chance that you're within three feet of them, or not pass them until there is that much room. Three feet is the minimum. The expectation…

Post by to3m » Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:09 AM UTC

minikites wrote: post #21

oostevo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's two ways to ensure that you aren't inadvertently running afoul of drinking and driving laws: you can either not drink, or wait a large amount of time after drinking before you drive. Same with passing bicycles - you can give them so much more than three feet that there's no chance that you're within three feet of them, or not pass them until there is that much room. Three feet is the minimum. The expectation…

Should we treat speed limits the same way, so everyone drives around at a crawling pace?

Post by steanne » Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:10 AM UTC

nedwin wrote: post #15

steanne wrote: post #8

PA law is actually four feet, but given the width of bike lanes this is sometimes physically impossible.

It's not impossible. If there isn't a safe distance to pass a cyclist you have to wait until there is a safe distance.

Post by pokoleo » Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:12 AM UTC

wheaties wrote: post #13

URSpider94 wrote: post #2

California has the same law. This is a great way to get tools into the hands of police to help them enforce the law and educate drivers.

And if you decide to ride in the middle of a lane while on a bike, should the car drive in the other side of the road to pass you? This tool is arbitrary and will not change the problem, lack of dedicated bike lanes.

Post by ohazi » Mon, Jun 15, 2015, 2:15 AM UTC

wpietri wrote: post #20

For the entrepreneurs here, I promise to order a $200 version of this. Ideally it'd just be a mount I'd drop my phone into so that I could, say, pair it with Bluetooth and have an app that simultaneously records video with overlaid range and GPS information. I would pretty much immediately start documenting the routes I ride.