DOT and NYPD: Force Drivers To Give Cyclists More Space

City transportation and police officials support a Council bill to require drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing, an effort to clarify state law that currently only requires drivers to leave “a safe distance” — and makes enforcement a challenge.

Intro 1763, by Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez would change the state law’s language to specifically require the three feet.

“The current safe passing law…is vague, and so DOT supports a clearer requirement,” Commissioner Polly Trottenberg testified on Thursday. “Currently 28 states … require at least three feet of passing distance. Doing the same under New York City local law would provide specific, easily understandable guidance to motorists and a stronger educational tool.”

The NYPD concurred.

“It would lend clarity to an otherwise vague concept,” said NYPD Transportation Bureau Chief Thomas Chan. “And would present an opportunity to publicly highlight these dangers.”

Rodriguez said his bill, inspired by a longtime Transportation Alternatives’ campaign, is needed because cyclists increasingly feel unsafe — especially in a year with 26 cyclists deaths (up from 10 in all of 2018).

“It is critical that drivers give cyclists enough space for cyclists to be safe and to feel safe,” he said. “And it would give drivers and the police department a rule that is easier to observe and enforce.”

It would overwrite state vehicle traffic law 1122, which states:

The operator of a vehicle overtaking, from behind, a bicycle proceeding on the same side of a roadway shall pass to the left of such bicycle at a safe distance until safely clear thereof.

But the issue, of course, is not a specific number of feet, but safety, as Rodriguez said.

“Multi-ton cars and trucks and not bicycles are the real danger to safety on the roads,” he said in introductory remarks that called out the NYPD for what the council member believes is a lackluster enforcement effort.

His colleague Donovan Richards of Queens was even more aggressive in his opening remarks.

“The data show that the overwhelming majority of fatalities and injuries are caused by motor vehicles and I want to make sure the [NYPD] is focused on that,” he said. “And the culture of the department is one that encourages cyclist safety and that means not parking in bike lanes, treating cyclists with respect and conducting a through investigation after crashes.”

For her part, Trottenberg said the double-digit increases in pedestrian and cyclist deaths this year is due, in part, to massive SUVs that are virtually unregulated on New York City streets.

“When an SUV has a collision, it tends to be going at a faster speed, which means [longer] stoping distance,” she said. “It’s weightier and the center of gravity is higher and when it hits a pedestrian, it is much likelier to do fatal or serious damage.”

The state Department of Motor Vehicles does charge a slightly higher registration fee for larger vehicles, but SUVs are not restricted in any way by state law.