Due in no small part, I’m sure, to the urgings of Delegates Cosgrove & Carricco, the Virginia House of Delegates voted down HB 1048, which provided that motorists should give cyclists three feet when passing. This is very disappointing. The Virginia Bike Federation notes that there is still some hope, in the form of SB 566:
Senate Bill 566 containing just Three Foot Passing is still alive, and will be crossing over to the House Transportation Committee and then, hopefully, to the Full House, in the near future.
As soon as the roll call voting is posted I will forward it along and will urge everyone to contact their delegates expressing disappointment if they voted Nay and thanking them if they voted For the bill. Hopefully, we may be able to turn at least 6 or 7 votes around and get SB 566 passed.
I’ll post that list here, when I have it. I’d really – personally – appreciate any action that readers can take on the bill’s behalf.
freewheel
What did Cosgrove & Carrico say that was so persuasive?
mattotoole
@freewheel: you can follow the whole story via Bud’s legislative updates on our website. “Three feet” isn’t dead yet — there’s still SB 566, which we need everyone to support by contacting their delegates immediately. All we need is for 7 delegates to change their votes.
MB
Thanks, Matt. As is obvious, VBF is pretty much the only conduit for useful information on this bill. We all *very* much appreciate the work you guys are doing.
MB
Also – Freewheel, to get an idea of the level on which Cosgrove operates, Google “Cosgrove” and “Blacknell.net”. Best that I just leave that alone, for now.
freewheel
According to a column in the Examiner, Cosgrove made such persuasive arguments as “next year they’ll want 4 feet.”
http://www.examiner.com/x-2429-Bicycle-Transportation-Examiner~y2010m2d17-Opinion-John-Cosgrove-misses-the-mark-as-3foot-passing-law-fails