Juan Foote

New Georgia law demands drivers to give bicyclists distance on the road (wtvm.com)




The 3 foot law has been in effect for several years now, but there has been zero level of enforcement. I REALLY hope that this is both enforced and drivers educated at the time of drivers license learning/testing so that people know. It's been VERY dangerous on the roads around here and would love to see some of these jacklegs prosecuted for close passing.

We can hope.....

A350driver

My friends who live/ride in north Georgia tell me horror stories about some of the drivers throwing bottles at them or even intentionally running them off the road. Seems like a GoPro camera is a necessity for riding there!

Luckily where I live/ride the drivers are a lot nicer, but to be fair, the roads in central Florida are long, straight and flat, without much traffic, so the cars can see you a long way out and see if there’s any oncoming traffic preventing them from moving into the other lane to get around you. That’s not the same up in Georgia where the roads are twisted and hilly, so no good sight lines for the drivers to see if there’s any oncoming traffic, that’s why they buzz you. They are afraid to move into the other lane coming around a corner or over a hill.

Digger Goreman

Enforcement will always be the thing. Even if the patrol actually is there to see it (super rare in these supposedly cash strapped govt days), is the policeman conversant and (most importantly) does he care? Hate to be a downer, but a decade of experience in Metro Atlanta isn't encouraging. Still, hope springs eternal.

A350driver

Yup, and I’ve heard from some riders in the Tampa area there are a few cops who actually HATE bike rides, so no help there!

Digger Goreman

There is a nice lawyer/cyclist, in Decatur, GA., who specializes in bike cases. I had a hot head buzz me in road rage mode a year or so ago. He missed by a hand's width. The lawyer asked me if it was in DeKalb County or Avondale Estates? When I said, "DeKalb County" he replied, "Report it, but DeKalb County is notorious for doing NOTHING about infractions towards cyclists." I have a 2-3 minute stretch of 35mph road that I can NOT avoid (just to commute and get out of my subdivison). I even had a minor, but telling, incident with a DeKalb policeman that illustrates: I've crested the hill and am on the downhill side where my speed is approaching 25mph as I will shortly be making a right turn into a subdivision. Been on the road less than one minute. Riding in the DOT recommended manner of "where the right wheel of cars would travel." Already made my hand signal and am into the turn when John Q. Lawman megaphones, "Don't ride in the middle of the road!" Since he didn't find the time to arse himself in my direction for further harrassment, I just blew it off and continued on. Unfortunately, police are hurried, angry motorists too. *Sigh*

Juan Foote

^Most of the above illustrates why I no longer ride on the road here. I quit some years ago due to things like "the hilly roads and blind corners" that A350 describes. The last straw for me was the encroachment of drivers that simply don't care if they knock a rider off the bike. The last ride I had on the open road I had a car buzz me within mm of hitting me with a mirror and the police that was following that car did the same. I have only ridden inside parks and on golf cart trails and the like since. Have not thrown a leg over either of my bikes in more than a year now. I have been exploring options to sell some of my cycling equipment to regain the space. Just can't get motivated to ride any more with it being either the same old trail, or putting myself in that danger.

themp

In my city they are adding bicycle lanes to most roads. It has been interesting to watch this come down and I do ride on the new lanes. It has made the city much safer to ride a bicycle, but there are areas where the residents are fighting back because they lost street parking. And in some areas that has forced the downtown automobile commuter to have to pay to park in a garage. There are also areas that are a lot worst for safety because the bike lane just ends and the cyclist is dumped into traffic or has to maneuver a roundabout and most drivers do not want to yield.

Juan Foote

There was some rule/directive where any improvements to the state highway had to include a bike lane. All of the new road construction had this, for a bit. IDK if it was repealed in the face of cutbacks, or what. I have to ride and cross a very busy highway on any route longer than a couple of miles so it was a boon for me. Recently the city/county have been on this "roundabout" kick for all the places that really needed a traffic light. On every road they have done this, the bike lane just ends unceremoniously a few hundred feet from the roundabout. No signage, no warning. Most Georgians simply don't understand the concept of take gap, give gap. Great place to get into an automobile accident, much less hoping not to get run over on a bike.

When we moved here this area was very heavy with cyclists and would see groups all the time. I would say the last three years (and whether that be a nod to COVID or not) it is rare to see any at all. This past year I see one group of three guys that still ride regularly and this one "nut" who rides EV-ER-EE-WHERE around the county and gives no f's.