A proposed bill in the Alabama Senate would add language to existing traffic laws that set rules for drivers sharing roads with cyclists. Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, is the sponsor of a bill that defines a safe distance for vehicles to overtake and pass bicycles on roadways.
According to SB4, existing law requires the driver of a motor vehicle travelling in the same direction as a bicycle to pass at a safe distance but does not define what that safe distance is. Language added under the proposed Allen bill would define a safe distance as three feet. The Alabama Legislature will convene in Montgomery for the 2015 session on March 3.