April 14, 2008 - Oklahoma City

The Oklahoma City Council has passed revisions and additions to City Ordinances to improve safety when motorists pass bicyclists.

City Ordinance 32-491 requires a person driving a motor vehicle to leave a space of "not less than 3 feet until the motor vehicle is safely past the over taken bicycle." Ordinance 32-492 states that a person violating the safe passing ordinance "shall be deemed guilty of a Class "a" offense." This goes beyond current Oklahoma State statutes. Failure to give a minimum 3 feet will result in a traffic ticket with a maximum fine of $307. This is in addition to state penalties of $500 to $1000 if a bicyclist is injured or killed.

The Oklahoma City Council also revised existing ordinance 32-479 which relates to bicycle driving on roadways. The language of the ordinance was changed to eliminate the word "practicable" and replaced it with the phrase "is safe" so the ordinance now reads "Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right-hand side of the roadway as is safe." The ordinance then lists specific situations where a bicyclist may move away from the side of the roadway. This small change in language effectively shifts the focus of the ordinance to one of safety rather then the absolute position of the bicyclist on the roadway.

Oklahoma City joins The Village and Edmond in central Oklahoma adding the 3 foot safe passing requirement to their city code.

If your community has passed similar laws to help strengthen the rights, and improve the safety of bicyclists the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition would like to know!