To the bicycling community:

House Bill 49 of the 2005 session will change the law in the way that
motor vehicles pass bicycles.  At this time the law simply states that
a car must pass at a "safe distance" which we all know from experience
can be 2 inches or twenty feet depending upon the motorist.  This bill
will specify that when a car passes a bicycle, either from behind or
head on, that there must be three feet between any part of the car
(mirrors, etc) and the cyclist.

The purpose of this bill is, simply, to save lives and prevent
injuries.  Every car/bicycle accident is preventable: the purpose of
this bill is to try to prevent such accidents.

This bill is not partisan: it does not discriminate between young or
old, rich or poor, urban or rural, democrat or republican. This bill
will help educate the driving public to provide more space to the
cyclist and will provide law enforcement with a more definable law to
enforce.

Please contact your Representative and your Senator and urge passage of
this bill.  Refer to it as House Bill 49.  You can go to:
http://www.le.state.ut.us      for links to the House and Senate, and
to learn more about the bill.

There will be a press conference/bicycle safety rally in support of the
bill on January 26 at 11:30 am to about 12:20PM, on the grounds of the
Capitol: the west side of the central plaza.  Please attend wearing a
bike jersey (yellow if you have one) and, if possible, bring your bike.
 We hope that the video and print media will be there to help spread
the word about this bill.

If you have any questions, go to www.cyclingutah.com or email me at
john.weis@path.utah.edu.

We are confident that the passage of this bill will save lives and
prevent injuries to cyclists.  Any and all support would be most
appreciated.

John Weis