Comments on: Zero citations so far for “Three foot passing rule” in Tucson this year

By: Jaywalking in Arizona @ Arizona Bike Law Blog

Jaywalking in Arizona @ Arizona Bike Law Blog — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:35:36 +0000

[...] fatalities in Tucson caused by the cyclist running a stop sign). At the same time, police rarely (a total of 3 over an 18month period by Tuscon PD) ticket motorists for passing cyclists too closely — [...]

By: Three Foot Passing Laws @ Arizona Bike Law Blog

Three Foot Passing Laws @ Arizona Bike Law Blog — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:40:20 +0000

[...] A perennial problem with any such law is lack of enforcement (or perhaps enforceability, depending on who you ask), e.g. In the city of Tucson over an 18-month period there were a total of 3 citations according to tucsonbikelawyer.com; zero-citations-so-far-for-three-foot-passing-rule-in-tucson-this-year. [...]

By: Green Valley cyclist killed @ Arizona Bike Law Blog

Green Valley cyclist killed @ Arizona Bike Law Blog — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:25:06 +0000

[...] issued. Will there be no further investigation? Seems hasty. Entry at tucsonbikelawyer.com also see zero-citations-so-far-for-three-foot-passing-rule-in-tucson-this-year for interesting facts about just how rare citations for 28-735 [...]

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:17:36 +0000

oh, i forgot the link
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/307547.php

p.s: this isn’t really a real bike lane, is it? (It’s a “bike shoulder” or somesuch made-up terminology)

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:15:26 +0000

It is very unusual for police (in this case the Pima County Sheriff’s Office) to cite immediately. The normal pattern in fatal collisions (e.g. Allen Johnson) is nothing gets issued, a lengthy investigation is conducted, after which the prosecutor declines to file criminal charges, and finally traffic citations are issued.

Does the issuance signal something? Will there be no investigation? Impairment?

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:15:26 +0000

At least the driver was cited for something – looking at recent past incidents, it seems like the deciding factor for whether or not LE takes a dead or injured cyclist seriously is how much press they think it might generate.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:07:03 +0000

We had a friend/cyclist killed in Green Valley yesterday. We think the driver of the vehicle was cited for the “three foot’ law? A misdemeanor! Why?

By: Dean

Dean — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:29:06 +0000

What about the 5 foot bus rule? Any stats on that?–D

By: kk

kk — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:00:02 +0000

Hi Tom – Pardon my poor phrasing. I have no idea what percentage of bicycle/car crashes involve “cyclist hit from behind.” I was just pointing out that “cyclist hit from behind” is not by itself evidence that the automobile driver was at fault, as is frequently implied on this site. Clearly, if the driver and cyclist are both traveling in the same direction at the moment of impact, even of the cyclist just entered the lane, the slower cyclist will be hit from behind by the faster auto.

I’m not surprised that “roughly half of bicycle/car crashes are cyclists’ fault” and half are the motorists’. Thanks again for the data -when you hear from Radar, further crash and safety info would be appreciated.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:52:48 +0000

@kk Actually, according to League of American Bicyclists aggregated data, less than 4% of bicycle / car crashes are “bicyclist hit from behind” where the driver is at fault. It’s certainly not the most prevalent type of bicycle / car crash. I’d have to talk with Radar Matt ( fellow League Cycling Instructor here in Phoenix) again to get the exact numbers, but roughly half of bicycle / car crashes are cyclist’s fault. The other half is motorist’s fault. I do not know what the combined percentage is.