Virginia’s Three Foot Passing Law Begins Today

Beginning today, Virginia law now requires to drivers to give at least three feet of space to bicyclists when passing. Safe passing laws are effective at educating drivers about safe distance needed to pass bicyclists while providing additional legal protection after a crash occurs. Virginia is the 21st state to enact the three foot passing law. The District of Columbia and Maryland state both have three footing passing laws on the books, so Virginia’s new law brings much needed consistency to Washington area bicyclists and drivers. The legislation (SB97) sponsored by Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) passed the full Senate on January 21 and it passed the House of Delegates on March 21. The bill was signed into law by Gov. McAuliffe shortly after its successful passage. Learn more about the legislative history of SB97 in our March blog post. WABA has worked for years with the Virginia Bicycling Federation to advocate for the three foot passing law. We would like to thank the thousands of Virginia bicyclists who contacted their legislators throughout 2014 legislative session.