Drivers who ride a little too close to cyclists on the road could soon be caught red-handed. A new technology adopted by law enforcement in Ottawa could help enforce legal distance between bikers and cars on the road.
The program officially launched last week with a single sonar device. One police officer rode the bike bearing the device around the city on Tuesday to demonstrate the technology’s effectiveness. Within a few minutes of riding, the device was beeping, registering that two drivers had violated the one-meter distance requirement. The drivers were pulled over and given pamphlets informing them that they had broken the safe distance law.
Wilkinson noted that the device is not currently being used to issue fines, which can go to up to $110, and that there are no plans to use it for enforcement in the future. At this point, its main use is to spread awareness about the safe distance law, which was passed last September in an effort to encourage rider safety and reduce fatal crashes. “In order to educate people on the new law and how they can be compliant, the device will be used to do educational blitzes across the city during the summer months,” he said.
Ottawa is not alone in legally requiring drivers to maintain a safe distance from cyclists. In the United States, 29 states and the District of Columbia have passed safe distance laws, most requiring that at least three feet remain between the vehicles. But Ken McLeod of the League of American Bicyclists, a nationwide cyclist advocacy group, says that the law is difficult to enforce, which discourages legislators from passing similar laws in states where safe distance is not yet on the books. “This technology directly addressed enforceability and shows that there is an educational value to the law aside from its enforcement,” he said.
Safe distance laws are an important safety measure to prevent crashes, according to McLeod. Statistics show that 40 percent of fatal crashes are rear-end crashes caused by cars speeding up to overtake a cyclist without maintaining a safe distance from the bike. Cyclists are also limited in their ability to dodge potholes or opening car doors when a car is driving too close to them.
The technology could soon see application in other cities. A similar technology is currently being used by law enforcement in the city of Chattanooga, Tenn., with police departments in Kentucky and Texas planning on implementing the tool.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified Ken McLeod’s organization. This version has been corrected.
