Bill seeks to mandate driver passing distances for bikes, plows

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A new government bill aims to make roads safer by spelling out how much room drivers must give cyclists and snowplows on Manitoba roads.

The proposed amendment to the Highway Traffic Act, introduced earlier this month but not made available to MLAs and the public until Monday, says drivers must keep a distance of at least one metre when passing a bicycle or power-assisted bicycle.

“The cyclist community has been pretty helpful on this issue for a long time — that they don’t always feel like motorists do pass at a safe distance, so we’re wanting to clarify that,” Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor told reporters Monday.

“We’re going to need time to make sure motorists are educated,” she said.

The Highway Traffic Act does not specify how close cyclists should ride near the right edge of the roadway or the clearance drivers must give a cyclist when travelling alongside or passing them.

The Manitoba Driver’s Handbook says “drivers should pass a cyclist only when it’s safe to do so” and that “cycling advocacy groups suggest providing at least one metre of clearance.”

The bill is a good start but doesn’t go far enough, said Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe.

“We would really hope that we would mirror best practices in different jurisdictions … not just a straight, across-the-board one-metre passing distance, but really link that passing distance to speed,” Cohoe said Monday.

At highway speeds, bikes should be given a wider berth, as is the case in B.C., Cohoe said. There, if the speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour or more, motorists are to stay 1.5 metres away, he said.

Speed is taken into consideration in the Manitoba Driver’s Handbook: “Extra caution must be exercised and additional space may be required when passing cyclists in highway travel situations.”

Naylor’s bill also requires a driver follow at least 30 metres behind a snowplow or other winter maintenance vehicle, and 100 metres if the speed limit is more than 80 km/h. It does not say bikes should be given more room on the highway.

“I think that’s something that’s missing here,” said Cohoe, who expects Bike Winnipeg to speak up if the bill proceeds to the committee stage, which is required before becoming law.

Bill 38 also prohibits passing a winter maintenance vehicle “unless additional precautions are taken,” putting the onus on a motorist to proceed with caution when meeting a plow in an intersection or travelling in the opposite direction.

“It’s important to give a wide berth to snowplow equipment,” Naylor said after question question period Monday.

The bill also authorizes the operator of a tow truck or other roadside assistance vehicle to place traffic control devices on the highway when helping motorists.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca