While other states adopted bike-friendly safety laws to accommodate cycling’s soaring popularity, Michigan steered clear of the trend and watched as more riders got killed by cars. Thirty-eight cyclists were killed on Michigan roads last year, almost double the number two years earlier. But except for roughly half a dozen Michigan communities that have enacted local 5-foot ordinances, the state has largely hewed to its car-centric traditions. Twenty-four of the 38 bicyclists killed last year in Michigan were riding straight ahead just prior to the crash, police reported. Thirty states have enacted distance-specific “safe passing” laws, most requiring 3 feet of clearance for passing bikes.

Source: National Post January 02, 2018 06:00 UTC