New Law Aims to Curtail Bicycle Deaths

New Law Aims to Curtail Bicycle Deaths

If you’re planning on spending some time on your bicycle this summer, you can worry a little less about the threat posed by cars nearby, thanks to a new law that went into effect this month.

Hundreds of bicyclists die each year because of collisions with cars.

One of them was a Rhode Islander Frank Cabral, a devoted bicyclist who was fatally struck by a motorist on Route 1 in Charlestown in September 2007. For the past two years, friends and fellow bicycle enthusiasts have held an annual “Frank’s Ride” to raise awareness about bicycle safety.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Now Cabral will also be memorialized through a new law, dubbed “Frank’s Law,” which requires that drivers leave more space on the road between their cars and a bicyclist.

A driver has to leave enough room to ensure that a bicyclist would not hit his car if he fell into the driver’s lane of traffic, according to the law. If necessary, a driver can move to the left of the center of the road to pass someone on a bicycle, without risking a ticket.

Failing to ensure there is a safe distance between a car and a bicycle carries an $85 fine.

Rep Al Gemma, D-Warwick, said the bill will affect how drivers deal with bicyclists. “I think that it’s going to make people aware,” Gemma said. “The fine is only nominal.”

Gemma said he introduced the bill after his home city passed a resolution asking that the State House take on the issue.

Similar laws in other states, like Florida and New Hampshire, mandate a distance of three feet between cars and bicycles. Gemma said he decided to not specify the exact distance because it would be difficult to prove drivers had crossed within three feet. So instead he went with the term “safe distance.”

“That’s just common sense language,” Gemma said.