Skip to main content

New law in Pennsylvania will help protect vulnerable road users

A new law in the US state of Pennsylvania will help boost safety for cyclists. This sets rules for Pennsylvania drivers to follow when encountering a cyclist. Drivers now have to leave a 1.22m space when overtaking cyclists. To achieve this, drivers may have to cross the centre line when passing a bicycle on the left, but only when opposing traffic allows. Drivers attempting to turn left must also yield the right of way to bicycle riders travelling in the opposite direction. The new law also calls for bicyc
April 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new law in the US state of Pennsylvania will help boost safety for cyclists. This sets rules for Pennsylvania drivers to follow when encountering a cyclist. Drivers now have to leave a 1.22m space when overtaking cyclists. To achieve this, drivers may have to cross the centre line when passing a bicycle on the left, but only when opposing traffic allows. Drivers attempting to turn left must also yield the right of way to bicycle riders traveling in the opposite direction.

The new law also calls for bicycle riders to avoid impeding the normal flow of traffic. When there is only one travel lane, cyclists may use any portion of the lane to avoid hazards on the roadway, including maintaining a safe distance from stopped and parked cars. Cyclists and motorists should obey all traffic signs and signals. 2535 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation also recommends bicyclists always ride predictably and provide signals before proceeding.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Roads remain safe?
    February 23, 2012
    Driving test errors will keep three drivers off the roads in South Korea, the US and the UK. In South Korea a 68 year old woman has notched up what may well be a world record, failing her written driving test examination for the 771st time.
  • Alcohol interlocks for vehicles could cut crashes in Europe?
    February 26, 2018
    There have been calls for mandatory alcohol interlocks in vans, lorries and buses across the EU. This follows the publishing of a new report which shows that more than 5000 deaths/year in the EU are still caused by drink-driving. As a result, member States have been asked to increase enforcement and introduce rehabilitation programmes for drink-driving offenders. The devices should be fitted in all new professional vehicles and also retrofitted to cars used by repeat drink-driving offenders, according to
  • Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration
    May 13, 2015
    Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor
  • Safer mid-block crossings
    August 26, 2020
    Applied Information has launched a configurable Internet of Things (IoT) pedestrian crossing system which is says improves safety at midblock crosswalks.