Category Archives: Bike Safety

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania recently passed a bicycle safety law requiring motorists to give a 4-foot safety cushion when passing cyclists on the road. Governor Tom Corbett signed the new law on February 2, and it went into effect on April 2. On a two lane road, drivers are permitted to cross the center line to grant the cyclists the 4-foot cushion. If they cannot pass giving the 4-foot cushion, they must yield to the cyclist until they can pass safely. There is also wording in the new law that prohibits motorists from “cutting sharply” into a cyclists path while turning. “The differential in speed is the biggest safety challenge with motor vehicles and bicycles sharing our state’s roadways,” says Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Barry J. Schoch. “I urge all drivers and cyclists to learn the rules of the road to better share our highways and make travel safer for…
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A Newport Coast woman pleaded guilty in February to vehicular manslaughter charges, according to Patch.com. Danae Marie Miller, 23, is sentenced to four years in state prison. She was drunk when she struck and killed 44-year-old cyclist Amine Britel with her car in February of 2011. Prosecutors also claim that Miller was texting at the time of the fatal bicycle accident. Britel was riding his bicycle on Joaquin Hills Road when Miller hit him in her Volkswagen Jetta. Statistics show that drinking and driving and texting while driving each increase your chances of getting in an accident significantly—so doing both at the same time undoubtedly raises them exponentially. According to reports, Miller had been drinking at her place of employment and was on her way home—her BAC measured .1 when tested two hours after the crash. She had been cited for 15 traffic violations previously, according to court reports. There…
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