Bill Nottingham, owner of the Charleston Bicycle Center in Kanawha City, said the new bicycle safety law will make West Virginia more attractive to avid cyclists outside and throughout the state.
“The cars practically ignore you and they come way too close to you when they pass you,” said the law’s lead sponsor, Delegate Danny Wells, D-Kanwaha.
Wells, who described himself as an avid cyclist, said he doesn’t often feel safe riding on roads and sticks to bike trails. He hopes the passing distance requirement will change that.
The law also gives more freedom to cyclists, often relegated to debris-strewn roadsides, to move from the far right side of roads when avoiding obstacles and turning left.
“It gives [cyclists] essentially the legal right to be able to use what they need of the roadway to keep on riding,” said Bill Nottingham, owner of the Charleston Bicycle Center in Kanawha City.
Nottingham, who rides throughout Charleston and the state, said he feels “by and large” drivers are respectful of cyclists. But, he has had more positive experiences when riding in a group than independently. Nottingham recalled riding his bicycle on Corridor G when he felt something on his arm. Nottingham said he realized a young man was hanging out of the window of a car while trying to grab him.
“That would have been cool to reach out and grab somebody, but that same scenario if there had been 10 or 15 riders, I don’t think that person would have tried to do what he did,” Nottingham said of “safety in numbers.”
West Virginia Connecting Communities director Kasey Russell said the state “was very far behind the rest of the country in bicycle safety,” but this law should change that. The organization’s goal is to help implement policies that make cycling all over the state safe for recreation and commuting, Russell said…
