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Take Action: Ohio House Voting on 3FT Passing Law

UPDATE June 5th

The Ohio House of representatives has gone on summer recess without passing HB145. The bill will see some action in the fall (probably after the election in November). Don’e let this time go to waste, keep contacting your state representatives over the summer telling them why it is important for Ohio to make our street safer by passing a statewide 3ft passing law.

UPDATE MAY 28th

After a year of debate HB145 (which would create a state-wide 3ft minimum passing law) has finally made it out of the House Transportation Committee and could be up for a full vote as early as June 3rd. Now it is more important than ever to contact your state representative and tell them to pass the HB145 and make Ohio’s roads safer for people on bikes.

You can find your representative here, or call your state representative at 1-800-282-0253.

You can also email your local representative through this petition tool thanks to the League of American Bicyclists.

UPDATE MAY 22nd

Take Action Now: 

The Ohio House Transportation Committee is likely to vote on HB145 next Tuesday, May 27th, at their next meeting. We need your help to make sure the bill gets passed, moving us one step closer to a statewide 3-ft minimum passing law, by contacting the representatives on the committee. Specifically we need you to contact:

Rep. Margaret Ann Ruhl – House District 68 (Knox County)  – P. 614-466-1431, email here
Rep. Doug Green – House District 66 (Brown & part of Clermont County) – P. 614-644-6034, email here
Rep. Terry Johnson – House District 90 (Adams and Scioto County) – P. 614-466-2124, email here

But take a moment and contact out to the others on the committee as well. There contact info is below.

Rep. Rex Damschroder – House District 88 – P. 614- 466-1374 , email here
Rep. Dale Mallory – House District 32 – P. 614-466-1645, email here
Rep. John Becker – House District 65 – P. 614-466-8143, email here
Rep. Nicholas Celebrezze – House District 15 – P. 614-466-3485, email here
Rep. Anthony Devitis – House District 36 – P. 614-466-1790, email here
Rep. Robert Haga, – House District 58 – P. 614-466-9435, email here
Rep. Ross McGregor – House District 79 – P. 614-466- 2038, email here
Rep. Zack Milkovich – House District 35 – P. 614-644-6037, email here
Rep. Bill Patmon – House District 10 – P. 614-466-7954, email here
Rep. Rick Perales – House District 73 –  P. 614-644-6020, email here

Make your voice heard to our state representatives that we want Ohio roads to be safe for all road users and that you encourage them to support HB145. Also, if you haven’t already take a moment and sign our petition.

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UPDATE APRIL 7th

Thank you to everyone who signed our petition and contacted your state house representative in support of a state-wide 3-Feet Passing Law! It is having an impact. We learned today that the bill sponsor, Rep. Michael Henne, is moving forward with the bill WITH THE MINIMUM 3FT PASSING REQUIREMENT. We need your help in keeping the pressure on to ensure the bill gets passed.

HERE IS WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO: Call and email the offices of the following representatives telling them you want HB145 passed with the 3-feet passing law-

Anthony DeVitis – 1-614-466-1790, email here
Margaret Ann Ruhl – 1-614-466-1431, email here
Doug Green – 1-614-644-6034, email here
Ross McGregor – 1-614-466-2038, email here
John Becker – 1-614-466-8134, email here

Here is a sample talking point: A person on a bike is a legal vehicle on the road, we need policies that ensure bicyclists are safe. People on bikes are people with families who love them, friends who celebrate them, have careers that support them and have lives to live to their fullest. Honor those lives and help PROTECT THEM by including the language in HB145 that will make it a requirement for motorists to give people on bikes at least 3 feet of space when riding on public roads.

Forward any response you get to info@bikecleveland.org.


ORIGINALLY POSTED MARCH 28th: Our friends at the Ohio Bicycle Federation have been pushing hard for years to get a state-wide 3-ft passing law in Ohio, but our state House of Representatives keep refusing to pass it. The most recent attempt was in HB145 which was introduced in April of 2013. Recently we learned that the bill will come out of committee, almost a year later, to be passed WITHOUT the law requiring motorists to give people on bikes a minimum of 3 feet of space when passing.

Why this is important? Currently state law says that motorists must pass a bicycle at a “safe distance.” By defining the minimum safe distance as 3ft, it makes the law more enforceable. In fact Bike Cleveland is hosting a training for local law enforcement on how to effectively enforce laws to ensure bicycle and pedestrian safety, and educating how to enforce safe passing is a key piece of the training. Learn more about the training at BikeCleveland.org/Enforcement. In shortm 3ft passing laws create a legal framework to protect bicyclists who are hit or buzzed from behind, create a less arbitrary standard and raise awareness of the importance of safe passing.

What is the concern of our state lawmakers? One concern expressed was about the narrowness of Ohio lanes and possible dangers involved in motorists passing cyclists by 3 feet (in some cases possibly crossing the center line). This is an invalid concern because under Ohio law motorists can cross the double yellow line to pass a slow moving vehicle.

In Ohio 3ft minimum passing laws already exist in Bay Village, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Across the country 22 states and Washington DC have passed 3ft passing minimum laws. It is time for our leaders in Ohio to take action to ensure the safety of people riding bikes on our public roadways and pass a 3ft minimum passing law.

Take a moment and contact your state representative asking them to pass a state-wide 3ft minimum passing law.

You can find your local representative and contact them here: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/district-map

We are also asking advocates to contact the Ohio House of Representative’s Chair of the Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Rep. Rex Damschroder, telling him to reconsider and keep the minimum 3 foot passing provision in HB145 because one life lost is one too many. You can email here: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/rex-damschroder/contact.

Lastly, take a moment and sign our petition, which will be packaged together with all the signatures with testimony from Bike Cleveland about the importance of a 3ft passing law in making our streets safer for people on bikes (be sure to include your address).

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