Our View: Four Feet To Pass

Kudos to the town of Chatham for approving signs notifying motorists of the state’s Vulnerable Road Users Law.

Approved in April as part of a new law designed to reduce traffic fatalities, the Vulnerable Road Users Law requires that motorists give a safe passing distance of at least four feet to bicyclists, walkers, runners, roadside workers, people in wheelchairs or other mobility devices, those on scooters, roller skates or skateboards, people on horseback and those operating farm equipment along a roadway. Motorists are required to slow down or stop until it is safe to pass with the four-foot buffer, even if it means crossing the center line or going into the adjacent lane.

The state provided the town with 15 “4 Feet to Pass” signs (see below) safe bicycle passing signs, which town officials determined to be the most effective way to communicate the new law to drivers. These are being placed throughout town, especially on busy roadways.

It’s especially important to ensure that motorists are aware of the new law here, as well as in other Cape towns, since many of our roads are narrow. Cyclists, runners and walkers are heavy users of local roadways, most of which don’t have sidewalks. Think of Stage Harbor Road in Chatham; year round, and especially during the summer, it’s packed with walkers following the popular “loop” through town. When traffic is heavy, it’s not uncommon to see vehicles whizzing along the road within inches of walkers and people on bikes. That’s not legal any longer, and these signs will warn drivers that they risk a ticket by not giving “vulnerable users” a four-foot berth. Improving safety on the roads is well worth the $3,000 the town will spend on hardware to mount the signs.