This section – States: Traffic Laws & Training for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety – looks at state laws and driving training that is related to bicycle and pedestrian safety.
Over the course of the Benchmarking project there have been several notable developments in bicycle-related laws, including the proliferation of safe passing laws and the development of laws that regulate the use of electrically-assisted bicycles.
Distracted driving and automated enforcement laws have been the subject of much interest in recent years. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 44 states considered over 230 distracted driving-related bills and 24 states considered 85 automated enforcement bills in 2017. 64 These laws often have limitations on their application to drivers or other complexities that are difficult to report in a table.
Data on this page:
- Laws That Promote Pedestrian & Bicyclist Safety
- Laws That Combat Bad Driving Behaviors
- Map: Where motorists must give three feet or more when passing a bicyclist
- Map: Where the law clearly says where and how to bike on a sidewalk
- Map: Where drivers must stop for people walking in crosswalks
- Map: Where drivers must stop for people walking in unmarked crosswalks
- Map: Where speed enforcement cameras are allowed
- Map: Where red light enforcement cameras are allowed
- Driver Training on Behavior Towards Bicyclists & Pedestrians
Laws That Promote Pedestrian & Bicyclist Safety
Laws That Combat Bad Driving Behaviors
For the table "Laws that Combat Bad Driving Behaviors," the following notes will help you interpret the data reported:
- LIMITED – Law is limited to a specific type of person or specific locations and/or circumstances
- PRIMARY – Law can be enforced due to its own violation
- SECONDARY – Law can only be enforced if there is another violation as well