The 3-foot rule does not apply when impractical

QI bike more miles than I drive so I see a lot of motorists’ behavior around bicycles. One point of confusion seems to be how to pass bicycles when driving on a road with a double yellow centerline. There are two conflicting laws and it can be confusing:

Law No. 1: Give cyclists 3 feet when passing.

Law No. 2: Don’t cross the double yellow centerline.

Sometimes you can’t obey one law without breaking the other. I’m not a law expert and I don’t know how to reconcile this conflict from a legal perspective, but from a safety perspective, the best option is to wait until there’s good visibility, no oncoming cars and then to pass the cyclist with enough space even if it means crossing the double yellow line a little bit.

Many drivers do that, but sometimes I see drivers squeeze past without enough space, putting cyclists at risk, and sometimes I see drivers cross the double yellow on a blind turn or even when they can see oncoming traffic.

It’s good to remember that slowing down until it is safe to pass is also an option.

— Rachel Goldeen,

Mountain View

AThat it is. You’re going to be in for a surprise. The 3-foot rule does not apply when it is impractical. The keyword is “impractical.” It means that on a narrow road, the bicyclist or the driver can take the lane and proceed first, rather than for the two to ride beside each other, if it is unsafe for them to do so.

QYou asked in a recent column if readers felt liberated by not driving. I am among the lucky few who can cobble together a number of modes of non-automobile transit to commute back and forth from Mountain View to Menlo Park. When I drive, it is an anxious 10 miles, and the better part of an hour.

It took me a while to figure out a bike path that I felt was safe enough. My bike ride is longer than my drive, since I almost completely avoid city streets, but riding an e-bike, I can make up the time.

If I ride along Stevens Creek Trail, either to the CalTrain station in Mountain View and park in the free city-provided bike locker and then take CalTrain to work, or I ride my electric bike along Stevens Creek Trail and the Bryant Street Bikeway in Palo Alto with a cutthrough to Menlo Park, it is 14 miles and about an hour each way.

The days I bike or train to work, I can relax, knowing I will thoroughly enjoy the blue sky and the egrets on my trek through Shoreline Park. I often have the park to myself, while all the painful chaos of Highway 101 drones on in the background. I get to skip the gym, I eat chocolate without guilt, and I sleep like a baby at night.

— Polly Jensen, Mountain

View

AYou had me at the guilt-free chocolate.