The "Three Foot Safety Act," a law written to define a safe passing distance between motor vehicles and bicyclists, went into effect on Tuesday in California. 

The law requires drivers to pass a bicycle at a distance of at least three feet. If that cannot be done, drivers are required to slow to a reasonable and prudent speed and pass only when it will not endanger the rider.

Thirty-two states, including California and the District of Columbia, had laws in place prior to the “Three Foot Safety Act.” One part of the former California law required: “[A] driver who is passing another vehicle or a bicycle proceeding in the same direction to pass to the left at a safe distance without interfering with the safe operation of the overtaken vehicle or bicycle.”

The "Three Foot Safety Act" was put into place on Sept. 17. (Jessica Harrington/Neon Tommy)

The issue with the former law, according to Colin Bogart, the Programs Director of Los Angeles County Bicycles Coalition, was that it gave drivers the option to define a safe distance. 

“The key factor behind this law is that it has now defined that the safe passing distance between a bicycle and a motorist is three feet, where as before it there was not clearly defined distance,” said Bogart.

The former law did not define any fees or citations for violations of the law. The new law states the first time a driver fails to provide three feet or passes at a speed faster than 15 mph than the bicyclist, they will receive a $35 fine. 

If there is a collision between a motor vehicle and a bicycle that causes bodily harm to a bicyclist and it is found the motorist violated either the three-foot distance or 15 miles per hour rule, the motorist will receive a $220 fine. 

Los Angeles Police Department officers have been undergoing special training about what the law is, how to explain it and how to enforce it. 

“It will be under the discretion of the officers as far as citations, this being new, we’re going to need to educate a lot of people in vehicles as far as how to enforce this law,” LAPD officer Drake Madison said. 

Motorists can be fined $35 if they fail to abide by the new law. (Jessica Harrington/Neon Tommy)

“Usually I go through the neighborhood streets rather than the crowded streets where there are actual bike lanes because I feel like it is safer, and I try to take the safest route.

There’s a lot of problems with cars getting too close and being in the bike lanes and I usually need to swerve around that car and that means me getting into the actual car lanes,” Castillo said. 

Castillo said she is happy that new laws are being implemented to help increase the safety of bicyclists riding alongside traffic. 

Contact Staff Reporter Jessica Harrington here and follow her on Twitter here.