LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Cyclist Memorial (LVCM) announces the launch of Change Lanes for Bikes It’s the Law!, a public awareness campaign aimed to educate motorists and cyclists about Nevada’s 3-Feet/Move Over passing Law.
Nevada is one of 33 states to enforce a 3-Feet law and is one of five states to specify that motorists should move into an adjacent lane to the left if the lane is available when passing a cyclist. The campaign’s goal is to achieve zero collisions, ending traffic fatalities of cyclists.
More information is available here.
“In 2020, many bike retailers in Las Vegas sold out of inventory during the pandemic. This means we have more people than ever riding on the road for recreation and transportation,” says Keely Brooks, Southern Nevada Bicycle Coalition (SNVBC) president; the organization spearheading the campaign and is part of the LVCM alliance. “If the message to “Change Lanes” is top-of-mind, people can make better choices on the road and help to achieve a rate of zero collisions.”
According to the National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration, in 2018, there were 857 cyclists killed by motorists, up 6.3% from 2017. In Nevada, 35.6% of overall traffic fatalities are pedestrian and bicycles1 . If motorists are found at-fault in a collision with a cyclist or pedestrian, motorists may be charged with reckless driving.
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Other penalties include a driver's license suspension. (NRS 484B.280)
LVCM is an alliance of advocacy groups working together to create lasting change and offer relief for the families of the LV5; the cyclists lost on Dec. 10, Aksoy Ahmet, 48, Michael Murray, 57, Gerrard Nieva, 41, Erin Ray, 39, and Tom Trauger, 57.
