A Sunshine Coast active transportation group is applauding BC legislation that imposes new safe driving distance rules for drivers passing vulnerable road users.
Several updates to the Motor Vehicle Act aimed at enhancing safety for cyclists and pedestrians were announced on April 4.
The predominant change is that the distance drivers must maintain when passing cyclists and other vulnerable road users has increased to 1.5 metres from one metre on highways with a posted speed limit above 50 km/h.
Stephen Forgacs, Transportation Choices Sunshine Coast co-chair called these changes “a small step in the right direction,” but says ultimately change will come from enforcement and changes in drivers' conduct.
“It's one thing to put rules in place and it's quite another to change human behaviour,” Forgacs said.
He applauded the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for acknowledging that cyclists and pedestrians also have a right to travel safely on provincial roadways.
Forgacs said that these new regulations are particularly important in rural communities such as the Sunshine Coast where the roads and especially the highway have no provision for cyclists, pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or people using mobility scooters.
Calling the new regulations “just rules,” he said that they are ultimately down to a driver's discretion to follow or not.
Permanent infrastructure such as bike lanes, multi-use paths or wider shoulders are examples of what Forgacs said will create safety for vulnerable road users.
What else has changed
The legislation creates a light class of e-bikes designed for people 14 and older, with safety precautions such as less power and lower maximum speed.
The legislation has a new regulation for mobility devices, which clarifies that the device is an extension of the person, who is already a pedestrian under the Motor Vehicle Act.
Forgacs said that the increasing popularity of e-bikes and other micromobility vehicles is creating a new segment of road users, and they need to be accommodated in road safety planning.
“It's good that [the province] is acknowledging that a provision should be made for cyclists and pedestrians,” Forgacs said. “But what we'd really like to see is more infrastructure changes to make it really safe for vulnerable road users.”
A prohibition against the operation of fully automated self-driving vehicles unless provincially authorized is included in the legislation.
The introduction of the new e-bikes and the automated vehicle framework came into effect on April 5, and the changes to improve safety for vulnerable road users and mobility device regulations will come into effect on June 3.
The province also began a safety study for electric kick scooters on April 5, which will run for four years.
In the release, Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, said this is another step in modernizing B.C.’s rules to keep up with technologies that are changing how people get around.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
