Safety: Senate Bill 895
SB 895, in effect since January 1, 2024, creates safer traveling conditions for cyclists.
This bill clears up any confusion about when a motorist can safely pass a bicyclist, or any slow-moving vehicle, on a double yellow line. The passing driver must travel at least 5 MPH under the posted speed limit and be certain that there are no oncoming vehicles. The bill defines “obstruction” to include bicycles or another type of vehicle that is traveling at less than half the posted speed limit. The exact wording of the bill is included here. The changes are in bold. ✎
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 811.420 is amended to read:
811.420. (1) A person commits the offense of passing in a no passing zone if the person drives a vehicle on the left side of a roadway in a no passing zone that has been established and designated to prohibit such movements by appropriate signs or markings posted on the roadway.
(2) The authority to establish and post no passing zones for purposes of this section is established under ORS 810.120.
(3) The provisions of this section do not apply under any of the following circumstances:
(a) When a driver turns left into or from an alley, intersection, private road or driveway.
(b) When an obstruction or condition exists making it necessary to drive to the left of the center of the roadway provided that a driver doing so shall:
(A) Yield the right of way to all vehicles traveling in the proper direction upon the unobstructed portion of the roadway within a distance that would constitute an immediate hazard; and
(B) Drive at a speed that is at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.
(4) As used in this section, “obstruction” includes a person who is riding a bicycle or operating another type of vehicle and who is traveling at a speed of less than one-half of the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.
[(4)] (5) The offense described in this section, passing in a no passing zone, is a Class B traffic violation.
SECTION 2. The amendments to ORS 811.420 by section 1 of this 2023 Act apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of this 2023 Act.
Maria Sworske, Member at Large