Liberal madness: micromanaging every human activity until law becomes incomprehensible and counterproductive

Bikes vs. cars: Only one solution

My bike weighs about 30 pounds. Out on the road, my pickup truck — which is built for high miles with a diesel engine that takes 16 quarts of oil, and designed to load up a crew, gear and 30 gallons of fuel — weighs 8,500 pounds.

On the water, my canoe weighs 78 pounds, my kayak about 50 pounds. My powerboat, an 18-footer with a 115-horsepower outboard, weighs 3,000 pounds and cruises at 30 knots when loaded with gas, a cooler, trolling motor, four batteries and a few pals.

What do you think would happen if a truck like mine hit a bike like mine? Or my boat hit a canoe or kayak?

Splat.

Last week Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB1193, which is designed to help solve part of the ongoing conflict on the roadways by encouraging local agencies to construct dedicated bike lanes to separate two-wheelers from cars.

Don’t get this new law confused with the new 3-foot rule, officially called the “Three Feet for Safety Act,” which requires cars to keep at least 3 feet from cyclists when passing. That law took effect about two weeks ago. It does not make conditions safer when cars and bikes try to share a narrow road.

The problem is that the 3-foot rule specifically forbids a driver from crossing a double-yellow line, even if he only steals a foot on a 15-mph road in a remote rural area to make space. With no wiggle room, the law squeezes out bikes worse than ever on narrow roads. In addition, the fines are too low, just $100 to $200, depending on the county, for those who purposely sideswipe bikes.

In my truck last week, I had to pass a bike on a country two-laner. Like always, I slowed down as the bike hugged the shoulder at about 10 mph. Then, to pass safely, I broke the law: I slipped my left wheels on the double-yellow line to create space for the bike.

In a role reversal the next day, I was the one on the bike when a contractor in his van passed me, giving me plenty of room and waving at me while smiling as he went by. To keep it safe, he too broke the law and crossed the double-yellow line.

It’s crazy that at slow speeds and when conditions call for it, it’s illegal to do the right thing and give a bike a little room.

There’s always been a built-in conflict between those traveling different speeds (and often sizes) who attempt to share the same space: cars versus bikes, bikes versus hikers, powerboats versus kayaks and canoes, personal watercraft and water skiers versus fishermen, powerboats versus swimmers, surfers versus stand-up paddle boards, warp-speed snowboarders versus slower skiers.

The only thing that has ever solved these flash-point conflicts is putting the participants in different areas so they do not share the same space.

The new law, the Protected Bikeway Act, encourages lanes that physically separate bike traffic from cars, much like the lanes on several Bay Area bridges. AB1193 encourages using barriers such as planters, curbs, posts or parked cars to separate the two modes of transportation.

It was authored by Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) and is sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition.

With cordoned-off bike lanes and safe passage, maybe the cops could then start writing tickets to bike riders who blow through red lights and stop signs, make illegal lane changes and ride on the sidewalks.

Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoors writer. E-mail:tstienstra@sfchronicle.com. Twitter @StienstraTom