Lopez Bicycle Passing Bill Loosens No-Passing Zones Statewide

The text as introduced · 618 words

89R1816 SRA-D

By: Lopez of Bexar
H.B. No. 535

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of a motor vehicle passing a pedestrian or

a person operating a bicycle in certain municipalities; creating a

criminal offense.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,

is amended by adding Section 545.0571 to read as follows:

Sec. 545.0571. MOTOR VEHICLE PASSING PEDESTRIAN OR BICYCLE

OPERATOR. (a) This section applies only to a person operating a

motor vehicle within the boundaries of a municipality with a

population of 100,000 or more.

(b) An operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care

to avoid colliding with a pedestrian or a person operating a bicycle

on a highway or street.

(c) For the purposes of Section 545.053(a), safe distance

from a pedestrian or any part of a bicycle is:

(1) at least three feet if the operator's vehicle is a

passenger car or a light truck; or

(2) at least six feet if the operator's vehicle is a

commercial motor vehicle as defined by Section 522.003 or a truck

other than a light truck.

(d) For the purposes of Section 545.057(a), conditions

permit safely passing a pedestrian or a bicycle to the right only if

the motor vehicle passes:

(1) at least three feet from the pedestrian or any part

of the bicycle if the operator's vehicle is a passenger car or a

light truck; or

(2) at least six feet from the pedestrian or any part

of the bicycle if the operator's vehicle is a commercial motor

vehicle as defined by Section 522.003 or a truck other than a light

truck.

(e) An operator of a motor vehicle passing a pedestrian or a

person operating a bicycle on a highway or street that has two or

more marked lanes running in the same direction shall move the motor

vehicle to a lane other than the lane used by the pedestrian or

bicycle operator while passing the pedestrian or bicycle operator.

(f) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this

section that at the time of the offense the pedestrian or bicycle

operator was acting in violation of a traffic law in a manner that

contributed to the offense under this section.

SECTION 2. Section 545.055, Transportation Code, is amended

by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as

follows:

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [ An ] operator

may not drive on the left side of the roadway in a no-passing zone or

on the left side of any pavement striping designed to mark a

no-passing zone.

(b-1) Subsection (b) [ This subsection ] does not prohibit a

driver from :

(1) crossing pavement striping, or the center line in

a no-passing zone marked by signs only, to make a left turn into or

out of an alley or private road or driveway ; or

(2) passing a pedestrian or a person operating a

bicycle in a no-passing zone if the operator of the motor vehicle

otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter .

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An

offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of

this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of

this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.