Bicycle riders, safety advocates trumpet awareness of new ‘3-foot law’

By Riley Snyder

Thursday, May 30, 2013 | 6:04 p.m.

Four years ago, Ryan Pretner’s life changed in an instant.

The 37-year-old Las Vegas man, who boasted of cycling upwards of 200 miles a week, was riding down St. Rose Parkway early in the evening of Jan. 12, 2009, when a Ford F-150 pickup truck’s side mirror hit the back of Pretner’s head.

Even though Pretner was following traffic safety law and wearing a helmet, the collision fractured his skull and left him in a coma for almost two months.

Doctors gave him a 10 percent chance to live.

It took months for small bits of progress; eight months to wean Pretner off a feeding tube, nine months for him to learn how to speak again. An entire year passed before he was able to walk without assistance.

Four years later, Pretner is doing much better. Though he faces lifelong problems stemming from the accident, he stood proudly Thursday morning at the Regional Transportation Commission’s Bonneville Transit Center, flanked by public officials and fellow cycling enthusiasts in the hopes of bringing awareness to a safe-driving law that may have saved him from tragedy.

“I’m lucky to be alive,” he said. “(This law) will help other families from having to endure the struggles we went through.”

The law is Nevada’ so-called “3-foot law,” requiring motorists to leave at least three feet between their vehicle and cyclists or to change lanes when passing. Officials say more must be done to combat motorist-based cycling injuries in Las Vegas, especially as more bike lanes are added in areas throughout the valley.

Over the last six months, local governments have added 115 miles of new bike lanes, including several blocks of downtown Las Vegas, Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said.

Most bicycle accidents in Las Vegas happen in heavily concentrated areas, Metro Police Lt. Todd Raybuck said. He said the 3-foot-law, which was passed in 2011 and carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for violators, could be helpful in deterring vehicle-bicycle accidents. There have been more than 1,000 biking collisions in the past three years in the valley, he said.

Eric Larson, a member of Outside Las Vegas Foundation and cycling enthusiast, said biking in the city can be safer than in outlying areas because cars travel more slowly.

“I’d rather be hit downtown than in a rural area,” he said.

According to a 2010 study by the Nevada State Health Division, biking fatalities in the state are relatively rare and confined to urban areas like Reno and Las Vegas.

For Pretner, who testified in 2011 in favor of the 3-foot-law bill, the battle against cycling accidents isn’t finished. The rule won’t have any impact unless the public knows about it, he said.

“Vegas needs this law, and we must bring awareness to the public so that there are more careful and considerate of bike riders,” he said.