House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee members unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would require motorists to follow what is already in the Utah Driver Manual and keep three feet away from bicyclists when passing the two-wheel commuters on two wheels.

Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake City, said she sponsored the bill to educate more drivers about the guideline.

Supporters don't expect police to ticket drivers, absent an accident - even though the bill would classify the violation as a class C misdemeanor, with fines up to $750 and a possible 90 days in jail.

"Everybody [in the bicycling community] knows somebody who's been hit by a car. We're looking for some courtesy," said John Weis, who asked McGee to sponsor the bill.

House Bill 49 might be called the Josie Johnson Bill. The 25-year-old University of Utah molecular-biology graduate student was hit and killed in September as she was biking up Big Cottonwood Canyon southeast of Salt Lake City.

She was one of five bicyclists killed in 2004, but it was her death that galvanized the cycling community. Hundreds gathered in October for a memorial ride. Weis, Johnson's U. professor, approached McGee soon afterward.

McGee made some amendments to ensure the bill passed out of committee, including making concessions when the roadway is too narrow for the 3-foot clearance, and holding drivers harmless if they hit a bicyclist who is at fault for cycling negligently.

hmay@sltrib.com