Prosecutors search for 3-foot rule violator

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Prosecutors are looking for a man who may have given a bicyclist an unwanted -- and illegal -- pat on the back.

Jason Bultman told police he was pedaling up a Salt Lake City street in November when a pickup drove up beside him and a hand swiped across his back. The move startled Bultman and he was afraid the truck was going to knock him from his bike.

The pickup veered away, but Bultman took down the license plate number and reported it to police.

Utah law requires motorists to stay at least three feet away from bicyclists. The Legislature passed the law in response to the 2004 death of a University of Utah graduate student who was hit by a sport utility vehicle while biking up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Police followed up with the pickup's owner and now are looking for the man who was in the passenger seat and touched Bultman. City prosecutor Sim Gill said his hasn't been able to find the man and serve him a summons for an arraignment.

Gill said the city will try again before issuing an arrest warrant.

The charge is a misdemeanor with up to a possible $750 fine and 90 days in jail.

Bultman is president of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective and was familiar with the 3-foot law. He also had an ankle get crushed in a car-bicycle crash.

"My side job in life is to try to educate people that bicycling is a great way to get around town," Bultman said.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune