It’s official: The Florida Bicyclist’s Accident Report Card is complete. Isn’t she lovely?

Sponsoring the Sunshine State’s cards is Share the Road Apparel, a new company that promotes safe cycling with superior-quality biking jerseys and other gear.

Their message centers around Florida’s “3 foot passing rule” — a law that requires motorists to give cyclists a 3-foot safety buffer when passing in the same direction. This law makes being a biker on the road less scary, which, in turn, makes cycling more accessible for everyone.

STR’s mission is lot like ours, actually: if we can make cycling safer all-around with education and better legislation, more folks will ride.  And as STR’s website points out, more bikes will result in “healthier neighbors, fewer cars on the road, and less impact on our environment.”

Juan Carlos Agosto, the founder and CEO of STR, was kind enough to give us an explanation of how Share the Road Apparel came to be:

It began 3 years ago. STR has been active for 2.

I have been riding for more than 8 years now, and have always been comfortable on the road. But I was getting frustrated that people in Florida weren’t aware of the 3 feet law for passing a cyclist.

I didn’t even know about the law until I began riding. I always heard stories of accidents but they never mentioned the law about sharing the road and giving cyclists 3ft.

Then it was my turn — I was cut off by a car and got hit. Luckily, I got out of it fine. But after witnessing how motorists and cyclists where treating each other, I immediately wanted to do something to make a change.

I decided to do something in a way that I could mix my love of cycling with my other passion of graphic design. So I started designing cool cycling jerseys and t-shirt designs that convey the message of just sharing the road and giving cyclist 3 feet in addition to the love of bikes. I thought that i could spread the word by using fashion and cool designs that people would like to wear with the intention of creating buzz and inquiries in order to get the message out.

I feel that not that many people care or know about the law. I see how my friends and coworkers have changed their attitude towards bicycles and cyclists by just me telling them what I’m doing. I figure that doing this is better than doing nothing and if I can get one person to change their mind about bicycles/cyclists on the road and treat each other with a little respect — it’s well worth it.

Moving your car 3 feet to the left when you come up to a bicycle is not the end of the world — it’s the law and it can save lives.

To get your very own Florida version of the Bicyclist’s Accident Report, send an SASE to:

STR Apparel
ATTN. Accident Report Card
5107 Cortez Ct.
Delray Beach, FL 33484

Juan will also be visiting local bike stores and coffee shops to drop off cards in the coming weeks. If you want to carry them at your local business, or know of someplace that should, send an email to info@str-apparel.com, with the subject “FL Accident Report Card”.

One last thing: don’t forget to follow STR on Facebook and Twitter!