WALHALLA — Oconee County Magistrate Blake Norton and his cycling buddy, Dwight Addis, recalled encountering what could have easily turned into a road-rage moment.

The two bicyclists were participating in the “Save the Church” fund-raising event in Walhalla when a vehicle passed them going up Mountain Road with less than two feet to spare.

The bikers came up on the truck that had given them such a close call at a stop sign. Addis courteously reminded the driver to observe a little road etiquette. That elicited a discourteous reply from the trucker. To make matters worse, the trucker menacingly followed the pair for a stretch, before rudely passing them again.

“I wrote down his license plate and gave it to a Sheriff’s deputy,” Norton said. “I don’t know what happened to the guy. I’m sure the deputy had a talk with him.”

At the time, there really wasn’t much that the deputy could do to the angry motorist. That has now changed under new revisions to the state’s bicycle law approved by the Legislature and recently signed by Gov. Mark Sanford.

Under the new rules, that same motorist could have been cited for not keeping a safe distance between his vehicle and the bicyclists. He also could have been charged with harassment, a misdemeanor that carries a $250 fine, 30 days in jail, or both.

Although the revision at one time flirted with a 5-foot distance between vehicle and bicycle (Many states require three feet of space) bicyclists still embrace the “safe-distance rule” as a meaningful improvement over the old law that was silent on what bikers call “buzzing.”

Bikers use the term buzzing to describe the actions of aggressive motorists who drive as close as possible to cyclists in an attempt to threaten or terrify them.

In fact, some bikers think the undefined “safe operating distance” rule is a flexible tool to use when an accident results from someone driving too close.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, more than 49,000 bicyclists have died in traffic crashes in the United States since 1932 — the first year in which estimates of such fatalities were recorded. In 2004, 22 bicyclists died in South Carolina traffic crashes.

As someone who has pedaled from Walhalla to Sunset Beach, N.C. alongside his brother — Oconee County Attorney Brad Norton — Blake Norton thinks the key to making bikers safer on the road is educating motorists about the new rules.

“I like the fact that they list fines,” Norton said. “It lets motorists know this is what’s going to happen to you.”

Addis has been a cycling enthusiast since 1982 when he was with the U.S. Air Force stationed in Holland. Unlike south Oconee County where exclusive bike paths are rare, Addis said Holland has separate bicycle paths away from the road.

Although he’s had very few close calls that he would consider intentional, Addis said a better understanding of the law would help motorists and bikers share the roads with mutual respect for one another.

For instance, Addis said few non-cyclists realize that a bicycle has control of a lane just as an automobile.

“We have as much right as they do,” Addis said.

Norton said he hopes the increased awareness for safety would also lead to carving out more exclusive bicycle lanes in the Upstate and the rest of South Carolina. Norton said he enjoys cycling on Scenic Highway 11 because it has a bike lane that goes all the way up to the Pickens County line.

“It used to be scary (on Highway 11),” Norton said. “Now I don’t worry.”