scottmorrison99

Wife picked me up a pamphlet (DMV 909, REV 2/94) at the DMV that states that:" When moving slower than the normal traffic speed, Stay near the right edge of the road, except:
a.When passing another bicycle or vehicle.
b. When getting ready to turn left.
c. When passing a parked car or to avoid other objects.
d. When on a one way road, two lanes or wider. Then bicyclists may ride either near the left or right side."

They want me to ride on the edge of the road? Can anyone tell me if this is the law in California, instead of the sensible "as far right as practible"? If this is the law, I'm going to keep breaking it . Riding on the right "edge" of the road would get me killed quick. Riding as a vehicle makes me predictable, and alive.

CB HI

Don't have the link handy right now for CA law, but they did leave out the other exceptions to as far right as practible. How surprising of CHP and DMV. CA is the birth place of most of the exceptions.

Helmet Head

Instead of giving you the link to the exact law, I'll teach you how to fish...

1. The only thing you have to memorize (or bookmark, or write down) is www.dmv.ca.gov
2. Look on the left margin of that page. About 4 links down, click on Publications.
3. On the Publications page, you'll see a list of "handbooks" at the top. Scroll down, skip the sample tests, and you'll see "California Law". That's what we want.
4. Click on 2006 Vehicle Code Book (HTML).
5. That click will take you to the Table of Contents. The 4th item down is Vehicle Code Index, divided up alphabetically. We're looking for Bicycle laws, so click on B.
6. Scroll down to BICYCLES.
7. Under the BICYCLES section, scroll down to rules of the road. It has the links for 21200 and 21202.
8. 21200 is the basic "same rights and responsibilities" law. It's good to read, and important to know.
9. 21202 is the "keep as far right as practicable" law. It's good to study. In particular, read all of the exceptions carefully, and think about them. Choose your top 3 favorites. Think about your regular commute or ride, and how often the exceptions apply. Try to think of a situation where at least one of the exceptions does not apply. At those rare points, if they exist at all, is the only place where "keep as far right as practicable" applies. And even then, it's keep as far right as practicable, which is only as far right as is safe and reasonable.

Now, if you go back to step 3 above, you can also get to the driver's manual under handbooks. It probably does a better job than the 1994 language you quoted above. Are they really handing out 1994 versions of the handbook? What governor is mentioned?

scottmorrison99

Helmet Head, I knew you could do it.

Helmet Head

Now you can too.
It's probably a good idea to print out 21200 and 21202. Also 21208 (under Bicycle Lanes), which regulates cyclists in bike lanes, and is practically a clone of 21202, which means most of the same exceptions apply.

A lot of vehicular cyclists complain about 21202 and 21208. And if I was dictator, I would repeal them. However, I do find that the exceptions spelled out in these laws can be very helpful to study and think about. They give the cyclist confidence about taking the lane in any situation where it is reasonable to do so (including in the absence of same-direction faster traffic).

scottmorrison99

No Governor mentioned, it's just a pamphlet, DMV 909, not a handbook. They're still handing this one out with a 2/94 revision date. I'm tempted to go take them all out of the local DMV to prevent further misinformation being spread. I'm teaching my 9 y/o son to ride safely, and the edge of the lane is a deathtrap, IMHO.

Helmet Head

There are intersectionless stretches of roadway where riding near the edge is not necessarily dangerous. The problem is when the cyclist is lulled into a false sense of security along the edge, and starts encountering intersections (including minor intersections with driveways, alleys an mall entrances) for which he is not prepared.

LittleBigMan

Today, with so many super-wide SUV's out there, even a 12-foot lane isn't wide enough to accomodate both them and me, not to my idea of safety. I always lean on the exception, "...except when the lane isn't wide enough..."

I figure motorists have all that unnecessary horsepower, let them use it (along with their brains) to move over and pass me. I take the space I need, just like I do when I drive.

I-Like-To-Bike

Are you teaching your son that stealing is OK if done to prevent the spread of "misinformation?" A good idea might be learning when to take a chill pill and avoid over the top hysterical rhetoric.

noisebeam

This is a good link also to help one develop a framework to think about ones local cyling related laws:
https://www.bicycledriving.com/trafficlaw.htm
If you go to the very bottom you will find links to most US state laws

Al

sbhikes

1994 is 12 years ago. That pamplet is too old. I would complain that they are passing out old information, possibly information that does not even have the correct laws. New laws are made and revised every year. That pamplet is probably disseminating outdated information and you should talk to the supervisor about it.

Da Tinker

Humph. "Normal traffic speed"? I am normal traffic, regardless of if I am in my car, on a motorcycle, in a 80,000 pound truck, or on my bike.

Check the state laws, know them & ride by them, when said laws are safe & reasonable. If they are not, work to change them.

ItsJustMe

If you get pulled over, you were "avoiding other objects." There was a fleck of glass in the road. Hang around for an hour or so, officer, and I'll find it for you.

mmerner

I think the definition of "edge" is open to interpretation.

ken cummings

I looked up Cal DMV rule 21202 on reflectorized equipment. Now I see where Spoke reflectors are called for.
Actually not spoke reflectors but reflectors on each side fore and aft of the center of the bike, size unspecified. ( ) Four tiny bits of reflective tape stuck to the head and seat tubes would take care of that one. Anyone out there ever been charged for that one or the pedal reflector one?

John E

I never ride three of my bicycles in the dark (Bianchi and Capos), and I have never been hassled about their entire lack of reflectors or reflective tape. I have a traditional red reflector clamped to the left seat stay, a rack-mounted rear-facing red LED blinkie, a backpack-mounted red LED blinkie, and a headlight (but no front reflector) on the bikes I do ride at night (mountain bike and Peugeots), but no spoke doodads and no pedal reflectors, because the latter interfere with the flipup tabs on the backs of my pedal cages. (I use old-fashioned road quill pedals with toeclips.) I wear bright-colored clothing, such as a screaming yellow Pearlizumi cycling windbreaker, during the day, and bright white sweaters, jackets, shirts, or jerseys at night. I make a point of being more visible than the law requires and worry much more about the spirit of the law than the letter thereof. In the early 1970s, when the reflector law was new, the LAPD did occasionally bust bicyclsts for missing reflectors, but I have not heard of this practice for at least two decades.

I-Like-To-Bike

I assume everyday cyclists are not concerned at all with unenforced/insignificant traffic code minutia nor strained interpretations of the same by the legal beagle wannabes of BF.

John E

Ken, we have four cats*, and I often have a cat-on-lap or cat-on-keyboard problem.

___
*Including three beautiful black females I collectively call "The Supremes."

Brian

You don't sound too humble about your opinion, actually. I just don't see why this surprises you. All slower traffic should be traveling to the right of faster moving traffic.

Yes, the edge of the lane can be a deathdrap. So can the center of the lane, the middle lane, and of course the dual turn or "Suicide lane". Your pamphlet merely states "Near the right edge of the road". My wife's work is near our house - it's 5 minutes away. I hope that you can figure out what near means in this case, and stop running around yelling that the sky is falling. Do I need to edit the title of this thread, since it doesn't agree with your initial post?

John E

It is all situational, is it not? Example 1: Del Dios Highway, a 2-lane 55mph road with bike lanes. I prefer to ride in the bike lane, which qualifies as NEAR the right edge of the roadway. (In fact, many folks consider the entire shoulder, with or without bike lane demarcation, to be to the RIGHT of the right edge of the ACTUAL roadway.) Example 2: Coast Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas, a 4-lane 30mph road with diagonal parking and narrow lanes. I ride straight down the center of the right lane, to minimize danger from cars backing out of the diagonal parking stalls.

MrCjolsen

It all depends on the road.

How wide?
How many lanes?
How fast is the traffic?
How much traffic?
What is along side the edge of the road (cars, debris, trash cans, etc)
How fast can I go on my bike.

If the traffic speed is 50mph and there's a constant line of cars and there's no reason not to ride on the edge, that's what I'm going to do. But if I see a parked car in my path, I signal and take the lane well before I reach the parked car.

If the SOT is 30mph and a tailwind lets me go 25mph I'll take the lane if I want to.

On a lonely rural road I'll ride wherever it's the most smooth. That may very well be the middle of the lane. Even if there's a nice wide bike lane. Under those circumstances, I hear a car coming I just move over.

Of course, I always ride outside of the open door radius of any parked cars. That's just common sense.

worker4youth

California also includes exceptions for "sub-standard" lanes (which is pretty much everywhere in any major city), where a bike and car can't safely fit in the lane together.

UmneyDurak

We can debate the definition of "near", untill universe freezes. It doesn't really matter. What matters is when someone will run over a cyclist, and his/her lawyer will argue it's definition and that cyclist wasn't obeying the law and ridding dangerously.

Daily Commute

The DMV pamphlet provides misguided general advice. Generally, you should only be "near" the right edge if the lane is wide enough for you to share safely with an SUV. Since there are very few lanes that wide, the better advice for most urban roads is to stay in one of the tire tracks.

Note the hedge words "generally" and "most." Road position is situational. "Always" and "never" are rarely good advice.

And you mistate the general rule about slower traffic. Slower traffic should generally stay in the right lane, not the right edge of the right lane. Big difference

Brian

You'll need to highlight that part of my quote, since I don't see where I posted that.