Bike Lane Law Update: What it Means
 

Even though it looks like we'll have to wait until the beginning of next year for it to take effect. We here in Florida ARE going be seeing some changes to the MBL law that effectively repeals Florida's MBL law.

Bike Lane Law Update: What it Means

Great link. I also liked this link within the article to animations of group riding safety. I had never heard of rear-initiated lane changes but it makes perfect sense, though not sure how well that would work with a large group of 25-40 or more riders.

I just wish the roads I'll be commuting on had at least SOME bike lane or additional shoulder or something. As of now they're all 2-lane roads, no shoulder, usually ditches on both sides, and LOTS of hills which means people will be getting impatient behind me as I'm trying to climb the hill most likely.

I do not see it as a repeal of MBL law. You still have to prove why you left the bike lane if a cop stops you or you are in a collision.

Well, these are good changes to clarify actions that cyclists are already legally allowed to take. But it's not a repeal of a ridiculous law that should have never been passed.

I'm not sure these legal updates are going to change the Florida public's mind when bicyclists appear to be hogging the road and totally avoiding bikelanes two by two as pictured at the politically charged Florida VC promoter Keri Caffery's website....

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=248453

Not sure this is the riding that is protected by the changes in the Florida law. This type of riding is what got the MBL law passed in the first place, according to reports out of Florida.... not sure what bicycling 'advocates' like Keri and her followers expect as treatment from the rest of the road using public, if they think this type of riding is ostensibly allowed in florida under the proposed legal changes.... I suspect some in florida already think this type of riding is legal....

even in states like New Hampshire, a state without much in the way of Bike specific laws, the public still wants and expects riders out of the way. see Bob Mionske's blog posts from today about a town in NH that has a reader board sign out chiding bicyclists.....

Rye NH town chides bicyclists with reader board

see comments about bicycling at Rye news report

bicyclists have duties in ALL states to share the road by operating safely right... this is codified in ALL states' traffic laws in some wording or other, even in states with no BIKE_FRAP law. a look at rider education in states with no BIKES-FRAP laws makes this abundantly clear. states with BIKES FRAP laws, like florida and california, allow riders more explicit cause to take the lane and ride reasonably away from the right than states that regulate bikes under generally more restrictive SMV-FRAP laws.

its very clear bicyclists are better served by specific bike laws that allow them to take the lane under many circumstances. mandatory bikelane laws are something i do not support, but have never personally had any problems reasonably avoiding bikelanes in states with MBL laws. if a rider is smart and reasonable in their road position, they likely won't either.


I think its a mess in florida and more respect from all road users about their duty of care is warranted. modifying the MBL law isn't going to change anything. removing the MBL law won't make behaviors as pictured at the keri caffery website any more accepted by road users in florida.

I don't think ANYONE has any idea what Keri Caffery is talking about in regards to 'rear initiated' lane shifts....
curious, indeed. How does the front of the pack get this information they're changing lanes, exactly???


it's very clear there are groups of cyclists in Florida (and, likely other states) taking lane position to a politicized extreme.

Yeah look at those Florida cyclist hogging the road - OH WAIT is that a pick up truck passing the cyclist without any problem at all.

Funny what Bek considers hogging the road. Seems every motorist in the world must hog the road, motorcyclist as well.

Seriously, the great Bek has never been in a group of cyclist capable of this maneuver. Even Honolulu public bus drivers know how to do a similar version of this maneuver.

Rather than laughing and criticizing, maybe the great Bek should learn some of the old cycling maneuvers.

I don't live near FL, but from what I see in MD (and PA and DE), I'm biased more to the views CommuterRun and CB HI. To me, the FL law looks like bicyclists still have to justify leaving the bike lanes; the only difference is that the list of unsafe conditions is a little more explicit (if it is considered relevant) but bicyclists need to justify riding outside door zone lanes or lanes to the right of right turn arrows (standard MD and PA design).

I keep reading that MD has repealed the mandatory shoulder rules, but from the details I read, it looks like it is only repealed if it is exceptionally unsafe and stupid to ride on the shoulder, where theoretical exceptions already existed before. (But not frequetnly allowed, look up Leymeister.) Similarly, MD recently passed a 3' law, but the final version has so many exceptions that it basically says if the road is too narrow, the motorist has the right to pass anyways instead of waiting until it is safe.

MD also has the most egregious local restrictions (no exception to mandatory bike lane use for bicycling at the speed of traffic )- if we allow bicyclists to take the lane they won't use door zone lanes when cars in rush hour traffic are are going at slow bicycle speeed.

The single file in NHconflated with a requirement to ride as far right as possible (not practicable), and applied to bicyclists that won't let motorists pass in 10' lanes in 20mph congested traffic. Keri's FL site has a video of a motorist with an open lane to pass shouting at a policeman that bicyclists are required to ride single file when they already are, just not in the gutter of a narrow lane

As long as the bike lanes are designed and evaluated by motorists (planners, police, judges), I don't see any enforcement of the minimal protections these laws purport to give bicyclists.

This is a bad picture to use to make the motorist apologist point you want to make, Bek.

First, there isn't anything in the photograph to indicate that is a bike lane and not a paved shoulder. There is a difference, and the MBL law does not cover paved shoulders. In fact nothing in the FL Statutes requires cyclists to use paved shoulders, nor is there anything in the FL Statutes that excludes cyclists from using paved shoulders. It is strictly up to the individual.

Second, that is a 4 lane road, two lanes each direction. The only way these cyclists could be "hogging" that road is to put a pace line in each lane.

actually, i pulled it off of keri's site in her post about bikelanes, and its titled 'bobbies_bl', so I'm going to put two and two together and infer it's a photo of a double paceline in florida avoiding a bikelane. :rolleyes:

It's funny, behaviors like this double file paceline riding while avoiding the bikelane is what got florida cyclists the mandatory bike lane law in the first place.


http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=248453

and even in New Hampshire, where there traditionally hasn't been much in the way of constrictive cyclists regulation, calls are to require cyclists operate single file as well. Even when there are no bike specific laws, there are laws regulating slower traffic to share the road by turning out to the right, in EVERY state. EVERY state regulates slowly moving bicyclists or other slow moving traffic to the right to share the road. every state.

It appears a large problem of public perception about bicyclists is double paceline riding and avoiding positions safely right....

I'm not sure how to solve the problem of public perception skewed against double pacelines.

I know group riding and understand how the lantern can 'block', but initiate the lane change? please, a reality check is in order.

I can see one reason why the cyclists in the photo opted out of the bike lane, being a gutter design, it's probably nothing but a debris field from motorists' vehicles.

"gutter design?" "Debris field?"

:rolleyes:

....... a lot of hyperbole about bike lanes.

not sure this riding style is going to inculcate motorists to bicycling, regardless of the allowances of state laws. only a half dozen states have mandatory bikelane laws, but this type of riding would generally be considered discourteous in all. Education about riding double file will help (many states allow double file riding) but there is strong, widespread public pushback against double paceline riding (and double paceline riding begat florida's mandatory bikelane law, remember)
Changing public perception about bicycle traffic doesn't come at the tail end of a double paceline. Florida's no picnic for bicyclists (the most hazardous state for bicyclists); its too bad riders feel they have to mass up for safety.

I don't know that I have an answer to changing public perception about slowly moving traffic riding doubled up. However, I will suggest

1)the riding style at keri's blog would remain generally illegal in Florida unless there is a reasonable reason to avoid the BL;
2) riding clubs preemptively avoiding bikelanes as pictured will continue to solicit motorists ire;
3)changing public perception in a state with a mandatory bikelane law won't improve when both lines of a double paceline avoid an otherwise safe to ride in bikelane; and
4) it appears some riding groups polarize and politicize their riding to the detriment to public perception of the rest of the bicyclists.

I read Bek's advice as saying that cyclists should act subserviently lest they antagonize the motoring public who believe that cyclists are inferior and are required to act subserviently. I regard this cyclist-inferiority attitude as the root cause of the political troubles that bother American cyclists. Continuing in this manner cannot make the situation better; rather, it just produces more traditional basis for it.

American cyclists should act as the legal equals of other drivers. If a cyclist, or several, is actually delaying other drivers who could otherwise travel faster, and if the cyclist(s) can safely create new opportunities for overtaking, then he or they should do so. That's reasonable, but always acting subserviently just because there is some possibility that such an opportunity might occur, which is the idea that motorists have, is unreasonable.

Yes, bike lanes can become nothing but debris fields if not swept regularly. When our city temporarily halted sweeping of it's streets, our bike lanes became a mess, and I speak from experience of riding in them, as well as in personally sweeping them.

i make no suggestions of preemtive "subservience." that's an contrived, artificial construct of my position. i'm stating there are negative public perceptions associated with groups of riders failing to follow the law in florida and other states, and the unfortunate negative perceptions of riders operating doubled up despite this being allowed in many states.

I also touched on riding as pictured at Keri's blog is what begat bicyclists the mandatory bikelane law in florida in the first place, versus a more measured and reasonable approach to road use by clubs of cyclists in the presence of bikelanes.

the politicized lane positioning of club riders certainly appears to have backfired in florida. It seems spandexed clubs riding audax style have had more critical, negative presence than other mass rides in that state.

Bike lanes are a de facto "contrived, artificial construct of" roads.

So you are going to assume that this Keri person knows the difference between a bike lane and a paved shoulder? And everyone else is supposed to just roll with this because you said so; right? Yeah, whatever.:rolleyes:

whatever. it was at a post about riding in the presence of bikelanes, i suspect Keri intended it to characterize rider positioning in the presence of a bikelane.

I assume Keri knows the difference between a bikelane and a paved shoulder. there's a curb in that picture, BTW..... not many 'shoulders' have 'curbs' eh?

I'm pretty confident the picture is a double paceline avoiding a bikelane - akin to the politically charged riding style that begat the mandatory bikelane law in florida in the first place.

it looks like spandexed CAT 6 club riders are bicycling advocacy's worst enemies, a critical mess of ostensible posturing and in your face road use.

I admit its a conundrum. how best to plan for roadway bike traffic, make cities more amenable to roadway bicycling for more of the public? there's proven countermeasures (bikelane placement along significant bicycle routes) that make riders safer and bring more people to the roadways on bicycles.

when club riders insist on aggrandizement of their road rights, the case in florida shows this behavior can detrimentally affect all riders, in both public perception and legal censure.

I don't think codifying reasonable exceptions to avoid the bikelane effectively repeals anything. cyclists have always have the right to avoid an unsafe operating condition, in every state, even in states with mandatory bikelane laws. even in florida. Cyclists in florida ALREADY are allowed, under FS 316.2065 to avoid the bike lane or as far right as practicable when



even if the bikelane law is repealed sometime in the future. cyclists still have a duty to operate safely right in florida.

just don't try to repeal the law that allows bicyclists the specific, bike specific law to avoid narrow lanes, etc, digital cowboy. that would truly be shooting yourself in the foot to remove laws protecting your right to avoid narrow lanes, etc!

Bek does know quite well who Keri Caffrey is and her training programs and bicycle advocacy. Bek apparently hates the training of cyclist in a way that frees them from his precious bike lanes.
http://commuteorlando.com/education/instructors.html

I'm actually a strong proponent of cyclist education, CB HI.

And as a strong proponent of proper cyclist education, certainly suggest cyclists follow the laws of the road where they are riding.



this is an example of the type of riding behavior http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=248453 that begat the mandatory bike lane law in florida in the first place! can you say "BACKFIRE?" :rolleyes:

[bold mine]

So in other words; you don't really know what point you're trying to make. You're just going along with whatever seems counter to the status quo. Typical.

I'm from Oregon, a state whose bike lane law shares similarities to Florida's rewritten bike lane law in provisions allowing people on bikes to travel out of bike lanes. Oregon's bike lane law:

By a reading of Oregon's law, about the only kind of thing it doesn't seem to allow people on bikes to leave the bike lane and travel in the main lane for, would be to unjustifiably hold up faster road traffic. At bikeportland.org, to one of the recent stories there, in the comments to the story, some discussion dealt with Oregon's bike law. Some people seem to be feel they'll get cited for riding in road situations where they consider themselves to have legitimately left the bike lane to ride in the main travel lanes. Despite their inclination to think the bike lane law would be used to unfairly cite or harass people traveling by bike, not a single example from Oregon later than 2006 of a person cited for failure to use a bike lane, was offered.

The picture below: Though, near as can be seen in the picture, the portion of the road to the right of the solid white line and left of the curb looks clean and suitable for riding, given the light traffic conditions and two same direction parallel lanes of travel, there's probably nothing particularly wrong with the two abreast group of riders using a main travel lane instead for bike travel. If the picture truly does reflect an example of why a majority of Floridians became interested in creating a law whose purpose was, as some people apparently think it was...to unreasonably confine bike traffic to bike lanes, it might interesting to see the history on that.



http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1336187663

What in the heck are you talking about? Plenty of shoulder have curbs.

one needs look no further than the originator of that photo, Keri Caffery and her blog for the explanation.... it's tragic that such aggrandizing road behavior as pictured in the above photo prompted state legislators to censure bicyclists with a MBL law, but its very clear the riders most outspoken about their lane position were directly responsible for the legal censure.

It's apparantly a morass of their own devising. its a shame aggrandizing club cyclists have made quite the mess for the rest of florida cyclists.


Keri Caffery's blog on why florida cyclists got the MBL law

Unless you can prove, there is either a bike lane symbol labeled somewhere on that road or a sign saying "bike lane" on that road in the picture, the cyclists ARE ridng legally...

Florida also has a statute about, if there is no marking of a bike lane, the area to the right of the solid white line IS EITHER a "paved shoulder" or "curb".

The problem as I see it, is the vast majority of bicycle riders are not sufficiently "trained" on legal usage of roadway; and as such, motorists see illegal activites all the time, so they think ALL cyclists have no clue.

The REAL problem is that, in my opinion, a good 75% of EVERYONE (that includes motorists, cyclists, pedestrian, etc) really have a hard time strictly following the law (for their own particular reason, whatever those reasons are).

On a daily basis I see cyclists riding the wrong direction on the road, pedestrians crossing in the middle of the road or through red lights at intersections, motorists cutting off cyclists, etc etc...

I ALWAYS follow the rules of the road, for the MAIN reason, that it's the safest way to travel.

And, in the end, isn't that what we all want?

it would be very hard for me to 'prove' this being a bikelane.... however, the width of the stripe (six inch versus four inch stripes of the lane lines), the bobbies _bl.jpeg designation from Keri, and Keri's inclusion of the pic in a blog post about bikelane law, all strongly infer these riders are, indeed, avoiding a bikelane in florida.


http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...3&d=1336187663

how do we even know they're in florida? :roflmao: