How much road do bikers own...

[Jay_2004]

Hey everyone...i wasnt sure about one thing. Is a biker entitled to the ENTIRE lane on a roadway?...or just the side?..Im talking about rural roads...not highways..I know it is curtious to stay to the side...but what are we really entitled to?........

keep on postin' :beer:

[DieselDan]

See Article 27 of the South Carolina Motor Vehicle Code.

[DnvrFox]

Hey everyone...i wasnt sure about one thing. Is a biker entitled to the ENTIRE lane on a roadway?...or just the side?..Im talking about rural roads...not highways..I know it is curtious to stay to the side...but what are we really entitled to?........

keep on postin' :beer:

Depends on the state and I suppose the Province.

http://bicyclecolo.org/site/page.cfm?PageID=45

>>(5) Any person riding a bicycle shall ride in the right-hand lane. When being overtaken by another vehicle, such person shall ride as close to the right-hand side as practicable. Where a paved shoulder suitable for bicycle riding is present, persons operating bicycles shall ride on the paved shoulder. These provisions shall apply, except under any of the following situations:
(a) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction;
(b) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;
(c) When reasonably necessary to avoid hazardous conditions, including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, or surface hazards.<<

[cyclezealot]

Once when riding in the city of San Diego a cop stopped me..Said I was too far out into the lane..Cars were parked and from ahead many motorists were opening closing doors. I did not agree.. Hated to head into an opening door.Might have been two or three feet out into the road. Lanes were very wide.
Not sure how to interupt as close as practicle.. Guess that judgement is in the eyes of the policeman..
Often when commuting to work, motorists will be obnoxious with their honking.Want me out of the road..The area adjacent the curb is soft and bumpy.. Once in awhile they get on my nerves and I have to respond with some kind of hostile gesture.. They had plenty of room and I did not even force them to the left. Guess a horn honk is less hostile than me feeling the abruptness of being gorged by a car mirror or whatever..
But guess what is worse.. Ever experience those drivers who over react and go way out into the on-coming lane, without really seeing on-coming traffic due to curves...If they had to duck back into their own lane, think they would head into the bike lane? They would then over-react to the far right..
Why do they think we need more than 18 inches to maneuver in...?

[Pat]

Hey everyone...i wasnt sure about one thing. Is a biker entitled to the ENTIRE lane on a roadway?...or just the side?..Im talking about rural roads...not highways..I know it is curtious to stay to the side...but what are we really entitled to?........

keep on postin' :beer:

Most areas have a stipulation that cyclists ride as far to the right "as practible". This is a judgement call that is really up to the cyclist. He is the one riding the bike afterall. Of course, egregious violations of the spirit of ride on the right, would probably be questioned by law enforcement.

You do have times when constabulary have their own ideas and some of these are extreme. I have been told to ride in a the paved gutter which the police thought was a "shoulder". I ignored him. Another officer told me to ride on the "white line". Meaning the white line that marks the far right of the lane. I ignored her. Both of these worthies told me this from a PA system as they cruised by.

What is valid? You can ride out far enough to avoid hazards. I often move to the left when I approach intersections to make myself more visible and to make it more difficult for cars to "right hook" me. You can even take a lane if it is clear that a car can not pass you safely even if you are to the far right. I rarely take the lane. I will do it on blind corners where my speed is a significant fraction of the motorist's cruising speed. I will take a lane if my rate of speed is the same as the flow of traffic. In that case, I am the same as a motorized vehicle. I also take a lane if I am waiting in line at a light. If they don't want me passing them on the right, then they can sit behind me and wait at the light like everyone else. No fair coming in on the left and squeezing me.

[erraticrider]

The question of country roads, though may require different judgments -- are the drivers on the roads you refer to going at rates above 50mph? 60mph? If so, their rate of overtaking you may be sufficiently fast that if they are doing anything (playing with the radio, etc.) they may not notice you as they approach. I try to avoid "fast" roads with a narrow lane or no shoulder.

[lamajo25]

It is what your state allows for you. If your state allows you to take the lane and ride in it for ever then you are allowed that. If you state says you have to stay in a bike lane then that's all you have. I don't like riding in the rural areas that much also, cars are traveling too fast through those areas.

[John E]

... I don't like riding in the rural areas that much also, cars are traveling too fast through those areas.

Those narrow, fast 2-lane rural roads tend to have extremely high injury and fatality rates for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Unfortunately, they are all too often the only way to get from Point A to Point B. The higher the traffic speed, the more I want a wide curb lane or smooth shoulder.

[Roughstuff]

My attititude as a cyclist, which has kept me alive all these years and thousands of miles of riding, is that I am distinctly a secondary vehicle on the road. I have a helmet mounted rear view mirror which allows me to monitor traffic from behind very closely. I have much more information about what driver's intentions are than they have of mine. Bicycles do not have sustained turn signals or brake lights, so it is much harder for drivers to tell what the hell we are going to do next.

When there is no one behind me i ride just the the left of the shoulder line; when traffic is visible i ride just to the right of it; and if there is going to be a squeeze I will ride further to the right but still claim whatever space I need to proceed forward safely. I often wave people by so that we both know whats going on.

I never seems I have the problems riding along a lane of parked cars as many people do. To me its pretty obvious when a door is going to open: the car has just parked and the people are ready to get out. I don't think people sit in the cars for hours knitting and then suddenly open their doors, especially out of malice for cyclists. Of course I am on full tippy toes while I am doing this. If no one is behind me I know I can veer into the road. If people are coming up on my right it is easier just to hit my brakes and stop if a door opens in front of me.

As for these zig zag bike lanes designed to help cyclists negotiate busy or complex intersections with right turn lanes etc., I just get off my bike and walk.

roughstuff

[Geraldo]

In response to roughstuff, I've found that when I ride on the shoulder cars come very close to me, not even attempting to move over to their left. When I ride in the traffic lane but within 2-3 feet of the shoulder they give me all kinds of room when they pass. State law says that cars cannot come within three feet of a cycle when passing.

[John E]

Although I concur with much of what Roughie says, I still want to leave a margin from parked cars, not only to prevent dooring, but also because pedestrians and drivers often dart out from between parked cars.

[miamijim]

Depends on the state an how fast you can ride. In Florida a cyclist is only entitled to the lane if he/she doesnt slow up the flow of traffic. Otherwise....move over....

[el Inglés]

In Spain cars etc are OBLIGATED by law to leave AT LEAST 1·5 mts when overtaking cyclists , any other laws like that out there ?

[Brian Ratliff]

I have ridden in Oregon and Washington and here the law states that we have the right to the lane if we need it. One of those "ride as far to the right as practical" type laws. When I started riding somewhat seriously about 6 years ago, I reasoned it out like this. Almost every driver on the road does not want the hassle (or guilt) of hitting someone, cyclist or otherwise, on their hands. If they are out to get me, my only refuge is the ditch. In other words, I am not afraid to take the lane against their protests if I need to for safety. If I feel I need extra space, then I go more to the left to make them swing furthur left of me. (Once they are passing, if they are getting too close, I can drift right and still have my space.) If I feel it is outright unsafe for them to pass, then I take the entire lane. If I feel I can afford to move right to make it easier for them to pass, then I do so.

It is all about space for me. I take the space I need to keep comfortable. I keep the peace by giving that space back when I feel it is safe for me to do so. This has gotten me a long way so far, and I have never had a serious tangle with a car using this policy. As my signature line says, we have an implicit agreement. If the agreement is broken, which it seldom is, then I take more space, to ensure that if a situation developes, I have more time to react.

BR

[Chris L]

In Spain cars etc are OBLIGATED by law to leave AT LEAST 1·5 mts when overtaking cyclists , any other laws like that out there ?

There is a similar law in most (if not all) states of Australia, but like all the others, it's rarely if ever enforced.

In answer to the original question, the law obligates me to ride as far to the left as practical, which is what I do in all situations. However, that is a very subjective law. There are numerous situations (such as a 3km stretch of my daily commute) where as far to the left as practical means the centre of the lane.

[ngateguy]

Washington does state to ride as far to the right as possible but also states that we are to ride safely so we are to stay away from any potential problems like dooring, storm grates, standing water. The slower vehicle should always, when safe yield to the faster traffic,most states have that law on the books. We don't own the road anymore than the cars do. [I]edit:nor any less than cars do
:beer:

[LittleBigMan]

Here's my angle:

Although cyclists are to ride as far right as is practical, they are entitled to the entire lane when necessary for safety, such as to avoid obstacles. Therefore, a passing vehicle should respect the cyclist's potential need to occupy the entire lane, whether the cyclist is over to the far right or not.

[Jay_2004]

Thanks everyone....

[Al.canoe]

In Florida you "own" the lane if it's too narrow to share with a vehicle. For those narrow roads which are the majority of what I ride, I ride far enough to the left to force the overtaking vehicle to cross the centerline to pass. If you do a Google search on the subject, you'll find some tourers who've ridden around 100,000 miles who advocate dominating the lane in that way. Though I mostly ride in a relatively bike-hostile area, I've had very few complaints.

I keep an eye out in my mirror for the larger trucks so when they pass, I can dive for the right side and give myself extra clearance. In other words, by keeping more to the left, you force the driver more left in passing which allows you a cushion on the right for escape with out having to go off-road.

If you check the statistics, you'll find that being hit from the rear is the biggest threat on any section of road between intersections and getting hit from the front is the biggest risk at intersections. My wife and I use "dawn to dusk" flashing LED headlights and tail lights, visible in bright sun and really visible on cloudy days. I've found that vehicles give me more clearance since we've started using lights. I've also found that fewer folks (so far none) cut in front of me at intersections. I think these results are more to do with "assertion of ones presence" or the "right to be there" than improved visibility.

When we did motorcycle touring, I used a device to contiguously flash my headlight during the day. Something like 95% of road motorcycle/car collisions occurred from +/- 7-degrees from dead ahead (statistics from the '80's) In 38,000 miles touring, never did have an accident or someone turn into me or pull out in front of me.

I've also noticed while driving that biker's become very hard to see on rural roads when shadowed by trees, even on a bright sunny day. I figured the lights would improve that situation too.

Al