Advocacy & Safety - Help me understand this law in Illinois?

Position of bicycles and motorized pedal
cycles on roadways -Riding on roadways and bicycle paths. (a)
Any person operating a bicycle or motorized pedal cycle upon a
roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time
and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as
close as practicable and safe to the right-hand curb or edge of
the roadway except under the following situations:
1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle, motorized
pedal cycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction;

I'm trying to figure out if I can legally ride between two lanes of traffic, moving the same direction, that are stopped at a red light to make my way to the front. There's almost never room for me to pass on the right side. I think some people move further to the right intentionally to block me from passing. Should I just wait in the back of the line when this happens?

I don't see anything wrong with moving to the front while passing on the left when all traffic is stopped. Just be on the right side again by the time everybody starts moving faster than you and it would sound like you are still obeying this section.

If there's no right-side lane, just wait. Do you really feel that you are going to be faster than cars? It's quite probable that some extra-good drivers have taken note of you and shifted their position in the lane to the right to keep you back. Not to slow you down or play with you, but just to make their driving plan easier. Hunting for a bike "where the hell did he go" is no fun. what's more likely is they don't even know you exist.

On the other hand, if you want to go between lanes, go. Do what you want. It's more risky than waiting tho. Personally, I would be on the sidewalk right up to the light.

I don't see anything wrong with moving to the front while passing on the left when all traffic is stopped. Just be on the right side again by the time everybody starts moving faster than you and it would sound like you are still obeying this section.

That's what I usually do, but I got honked at today and I was curious if what I was doing was legal or not. I started doing it when they were doing construction on a major intersection and it seemed like the traffic went back almost a mile.

Trust me, motorists don't know traffic law; shame, 'cause they really should, being immersed in it daily like they are....

What YOU did, though -- checking it for yourself -- is exactly the right thing to do, SO YOU KNOW. I'm big on that -- don't THINK, FIND OUT SO YOU KNOW!

Filtering like that is situational; some places OK, others dangerous. What you describe seems OK to me.

the motorists get upset when the see the bicyclists take advantage of our unique steeds to bypass stop and go traffic. I got threatened by a guy with a gun once for doing this.

but don't worry about the hotheads. sure, some safety mavens will tell you here that you cannot, shouldnot or it is not wise to lane split on stopped traffic, but hey:

if cars share lanes with us all the time when they are faster then bicyclists, the motorists can share lanes with us when we are faster then them. safety first though! or is it third? ;)

I'm pretty sure lane splitting is illegal everywhere in the US except for California, but you can probably get away with it. Should you? If you are only going to be waiting one or two cycles for the light, just wait. Its rude to keep making the same people pass you after every light. You also miss out on the calm after a platoon of cars pulls ahead of you. If its backed up for a while, go for it.

Yeah, what you are doing is not overtaking a vehicle moving in the same direction (so that law does not apply), you are splitting the lane and thats a no-no. 1. it isn't safe, 2. most likely (99%) isn't legal, 3. Doesn't make friends around you.

Also if you are in between them, and the light changes you might get stuck in between them and you either have to cut one of them off to move to the right or you don't have enough space to move over. Either way not a good position to be in. I would take my position in the waiting line.

,,,,,. Should I just wait in the back of the line when this happens?

I like the variety of answers you've gotten here; they all seem helpful. Seems to me the best way to say it is that it IS risky. Many riders have made clear to me that hoppin' to the front makes them feel safer because they avoid a right hook; and this compensates for the fact that many (all?) of the cars have to 'pass you' again.

My own take is I don't 'care' what the law says...filtering between two lines of cars should be absolutely illegal, for many reasons.

roughstuff

That's what I usually do, but I got honked at today and I was curious if what I was doing was legal or not. I started doing it when they were doing construction on a major intersection and it seemed like the traffic went back almost a mile.


You got HONKED at? Seriously? Someone honked at you? If I tried to change my behavior every time someone honked at me, I wouldn't be able to walk across the street, let alone ride my bike down it.

i get honked at so much, i just ignore it
- some people honk to let me know they are about to pass
- others honk because they think bikes should not be on the road at all
- some have honked just to be absolute pricks and i can't determine what triggered them

i'm pretty sure lane splitting is illegal, but I still do it (CAREFULLY). i have done it in front of cops, i have also run stop signs and red lights in front of them. it helps to be in a city where the police have much more important concerns than chasing a bicycle.

The key phrase appears to be Any person operating a bicycle or motorized pedal cycle upon a
roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time...

If the traffic is stationary you aren't travelling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time, so you can pass them on the left. Not that I'm a lawyer, or even an American, but that's what it seems to mean.

Well, 99.9% of motorists are actually "splitting lanes" when they pass a cyclist, since it is exceptionally rare to be given the full lane. So I return the favor.

I don't care about being rude. Seriously. No way would I wait for multiple cycles of a light as a cyclist. That is absurd.


I'm pretty sure lane splitting is illegal everywhere in the US except for California, but you can probably get away with it. Should you? If you are only going to be waiting one or two cycles for the light, just wait. Its rude to keep making the same people pass you after every light. You also miss out on the calm after a platoon of cars pulls ahead of you. If its backed up for a while, go for it.

... No way would I wait for multiple cycles of a light as a cyclist. That is absurd.
I 100% agree. Go where you wanna go. Do what you wanna do. Do it safely. Generally, a driver isn't expecting someone to show up at his elbow while he's stopped. So if sooner or later some car swings left to try to change lanes, and you're there... accept it. Young male drivers are a bit excitable. I'd watch them a little more than old biddies.

Well, 99.9% of motorists are actually "splitting lanes" when they pass a cyclist, since it is exceptionally rare to be given the full lane. So I return the favor.

I don't care about being rude. Seriously. No way would I wait for multiple cycles of a light as a cyclist. That is absurd.

About 99% of motorists are fully in the next lane on multilane roads when they pass me, and about 90% are fully in the next lane on 2 lane roads when they pass me. Such is the power of taking a lane and staying slightly left of center when I do it.

Lane splitting is not legal in Illinois. As those familiar with our most recent former governors will attest, Illinois laws are not always diligently followed.

Thanks for the replies. Seems like the best idea is to wait, but I'm still going to split lanes if there's a long enough line...

You got HONKED at? Seriously? Someone honked at you? If I tried to change my behavior every time someone honked at me, I wouldn't be able to walk across the street, let alone ride my bike down it.

I don't change my behavior every time I get honked or yelled at. It just gets me curious as to whether or not I deserved it.

I think I hear what you’re saying, two lanes the right one being a straight or right turn lane and the left one being a straight or left turn lane

If both vehicles go straight at the same time you go that would be considered splitting traffic but if the vehicle to the right has their right turn signal on executing a right turn, it would be legal.

For Wisconsin law a bicycle can do what you’re saying (giving the bicyclist is not splitting traffic) but doesn’t have to wait for the red light to turn green. The bicyclist has to come to a complete stop insure there is no cross traffic (to prevent impediment of traffic) and proceed through the intersection even when there is a red light.

Of course 90% (probable more) of motorists don’t know this law and it really gets people pissed off.

...I'm trying to figure out if I can legally ride between two lanes of traffic, moving the same direction, that are stopped at a red light to make my way to the front....

I'm just a hick from the 'burbs, but this practice scares me. I know every cyclist in Chicago does this, rides between lanes, jumps out in front of traffic then runs the red light only to be passed in an endless game of frogger/leapfrog. In the 'burbs we take the lane, why don't you big city folks do it? When I'm in Chicago riding with my friends, I always want to hold my lane position and ride in a big car-sized blob so we can conversate, everyone can see us, we're moving at the speed of traffic...My son's friend died last fall at Ashland and Wellington doing exactly what your doing, cutting between traffic, she fell under a truck's wheel right as the light turned green....There's a ghost bike there now.

Well, 99.9% of motorists are actually "splitting lanes" when they pass a cyclist, since it is exceptionally rare to be given the full lane.

"Lane splitting" generally refers to riding on the line between two lanes of traffic going the same way (this is what motorcyclists mean by the term). What you are describing is "lane sharing".


I'm pretty sure lane splitting is illegal everywhere in the US except for California,
Lane splitting is also explicitly legal in TX for motorcycles. There doesn't appear to be anything in the CA code that explicitly allows lane splitting.


The key phrase appears to be Any person operating a bicycle or motorized pedal cycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time...

If the traffic is stationary you aren't travelling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time, so you can pass them on the left. Not that I'm a lawyer, or even an American, but that's what it seems to mean.

Bicycles are allowed to pass slower vehicles on the left side, just like any vehicle. It would be too generous to interpret this as allowing lane splitting since other traffic laws indicate that vehicles have to stay within a lane (the lane sharing that bicyclists do while riding on the right side of the roadway is an explicit exception in the law).

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I'd say that, absent a law that makes it explicit, lane splitting is going to be illegal. There is some law that you could be charged with (eg, "unsafe passing"). It's also a bit of a far reach to assume it is legal for bicycles if the law allows it explicitly for motorcycles (like it is in TX). (Note that I'm not telling people what to do.)

Dear OP: Well, what you are really interested in is probably not whether or not it is legal to do what you want (which may or may not be lane splitting) but whether or not you are likely to get a ticket for it. These things are not necessarily related - the police generally don't understand bicycle laws anyway, I've had them threaten to give me a ticket for not riding on the shoulder even though the shoulder is not part of the roadway. Everyone is giving you advice one way or the other on the legality but the fact is no one has actually cited any case law from Illinois involving a bicycle squeezing between lanes of traffic stopped at a light, and, unless they can, the law itself is vague enough I don't think it is possible to give you any definitive answer, but hey, this is the A&S forum so that sure won't stop people from doing it anyway. My advice it to go ahead and do it where it is safe to do so (pay attention to the posts about the safety issues, they are pretty situation specific) with the understanding that you are taking a very, very small risk that you might get ticketed. Even if you do get ticketed it is not a given you will lose if you take it to court.

I just blast trough wherever is possible. I usually slow down and feel nervous riding on the right side of the road when there are stopped cars (because it's bound to get a full swing door opening right in front of me).
On other lanes I tend to believe that opened doors are much rare and when it happens they usually check in the mirror but it's not a rule.
When the traffic starts moving I just cut off someone (who was slower in response with the car ahead of him), or in some conditions just split lanes all the way (where there is a junction where many motorist go right, or when I want to do a left turn)
No worry for ticket, just for the safety as I'm riding with clipless pedals trough heavy traffic and without helmet. (I don't even own a bike helmet, only a motorcycle helmet that I will NOT use it on bicycle).
The best place for me to get trough stationary traffic is on the middle of the road that splits the oncoming traffic. On the left side it highly improbable to get a door open, also the oncoming traffic sees me and adjust their "course".
When the traffic is stationary on both directions it gets interesting.. wherever is space to dart trough (usually I go with the middle of the road and when it's not enough space between cars I just go lane splitting wehre I can (the interesting thing is when I lanesplit on the oncoming because it's a row of endless stationary cars that never move :D )

Most of what I do, I do not recommend for anyone, also there are other factors: I have never saw/heard a ticket for a bicyclist around here. The law is less enforced and only for what they can easily (for motorists.. I do not have a numberplate on my bike so the police don't bother catching and stopping cyclists :D )

Lane splitting is not legal in IL. Possibly more to the point, passing on the right in the same lane is not legal in IL except in a very few specified conditions, such as passing a left turning vehicle in a lane that is wide enough for both.

You will probably not be ticketed in IL for passing on the right when traffic in the same lane is stopped. However, if a crash occurs while you are passing on the right, you could receive a ticket, and the auto driver’s insurance is not likely to pay for your injuries or equipment loss.

If you feel must pass on the right, do it at a slow speed. Watch out for gaps where cars or peds could be crossing the lane. Be alert for cars that might pull to the curb, and, at intersections, be alert for right hooks.

Personally, I wait my turn in line rather than passing on the right.

I think this may help the OP question, they talk about it 6min in to the video.

http://www.chicagobikes.org/video/index.php?loadVideo=buses_and_bicycles