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....
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.
Originally Posted by patrickgsr94
I had never heard of rear-initiated lane changes ...
I don't think ANYONE has any idea what Keri Caffery is talking about in regards to 'rear initiated' lane shifts....
Originally Posted by commute orlando
For a group of cyclists, lane changes must be initiated by the rear rider
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.