Originally Posted by
gyozadude
It may be that TN is different. But it's not always clearly stated in handbooks, but in the fine print of the vehicle code, bicycles are vehicles and most traffic laws apply. But I wouldn't be surprised if TN has rules about obstruction of traffic. If your state has rules about 5 or more vehicles following closely behind you requiring the lead vehicle to pull over when available to yield, then most likely, you have obstruction laws.
You can take the full lane. But be considerate of other vehicles. We share the road and if cyclists hog the roads and obstruct traffic, they can alienate drivers and enrage drivers who may act out on the rest of us.
My state is actually MS, but I'm originally from Memphis and had the driver handbook in TN when I was 16, and I do remember something in it about being considered a slow-moving vehicle if a certain number of cars are behind. I checked the state codes for both MS and TN on Lexis Nexis. MS has no such minimum speed laws except on interstate highways, that I can find. TN code 55-8-154 says: "No person shall drive a
motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law." The way I read it, that provision does not apply to non-motorized vehicles like bicycles, horses and horse-drawn carriages and the like.
If I'm on a 2-lane road with no shoulders and ditches on both sides (which are many, many roads in my area, especially those between municipalities), huffing and puffing uphill at 10 mph, I will NOT be hugging the right side. I have done so in the past and ALWAYS got buzzed. Now I remain farther out in the lane. I may pull off at the top of the hill if I need to take a breather, but I will not get off in the ditch just so a few cars can pass me before I crest the hill. That's not safe for me, and I have no such obligation to do so.