Originally Posted by
Buzzatronic
Sorry but you are wrong. See page 78 of the
Washington State Driver Guide.
"
Bicycle lanes are marked with solid white lines. You must yield to bicycles in a bicycle lane. Do not drive in a bicycle lane except when making a turn, entering or leaving an alley, private road or driveway, or when you need to cross the bicycle lane to park near the curb. Do not park in a bicycle lane."
Simply signaling your intention to turn does not negate the requirement for the driver to yield to bicycles in the bicycle lane. Just being "ahead of me" does not change the fact that if they cannot make the turn in a legal and safe manner while still yielding to traffic, they must wait until the way is clear.
It was my fault for not anticipating what this driver was going to do, but I am in the right regarding who has the right of way and who is required to yield in this case. That of course will not heal a broken bone or worse if the worst case scenario plays out, but I would not have been the one to be deemed at fault based on Washington State law. It may be different where you live.
I do wonder how a court would see this issue of yielding. Requiring vehicles to yield is distinct from giving the cyclist right of way, and given that van was ahead of you and had initiated the turn, I'm inclined to say that it had the right of way, and that you, the cyclist, were obliged not to hit it.
In any case, most state laws are written in a rather slapdash manner, and do not properly account for vehicular cycling or even cycling on designated bike lanes. I suppose you could look at the imperative to 'yield to bicycles in a bicycle lane' as absolute, although typically yielding is done in regards to crossing or counter-moving traffic, not traffic in the same direction. Emergency vehicles, pedestrians, and sidewalk cyclist would be obvious exceptions.