Originally Posted by
genec
What are the bike lane "exceptions?" If they are wide and strong enough, you can avoid right hooks.]
They're not:
Originally Posted by NC H1451
Bicyclists are required to ride in the bicycle lane except when necessary to pass another person riding a bicycle or to avoid an obstruction in the bicycle lane.
This would be one of the worst lane-positioning rules in the country. No exceptions for left turns, for passing slow motor vehicles on the left rather than on the right, for preventing right hooks at intersections, or if I'm interpreting it correctly, for avoiding door zones. (Unless a door is already open, creating an "obstruction".)
It then goes on to impose an "as-far-right-as-practicable" rule with almost no exceptions. The one exception they do list is bizarrely worded and unclear:
Originally Posted by NC H1451
A bicyclist may ride in a lane other than the right-hand lane if only one lane is available that permits the bicyclist to continue on his intended route.
Take that literally, and it means, "if there's only one left turn lane, you can use it to turn left. If there are two left turn lanes, you can't use either of them, but must stay in the right lane." And note that even this isn't an exception to the bike lane requirement, only to the more general "as far right as practicable" section.
This law is dreck. Granted, it does offer some protections: it prohibits harassment and throwing things at cyclists, which is undoubtedly already illegal in North Carolina, and also prohibits cars from blocking bike lanes, which may not be. But any benefits it offers are minor compared to the ham-handed restrictions it places on cyclists. CVB was generous in giving the sponsor's intentions the benefit of the doubt; looks to me like the sponsor intends to get those annoying cyclists out of the way of real traffic, under the guise of "protecting" them.