ride with the law!
 

usual commute today, no real issues or concerns. i even rode 8 miles extra in this "heat wave".
at a stop light, a car passenger rolled the window down and stated "you need to ride on the sidewalk. it's the law". i responded with stating the nj statute 39.4 (same law, same rules) and that it's against the law to ride on the sidewalk.
he was quite(d). i followed with "have a nice day" and "be safe"!
knowledge is golden!!
anyone have simular encounters?

Yeah. Usually teenagers, for some reason. I had a long discussion with one kid in the middle of the intersection. I told him he must have been absent the day in Driver Ed when they talked about sharing the road. He started to argue but then his passenger said he remembered them saying that bikes belong on the road. Around here the majority of cyclists do ride on the sidewalk, so I'm not surprised that cagers think that's the law.

You goaded me into trying to look up the statute in Georgia, haven't found it yet but I did find this:

From GA code 40-2-86.15
...Also, in order to promote and provide for motorist and bicyclist safety and interaction education and awareness programs and media campaigns; adult and child bicycling safety training, workshops, and educational materials; assistance in forming local bicycle advisory committees; law enforcement education and implementation programs for policing by bicycle and policing to improve bicycling conditions; and 'share the road/yield to bicycles/bicyclists may use full lane' sign installations through the Governoŕs Highway Safety Program, there shall be issued beginning January 1, 2006, special license plates promoting and benefiting such efforts, which shall be known as the 'Share the Road' Motorists and Bicyclists special license plate.......For the 'Share the Road' plates, the commissioner shall design a special distinctive license plate in conjunction with the Southern Bicycle League and Bicycle Ride Across Georgia appropriate to promote the message of motorists and bicyclists safely and courteously sharing the roadway.

Though I found the reason why I have not seen one:

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, this Code section shall not be implemented until such time as the State of Georgia has, through a licensing agreement or otherwise, received any licenses or other permissions that may be required to implement this Code section.

But it's a rider on the new NASCAR® license plate code. And you know us country boys are going to have us some NASCAR® tags.
And who knew, way to go Capital Ave.

--A

Georgia Transportation Code 40-6-294:

(a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, except when turning left or avoiding hazards to safe cycling, when the lane is too narrow to share safely with a motor vehicle, when traveling at the same speed as traffic, or while exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction; provided, however, that every person operating a bicycle away from the right side of the roadway shall exercise reasonable care and shall give due consideration to the other applicable rules of the road. As used in this subsection, the term 'hazards to safe cycling' includes, but is not limited to, surface debris, rough pavement, drain grates which are parallel to the side of the roadway, parked or stopped vehicles, potentially opening car doors, or any other objects which threaten the safety of a person operating a bicycle.
(b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
(c) Whenever a usable path has been provided adjacent to a roadway and designated for the exclusive use of bicycle riders, then the appropriate governing authority may require that bicycle riders use such path and not use those sections of the roadway so specified by such local governing authority. The governing authority may be petitioned to remove restrictions upon demonstration that the path has become inadequate due to capacity, maintenance, or other causes.
(d) Paths subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section shall at a minimum be required to meet accepted guidelines, recommendations, and criteria with respect to planning, design, operation, and maintenance as set forth by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and such paths shall provide accessibility to destinations equivalent to the use of the roadway.
(e) Electric assisted bicycles as defined in Code Section 40-1-1 may be operated on bicycle paths.

Allen (and all Georgia commuters), I hope you've signed up for the new Share the Road plates. They just passed 1001 plates, so these will officially be new Georgia specialty plates!! http://www.georgiabikes.org/DesktopD....aspx?tabid=80

GT,

...and a hell of an engineer. Thanks for the info. Going to the tag office tomorrow.

--A

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictur...der-Poster.jpg

Hey georgia! Pretty spiffy plates. Now I just need to move to Georgia. And oh yeah...buy a car.

That's a cool license plate!

Yeah and double yeah. I just can't figure out why they are so sensitive about my transportation status. Or why I would even care what they think for that matter.

Tell them to "call the cops" if they think you can't ride on the road.

I usually just yell at them like a lunatic--- "Whoo Hooo! Nice car! Heeeeyyyy!!! Is that really yours!!! How much did you pay for this? Can I have one? Where did you buy it? Are you wearing a hat?"

It usually confuses people to the point they have no response.

I have given up on trying to "educate" motorists. Most are only trying to bait cyclists into an altercation, and I have a rather bad temper that can get me into trouble. There are too many psychos out there. As a pedestrian I was once crossing a street on a green with my wife when a woman about plowed us over making a right turn on a red (she had the red, BTW). I slapped her fender and she stalked us as we were walking (made a few turns to keep following us), threatened to kill me for touching her car, etc... all while she had a baby in a child seat. If my wife wasn't there, I would have dismantled her SUV with my bare hands. She even claimed that she saw us in the intersection (which I believe, because I made eye contact with her right before she about ran us over), and that we shouldn't have been crossing the street because she was turning.

I'm jealous! Last time I was in the tag office, they had a bunch of collegiate tags and NASCAR tags. Booo

I wish they had plates like this in Indiana! :(

You would think with how cycling friendly colorado supposedly is and how many custom plates we have, Colorado would have a share the road plate. odd

Teenagers are sensitive about everything! But they are sensitive about commuting on a bike because they've been "forced" to ride one all these years, since they were too young to get a liscence. Riding a bike (for transportation) is so not cool, or is so lame, or gay, or whatever they say now. Good lord, I'm showing my age. In fact, riding a bike to school caused one to be such an outcast when I was in high school that I walked the mile, rather than ride. I'm so glad I don't have to be cool any more :D.

Now we just have to figure out why you care....