Better Legislation for Bicycling
Steven Goodridge, LCI #1690,
North Carolina Bicycle Club Advocacy Officer
August 23, 2009
Abstract
Recently proposed legislation, theBicycle Protection Act, House Bill 1451, 2009-2010 Session (HB1451) generated opposition from cyclists who objected to changes it would make in the rules of the road for bicyclists. This paper details the major objections to HB1451 as it was worded, and suggests alternative language for laws that would better serve the safety and travel objectives of bicyclists.
1
1. Introduction
2. Rights and Duties of Bicyclists
HB1451 Changes to Rights and Duties of Bicyclists
Recommended Wording on Rights and Duties
3. Bicycle Lanes
HB1451 Changes Related to Bicycle Lanes
Recommended Wording on Bicycle Lanes
4. Position on the Roadway
HB1451 Changes Related to Position on the Roadway
Recommended Wording on Roadway Position
5. Riding Abreast
HB1451 Changes Related to Riding Abreast
Recommended Language on Riding Abreast
6. Signaling Turns
HB1451 Changes for Signaling
Recommended Language for Signaling
7. Braking Equipment
HB1451 Requirements for Braking Equipment
Recommended Wording for Braking Equipment:
8. Safe Operating Distance
HB1451 Requirements for Safe Operating Distance
Recommended Wording for Safe Operating Distance:
9. Harassment and Throwing of Objects
HB1451 Provisions Related to Harassment and Throwing of Objects
Recommended Wording for Harassment and Throwing of Objects:
10. Nanny Laws
HB1451 Nanny Provisions
Recommended Wording of Nanny Provisions:
11. Conclusions
References
1. Introduction
The existing North Carolina state traffic laws are among the best in the nation in their treatment of bicyclists, giving cyclists equity to other vehicle drivers regarding roadway use and supporting best bicycling practices [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Recently proposed legislation (HB1451 [6]) generated opposition from cyclists who objected to changes it would make in the rules of the road for bicyclists. Some of these changes placed new restrictions on bicyclists’ movements which would contradict the normal traffic rules for vehicle drivers, interfere with important defensive bicycle driving techniques, and stigmatize cyclists who operate more safely. Other rule changes in HB1451 were generally desirable to cyclists, but not enough to offset the objectionable portions.
This paper details the major objections to HB1451 as it was worded, and suggests wording for laws that would be more acceptable to cycling safety experts and bicyclist advocates. References to best bicycling practices published by state Departments of Transportation, the League of American Bicyclists, and other noted cycling authorsare given to support the rationale behind the objections and recommendations presented.
In this paper, existing wording of the North Carolina General Statutes appear in normal font. Changes described in HB1451 areunderlined as they appear in the draft bill text. Recommended wording will appear in bold italics.
2. Rights and Duties of Bicyclists
Existing NC General Statutes § 20-4.01(49) defines bicycles as vehicles and assigns bicyclists the status of drivers of vehicles, as follows:
Vehicle. – Every device in, upon, or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices
moved by human power or used exclusively upon fixed rails or tracks;
provided, that for the purposes of this Chapter bicycles shall be
deemed vehicles and every rider of a bicycle upon a highway shall be
subject to the provisions of this Chapter applicable to the driver of a
vehicle except those which by their nature can have no application.
HB1451 Changes to Rights and Duties of Bicyclists
HB1451 would add a new section worded as follows:
HB1451: Ҥ 20-171.3. Rights and duties of bicyclists generally.
A person riding a bicycle upon a roadway must be granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this Chapter, except as to special provisions in this Article and except as to those provisions of this Chapter which by their nature can have no application.”
This proposed section is redundant to§ 20-4.01(49) and therefore unnecessary if special provisions for bicyclists do not conflict with the normal rules for drivers of vehicles. Unfortunately, HB1451 includes other provisions that do conflict with the normal rules for drivers of vehicles and give bicycle drivers inferior rights compared to other drivers and to their current status. Such conflicts raise serious objections from cycling safety experts [2, 3, 4, 7].
Recommended Wording on Rights and Duties
No change from existing law is recommended.
3. Bicycle Lanes
Currently there are no NC statutes defining or recognizing “bicycle lanes”. Bicyclists use the ordinary travel lanes with the same rights as other drivers or may optionally use paved roadway shoulders. Some roadways in NC feature markings and signage denoting paved shoulders ornarrow (typically <6’) lanes as bicycle lanes. The design, width, maintenance, and safety of these facilities for bicycling varies widely by location and by traffic context.
There are many circumstances where operating a bicycle in a marked bicycle lane is less safe than cycling in one of the adjacent, ordinary travel lanes. This safety conflict may be due to a design or maintenance problem with the bike lane, contradiction with the ordinary rules of the road for drivers of vehicles (such as when preparing to turn left), or incompatibility with defensive bicycle driving techniques (such as proactively avoiding conflicts with right turning traffic) [1, 7, 8, 9]. A sample list of circumstances where bicycle lane use should be avoided is provided below.
Common scenarios where bicyclists should travel outside of a marked bicycle lane in order to maximize their safety:
- At intersections or driveways where right turns are permitted, and the bicycle lane is marked at the rightmost portion of the roadway, in order to avoid right hooks.
- When approaching and preparing for a left turn.
- Where cars parked on-street are close enough to the bicycle lane for their doors to be opened into or dangerously close to the bicycle lane.
- Where debris, glass,drain grates, standing wateror other surface hazards are present in the bicycle lane.
- When descending a hill at high speed.
- Where increased visibility to crossing or entering traffic at junctions is required.
- When traveling at the same speed as other traffic.
- When passing other vehicle traffic that might move to the right.
- When passing another vehicle in the bicycle lane.
- When pedestrians, animals, parked cars, garbage cans, and other obstacles can be seen ahead in the bicycle lane.
- Where low-hanging tree limbs or bushes encroach into the area over the bike lane.
- Where bicycle lane design defects such as insufficient width, insufficient clearance to collision hazards, marking for two-way or wrong-way travel or improper routing at intersections are present.
HB1451 Changes Related to Bicycle Lanes
HB1451 would generally prohibit bicyclists from traveling outside bicycle lanes wherever present:
HB1451:Ҥ 20-171.3A. Bicycle lanes.
(a) For purposes of this section, "bicycle lane" means a portion of the roadway or a paved lane separated from the roadway that has been designated by striping, pavement markings, and signage for the preferential or exclusive use of bicyclists.
(b) Whenever a bicycle lane has been provided adjacent to a roadway, operators of:
[…]
(2) 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. However, bicyclists may ride on the roadway when there is only an adjacent recreational bicycle path available instead of a bicycle lane.”
Many bicycle lanes were planned, designed and marked with the expectation that their use by bicyclists would be entirely voluntary. While there are locations, times and conditions when bicycle lanes are acceptably safe for use, the number of exceptions that warrant riding outside them is too great to incorporate clearly and effectively into a written law. In addition, the conditions that make riding in the bicycle lane unwise may not be apparent to traffic patrol officers who may be unfamiliar with defensive bicycle driving or may not notice inconspicuous hazards such as broken glass. Enforcement of a mandatory bike lane usage law is therefore likely to generate discord betweenpolice and responsible, skilled cyclists.
Bicycle lane markings have very little public safety benefit, because the only type of collision they are designed to prevent – involving same-direction overtaking traffic – are extremely rare, and are greatly outnumbered by the junction-related collisions that they mayexacerbate [10, 11, 12]. The primary operational and social effects of bicycle lanes are to increase the convenience of passing by motorists, and to increase the confidence of cyclists that there is adequate space available for motorists to pass without changing lanes. Since virtually all cyclists prefer to ease motorists’ overtaking at locations where it is safe and convenient for them to do so, a mandatory bicycle lane use law is not necessary to increase motorist convenience at locations where it is acceptably safe for cyclists to ride far enough to the right.
For these reasons, many bicycling safety experts and other bicyclist advocates recommend that bicycle lane use be left optional for bicyclists, with no mandate on their use [2, 3, 4, 7].
HB1451 would also create new requirements for motorists at bike lanes:
HB1451: “(1) Motor vehicles may not block the bicycle lane to bicycle traffic and shall yield to a bicyclist in the bicycle lane before entering or crossing the lane;”
The requirement that motor vehicles not block the bicycle lane is highly problematic at locations where motor vehicle drivers prepare to turn right. All drivers are required to obey § 20-153 as follows:
§ 20-153. Turning at intersections.
(a) Right Turns. – Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made
as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.
Compliance with § 20-153 minimizes conflicts between right-turning drivers and through drivers by preventing through traffic from overtaking to the right of the right-turning traffic. A leading cause of collisions betweenmotor vehicles and bicycles occurs when bicyclists travel straight while positioned to the right side of motor vehicle traffic turning right, AKA the “right hook” [10, 11, 12]. This problem is exacerbated by the marking of curbside bicycle lanes at intersections. To avoid this conflict and prevent bicyclists from overtaking on the right in motorists’ blind spots, motor vehicle drivers must yield and merge into the bike lane while approaching the right turn.(See California Vehicle Code, § 21717.)
After moving right while approaching the right turn, the motor vehicle driver may need to slow or stop prior to completion of the turn. (For example, there may be a stop sign, red signal, or other traffic ahead.) During this time, the right turning driver necessarily blocks the bicycle lane to bicycle traffic. This is required for safety; if the bicyclist wishes to pass the right-turning driver, he or she may do so to on the left just like any other driver. Unfortunately, HB1451 would interfere with normal, safenegotiation of intersection traffic by discouraging motorists from moving to the right when approaching right turns and encouraging cyclists to pass right-turning traffic on the right while at the same time prohibiting them from passing on the left.
If any new law regarding bicycle lane markings is to be added to the NC General Statutes, it is recommended that the law address the greatest collision hazard caused to cyclists by bicycle lanes , i.e. right hook collisions,by allowing their conditional use by non-bicycle traffic and leave their use by bicyclists optional. The following recommended language would accomplish this.
Recommended Wording on Bicycle Lanes
§ 20-4.01(51) Bicycle Lane. – a paved travel lane on the roadway that has been designated by striping, pavement markings, and signage for the preferential use of bicyclists.
§ 20-153. Turning at intersections.
(a) Right Turns. – Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made
as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.Where a bicycle lane has been designated, the approach for a right turn will be made by entering or crossing the bicycle lane after yielding to traffic in the lane.
4. Position on the Roadway
Under existing state law, bicyclists traveling under the maximum speed limit must comply with existing §20-146(b) as follows:
§20-146(b) Upon all highways any vehicle proceeding at less than the legal maximum speed limit shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for thru traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn.
The purpose of this law is to facilitate overtaking of slower traffic on the left, most commonly in an adjacent lane. However, since bicycles are narrow, it is sometimes possible for bicyclists to provide enough room for drivers to pass in the same lane if the lane is wide enough. Under current law, bicyclists are not required to do this, but often do so voluntarily when they deem it safe and reasonable. In the North Carolina Driver’s Handbook, Chapter 6 [5], we read:
“Bicyclists usually ride on the right side of the lane, but are entitled to use the full lane.…Abicyclist staying to the right in their lane isaccommodating following drivers by making it easier to see when it is safe to pass, and easier toexecute the pass. Drivers wishing to pass abicyclist may do so only when there is abundantclearance and no oncoming traffic is in theopposing lane. When passing a bicyclist, alwaysremember the bicyclist is entitled to use of thefull lane.”
It is important to recognize and endorse bicyclists’ right to use the full lane, particularly operating away from the right edge of the lane, in order to legitimize important defensive bicycle driving techniques that discourage unsafe passing, such as when the travel lane is too narrow for a car and bicyclist to share safely side-by-side. In the NCDOT publication Streetwise Cycling, page 20 [1], we read:
“On a very narrow road […] the best approach is to ride a straight line far enough from the curb to discourage unsafe passing. [….] In very narrow lanes, you may have to ride far enough from the edge to discourage unsafe passing.”
Similar discussion of the need for cyclists to sometimes use an entire lane for the purpose of discouraging unsafe passing appears in publications by other state and city Departments of Transportation:
Florida Bicycling Street Smarts, Chapter 2:
and identical wording in the Pennsylvania Bicycle Driver Manual, Chapter 2:
“On a multilane road with narrow lane, ride in the middle of the right lane. If you hug the edge, you are likely to get squeezed out. [….] Understand that the law is on your side. The law gives you the right to use the road, the same as a motorist, and to make other traffic slow down for you sometimes. The driver approaching from the rear is always required to slow and follow if it’s not possible to pass safely. [….] It may seem dangerous to make a motorist slow for you, but it’s not. [….] Remember, the drivers behind you don’t have room to pass you safely anyway. If you ride all the way over at the right, you’re inviting them to pass you where the road is too narrow and, too often, you will get squeezed off the road. If you show clearly that it’s not safe for drivers to pass you, they’re unlikely to try. [….] On a road with two or more narrow lanes in your direction - like many city streets - you should ride in the middle of the right lane at all times. You need to send the message to drivers to move to the passing lane to pass you. If you ride all the way to the right, two cars may pass you at the same time, side by side, and squeeze you off the road.”[13, 14]
Maine Motorist Handbook and Study Guide, page 54:
“An experienced bicyclist will often “command the lane” by moving further into the roadway. Motorists must yield. Slow down to avoid an accident. When it is safe to pass allow at least three feet to your right side when passing.[15]
Biking in New Jersey, Touring Tips:
“If the outside lane is too narrow for side-by-side sharing with motor vehicles, move toward the middle of the lane (i.e., ‘take the lane’) to indicate that motor vehicle traffic must change lanes to pass safely.”[16]
Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Rules for riding bicycles on the road:
“Narrow lanes: Ride in the center of the lane.”[17]
City of Fort Collins, Colorado:
“Be aware that when roads are too narrow for cyclists and motorists to ride side by side, cyclists are encouraged to take the lane when appropriate. This is especially true for narrow City streets where cyclists can be ‘pinched’ between vehicles.”[18]
Besides narrow lanes, there are other circumstances where cyclists should ride away from the right edge of the roadway to increase their safety. These include when traveling the same speed as other traffic, at intersections where right turns are permitted, where on-street parallel parking exists, where increased visibility to crossing or entering traffic is required, when descending a hill at high speed, when preparing to merge into the next lane to the left, and where debris or other hazards exist on the right side of the roadway [1, 7, 8, 9].Also, bicyclists must move away from the right edge of the roadway when approaching a left turn in order to execute the turn safely and in compliance with § 20-153, as explained in NCDOT’s Streetwise Cycling on page 16 [1]: