3 ms·

Unfortunately, where I live bicycles keeping to the side of the lane is required by law. Even in situations where this isn't required, drivers can easily become

Unfortunately, where I live bicycles keeping to the side of the lane is required by law. Even in situations where this isn't required, drivers can easily become aggressive towards slower vehicles such as bicycles. Bicycles often fall through the cracks: not quite first class vehicles but not afforded the same protections as pedestrians.

usrusr 6y ago
Where I live there's also a law like that, but if you look a little closer you realize that it actually requires cyclists to maintain a sizable safety margin to the actual edge while keeping right. Of course many drivers only know the general headline which leads to a lot of, uhm, "ad-hoc driver education"...
u801e 6y ago
> Unfortunately, where I live bicycles keeping to the side of the lane is required by law. In the US, most vehicle law is based on the UVC (uniform vehicle code) template. While that does contain a clause that cyclists must keep as far right as practicable, it lists a number of exceptions. One of those exceptions is a "substandard width lane"[1]. The law defines it as a lane that's too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to safely pass side by side within the lane. Most general purpose lanes are 10 to 12 feet wide. A cyclist can range from 2 to 3 feet wide (depending on the type of bicycle) and require a minimum of 4 feet of operating space[2] with 5 feet preferred. Even with the cyclist operating at far right as practicable and taking the minimum operating width into account, they take a little over 3 feet in roadway width. Given that most states have a 3 foot minimum distance passing law and the fact that most motor vehicles range from 7 to 8 feet in width (including their side mirrors) and commercial vehicles are around 10 feet wide, it's not possible to safely or legally pass a cyclist while remaining within a typical 10 to 12 foot wide lane. [1] https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-905/ https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/secti... [2] https://njdotlocalaidrc.com/perch/resources/aashto-gbf-4-2012-bicycle.pdf https://njdotlocalaidrc.com/perch/resources/aashto-gbf-4-201... (page 52)

usrusr 6y ago

Where I live there's also a law like that, but if you look a little closer you realize that it actually requires cyclists to maintain a sizable safety margin to the actual edge while keeping right. Of course many drivers only know the general headline which leads to a lot of, uhm, "ad-hoc driver education"...

u801e 6y ago

> Unfortunately, where I live bicycles keeping to the side of the lane is required by law. In the US, most vehicle law is based on the UVC (uniform vehicle code) template. While that does contain a clause that cyclists must keep as far right as practicable, it lists a number of exceptions. One of those exceptions is a "substandard width lane"[1]. The law defines it as a lane that's too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to safely pass side by side within the lane. Most general purpose lanes are 10 to 12 feet wide. A cyclist can range from 2 to 3 feet wide (depending on the type of bicycle) and require a minimum of 4 feet of operating space[2] with 5 feet preferred. Even with the cyclist operating at far right as practicable and taking the minimum operating width into account, they take a little over 3 feet in roadway width. Given that most states have a 3 foot minimum distance passing law and the fact that most motor vehicles range from 7 to 8 feet in width (including their side mirrors) and commercial vehicles are around 10 feet wide, it's not possible to safely or legally pass a cyclist while remaining within a typical 10 to 12 foot wide lane. [1] https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-905/ https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/secti... [2] https://njdotlocalaidrc.com/perch/resources/aashto-gbf-4-2012-bicycle.pdf https://njdotlocalaidrc.com/perch/resources/aashto-gbf-4-201... (page 52)