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16-06.-2004, 12:16 AM
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#1 |
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Guest
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Riding to right of white line
In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to
the right of the white line on the berm of the road. Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling the rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and other stuff that is located there. Thanks Tom |
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16-06.-2004, 12:31 AM
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#2 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
In article <40cf08ca$0$251$4d5ecec7@reader.city-net.com>,
tombates@city- net.com says... > In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to > the right of the white line on the berm of the road. > Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same > responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the > line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could > claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the > situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling > the rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is > dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and > other stuff that is located there. Bikes do have the same rights and responsibilities as cars as far as obeying traffic signs and signals, yielding the right-of-way, etc. However, positioning in the lane is almost always (*always*, IME) specified differently for bikes than for _motor_ vehicles. The most common rules essentially say that you should ride as far to the right as is practical. What is "practical" is up to your judgement, and will vary with traffic, road and weather conditions, and may at times require you to take the center of the lane. -- Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible). |
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16-06.-2004, 12:35 AM
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#3 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 174
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Re: Riding to right of white line
Quote:
Most (if not all) state laws consider bicycles vehicles and are required to obey the normal traffic laws/rules when riding on the road. I don't think it's illegal to ride on the shoulder unless it's marked as an emergency lane but most emergency lanes are only on interstate highways and you probably arn't allowed to ride a bicycle there anyway. Dan. |
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16-06.-2004, 01:03 AM
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#4 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
mary (or maybe Tom) wrote:
> In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to > the right of the white line on the berm of the road. > Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same > responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the > line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could > claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the > situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling > the rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is > dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and > other stuff that is located there. > > Thanks > > Tom In general, the white line has little or no bearing on where I choose to ride. That's true if it's a fog line, or if it's a bike lane stripe. I choose my road position based on how wide the useable pavement is. A surface with gravel, potholes & trash isn't useable. Getting too close to a pavement edge isn't good, either. White line or no white line, I won't ride where it's too risky. And of course, if there's not enough room for a car to safely pass, I'll take the lane. I live just over the state line in Ohio, and I ride in Pennsylvania a lot. I've never had any trouble with this issue. So don't worry. Just ride where it's safe. -- --------------------+ Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com, replace with cc.ysu dot edu] |
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16-06.-2004, 02:48 AM
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#5 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
mary wrote:
> In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to > the right of the white line on the berm of the road. > Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same > responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the > line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could > claim I was riding illegally. Someone else being charged or blamed for an accident depends on whether *they* were doing something illlegal, not you. This is a common misconception about law. People seem to think that any mistake they make invalidates any other claim they might have, like in children's games. This is simply not true. The law is more sophisticated than that. In your case, riding a bicycle or driving a car to the right of the fog line is probably not illegal. What *is* illegal is not passing safely, or not maintaining a safe following distance. So if someone hits you from behind, they're almost always 100% at fault, unless it can be proven you were riding erratically. > I was wondering what the situation is. I live in > Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling the rules differ from > state to state. Sometimes it is dangerous to ride on the > side because of all the junk and other stuff that is > located there. This is why you should ride in the lane proper, to the left of the fog line, but "as far to the right as practicable" (as VA law says, and probably PA law too). It is the responisbility of other vehicles to pass safely. Matt O. |
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16-06.-2004, 03:19 AM
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#6 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
mary <tombates@city-net.com> wrote:
>In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to >the right of the white line on the berm of the road. >Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same >responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the >line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could >claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the >situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling >the rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is >dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and >other stuff that is located there. In California everything to the right of the white line on the right side of the road is the "shoulder" (unless it is called a "bicycle lane" or something else on a sign). Vehicles may not in general travel on the shoulder, but an exception is written into the law for bicycles which may (or may not at, their option) use it. Assuming the definitions are the same I think the situation is identical in Pennsylvania. Take a look at http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/palaw.htm in section 3505 for the exception. Dennis Ferguson |
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16-06.-2004, 04:33 AM
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#7 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
"Matt O'Toole" <matt@deltanet.com> wrote:
> >This is why you should ride in the lane proper, to the left >of the fog line, but "as far to the right as practicable" >(as VA law says, and probably PA law too). It is the >responisbility of other vehicles to pass safely. What's a fog line? |
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16-06.-2004, 04:48 AM
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#8 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
In article <5riuc09cuol2d21b5lvkv53p3m6t8371m2@4ax.com>,
michaelpressNOSPAM@yahoo.com says... > "Matt O'Toole" <matt@deltanet.com> wrote: > > > >This is why you should ride in the lane proper, to the > >left of the fog line, but "as far to the right as > >practicable" (as VA law says, and probably PA law too). > >It is the responisbility of other vehicles to pass > >safely. > > What's a fog line? The line along the right (or left in countries which drive on the left) edge of the outside lane, which separates the driving lane from the shoulder. -- Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible). |
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16-06.-2004, 05:04 AM
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#9 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
Michael Press wrote:
> "Matt O'Toole" <matt@deltanet.com> wrote: >> >> This is why you should ride in the lane proper, to the >> left of the fog line, but "as far to the right as >> practicable" (as VA law says, and probably PA law too). >> It is the responisbility of other vehicles to pass >> safely. > > What's a fog line? That's the common technical term for the white line along the side of the road. Its purpose is to make the edge of the road more visible in fog, and/or at night. Matt O. |
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16-06.-2004, 06:33 AM
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#10 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
"mary" <tombates@city-net.com> wrote:
> Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same > responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the > line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could > claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the > situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling > the rules differ from state to state. http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/bikelaws.htm has a summary of Pennsylvania law that pertains to cyclists. Cyclists are permitted but not always required to ride to the right of the line. Where bicycle traffic is permitted on freeways, cyclists are required to ride in the shoulder. Colorodo (where I live) law states that cyclists must ride in the paved shoulder if one is provided, with the usual provisos about overtaking traffic, obstructions, etc. RFM |
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16-06.-2004, 11:31 AM
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#11 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
There's a couple places where I ride -- one within a quarter
mile of my house -- where the fog line is crumbling and vegetation is growing on it. In the case of the road near my house, the vegetation is several feet tall and hangs over into the street. You can believe no one rides or drives to the right of the fog line for that stretch! -- Warm Regards, Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com Home of the meditative cyclist: http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky |
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16-06.-2004, 08:47 PM
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#12 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 10:59:32 -0400, "mary" <tombates@city-net.com>
wrote: >In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to >the right of the white line on the berm of the road. >Somewhere I read that since bikers have the same >responsibilities as cars that to ride to the right of the >line is breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could >claim I was riding illegally. I was wondering what the >situation is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling >the rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is >dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and >other stuff that is located there. > >Thanks > >Tom I am going to have to rethink my riding to the right of the white line. Twice, within the past year, a driver has right-hooked me and turned into a shopping mall immediately ahead of me. Last week, I was wearing a bright yellow jersey, it was midday, moving about 12mph, and the woman driver to my left passed me and immediately made a right into the mall. I braked hard, she apparently didn't even see me and continued on her way. A similar incident many months ago at another mall entrance in another town makes me think that it is much better in town areas to just take the road to the right of the white line and make sure that traffic is aware of your presence. By the way, last week I had a tail flasher running during that broad daylight near miss. |
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16-06.-2004, 09:01 PM
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#13 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
"Joe Faust" <joe_faustNOSPAM@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:mnb0d0hstebrkv1fs5v2ocmrsr93m5hd7m@4ax.com... > On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 10:59:32 -0400, "mary" <tombates@city- > net.com> wrote: > > >In the area where I live it is sometimes safer to ride to > >the right of the > >white line on the berm of the road. Somewhere I read that > >since bikers have > >the same responsibilities as cars that to ride to the > >right of the line is > >breaking the law. If someone hit me, they could claim I > >was riding illegally. I was wondering what the situation > >is. I live in Pennsylvania, and I have a feeling the > >rules differ from state to state. Sometimes it is > >dangerous to ride on the side because of all the junk and > >other stuff that > >is located there. > > > >Thanks > > > >Tom > > I am going to have to rethink my riding to the right of > the white line. Twice, within the past year, a driver has > right-hooked me and turned into a shopping mall > immediately ahead of me. > > Last week, I was wearing a bright yellow jersey, it was > midday, moving about 12mph, and the woman driver to my > left passed me and immediately made a right into the mall. > I braked hard, she apparently didn't even see me and > continued on her way. I doubt she didn't see you. I find many women are very aggressive drivers and she just didn't want to wait two seconds for you to get past the entrance. She was most likely driving an SUV. Curt |
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16-06.-2004, 10:49 PM
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#14 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
>I am going to have to rethink my riding to the right of
>the white line. Twice, within the past year, a driver has >right-hooked me and turned into a shopping mall >immediately ahead of me. > I find that riding very far to the right seems to be an invitation for every motorist in creation to right hook me. Well, I am using a bit of hyperbole. I think if one is pretty far to the right, you become irrelevant to the motorist as they pass you. Once they have passed you, they seem to forget about your existance and they feel free to slow way down and make a right turn. I find that in situations where motorists are very likely to make right turns and if my speed is fairly high, I will move farther from the shoulder. If the motorist has to manuever around me, it makes it a little harder for them to right hook me and it makes it more likely for them to just slow down and turn right. Riding in a paved would really "encourage" right hooks. Of course, even when the traffic is not moving fast, if I take a lane and I am moving at the speed of the traffic, it does send some motorists right round the bend into near apoplecty. Sometimes I wonder if turning the ignition key halves the intelligence or something. |
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17-06.-2004, 03:47 AM
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#15 |
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Guest
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Re: Riding to right of white line
Joe Faust <joe_faustNOSPAM@verizon.net> wrote:
>I am going to have to rethink my riding to the right of >the white line. Twice, within the past year, a driver has >right-hooked me and turned into a shopping mall >immediately ahead of me. > >Last week, I was wearing a bright yellow jersey, it was >midday, moving about 12mph, and the woman driver to my left >passed me and immediately made a right into the mall. I >braked hard, she apparently didn't even see me and >continued on her way. > >A similar incident many months ago at another mall entrance >in another town makes me think that it is much better in >town areas to just take the road to the right of the white >line and make sure that traffic is aware of your presence. >By the way, last week I had a tail flasher running during >that broad daylight near miss. I've found that the general difference between riding on the right and further out in the lane is that, in the former case, the close calls with drivers more often occur in front of you, where you see them and get scared, while in the latter case the close calls with drivers more often occur behind you, where you are more likely to be blissfully unaware of them unless they actually get you. There's no good solution, I think. I do it both ways depending on where I am, but generally will keep right if there is space over there, letting the cars go by unimpeded but treating intersections and driveways with a considerable degree of paranoia. I'd rather have as much stuff as possible occur in front of me, where I might have some control over my fate, rather than behind me, where I'm entirely dependent on the drivers to not kill me. And, to tell the truth, if you ride frequently but you've only had this happen twice in a year you aren't so doing badly. This happens to me more often than that, even though I live in the SF Bay area where I generally find the drivers to be more careful about cyclists than the other places I've lived. Dennis Ferguson |
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