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What Motorist Advocacy Does For Cycling
On 3/9/2011 8:11 AM, Peter Cole wrote:
On 3/8/2011 3:25 PM, Jay Beattie wrote: On Mar 8, 9:06 am, Peter wrote: On 3/8/2011 10:29 AM, Jay Beattie wrote: Actualy, there are more states with the law than I expected. I took a quick look to check the accuracy of the synopsis, and it misses the Florida law (and maybe others -- checking all 50 states is time consuming) -- but lo and behold, it also misses a 2010 repeal in Louisiana. My point, however, is that when facilities are provided, you are expected to ride in them, law or not. That is also part of my drone that driver education is far more important than lines painted on a road surface, unless of course, you are playing bicycle polo. -- Jay Beattie. I don't know if it "misses" the FL law, things aren't so simple:http://flbikelaw.org/2010/07/more-hb-971/ The original assertion, and my skeptical response, was that "mandatory sidepath laws" were on the rise. I contended they were not. As I stated, where (most) states require riding to the right as far as "practicable", if there's a lane on the right, that law would be interpreted usually as requiring you to use it. If that's the definition of "mandatory sidepath law", then most of us (including my state of MA) has them, but I think that's pushing the definition. "Sidepaths" usually don't mean bike lanes. Also, as you must realize given your profession, "expectation" (social) doesn't mean obligation (legal).- Hide quoted text - The repealed laws included bicycle lanes along with sidepaths, so you can't really separate the two, and Frank was specifically talking about "bike lanes" -- so we have to consider mandatory bike lane laws and not just mandatory "sidepath" laws (to the extent there are any laws dealing only with "sidepaths"). Yes, and my point was that the typical "as far right as practicable" clause generally (to the extent that most lanes are on the right) amounts to the same thing as a mandatory bikepath law if you include lanes, so you might claim that virtually every state has mandatory bikepath laws. The Florida law specifically requires riding in the bike lane when one is provided, and one cannot assume that the bike lane is at the far right portion of the road -- many are not. In Portland, they can be practically anywhe http://www.flickr.com/photos/redbat/3439693270/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/25286635@N04/3944987692/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/friends...te/5369064008/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/loewenherz/3332654262/ Yes, I'm aware that bike lanes are not always marked on the right. MA, unlike FL, doesn't specifically insist that cyclists use a bike lane, so in those few cases where bike lanes are not on the right it might be legally defensible to ride on the right anyway, but it's not a right that I would have any interest in exercising. It's one that I exercise most days that I commute though. http://tinyurl.com/4f4yv9k Of course at rush hour this is mostly bumper to bumper for several blocks. On the other hand, on the return trip, the lane is useful to avoid all of the congestion. Complaints have been filed regarding the east bound bike lane so we'll see what comes of it. So, the bike lane requirement is not merely a subset of riding as far right as is "practicable." That is my major gripe -- many bike lanes put you in places where you would not ordinarily be, like riding in a chute or against traffic Personally, I think it's much ado about nothing. The examples I have seen seem sensible. If I didn't like those particular routes I'd simply avoid them. Here we're required to use a bike lane but we're also required to ride to the right as far as practicable. I choose to interpret this to allow me to avoid the lane that's going to drop me in front of oncoming traffic. Not sure if it's ever been tested here. |
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