Crossing the double yellow line, Part 2

[IROC]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread, but have a question relative to this double-yellow line thing...

My neighborhood is off of a two-lane road that winds along a lake shore. The road is double-yellow lined the whole way. Bike riders love to ride on this road. They travel along at 20-30 mph under the speed limit (speed limit is 45 mph), often two abreast or in large packs, and will not move out of the way for the long lines of cars that inevitably line up behind them.

Passing these riders requires crossing the double yellow line as Tennessee has instituted a law that requires allowing at least 3 feet between a vehicle and a bike rider when passing them. There is no way to pass these riders without crossing the double-yellow line. Is that legal in this instance?

It is also state law in Tennessee that any vehicle traveling greater than 10 mph under the speed limit (with the exception of inclement weather, traffic, etc) is violating the law and can be ticketed. Shouldn't this apply to bikes? Aren't they supposed to follow all traffic laws when riding on public roads?

[widebody911]

Pedestrians hate motorists; motorists hate pedestrians, but everybody hates cyclists.

[Tobra]

You could just drive through the pack, who comes out on the short end of motorcycle vs car crash?

I can't imagine they would not move aside if confronted with grave bodily injury. If you are a foot from their rear tire laying on the horn they would have to be stupid or deaf and blind.

[LakeCleElum]

Sure, I've gotten frustrated and passed slowing moving vehicles over a double yellow when it's safe to do so. BUT, that doesn't make it legal and I have no right to whine if I get caught. Just my .02 cents.

[crustychief]

Weld a 3 foot long stick ( model it after a clay pigeon thrower ) at a 45 degree angle off the right corner of the bumper and "voila" problem solved! It will gently nudge the offending cyclists back over to the bike lane and you won't get in their ridiculous 3 foot zone. Look at these people!

from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

[vash]

i may be talking out of my butt..but doenst the distance between the yellow lines mean something. i think 14"= means..treat this like a concrete barrier.

less than 14" means..passing ok if necessary..but with caution.

i've taken defensive driving 4-5 times. i have been awake maybe 50% of that time. i seem to remember discussion about this.

[David]

If it's a big pack, I'd say you're stuck behind them. You could probably pass them all, but if you don't you're libel to kill a few of them. You might get out of the charges, but you'd be out tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in legal fees plus the knowledge that you'd killed someone.

There are just not that many good roads where there's room for 10's or 100's of bicyclists to ride in a group and still allow room for a car to safely pass. Fortunately for you non-riders, these rides usually happen early on weekend mornings.

[Rot 911]

Twist your windshield washer sprayers so they spray over your car. Get in front of the bike riders, engage sprayers. Hilarity ensues.

[Gogar]

Unfortunately, about 2/3 of the motorcycle tourists in the Knoxville/Smokies area have seen one too many documentaries about the Hells Angels, and have determined that it's uncool to let a car pass a motorcycle for any reason, much less a group of motorcycles.

[Head416]

Bicyclists not riding single file piss me off. If they don't care about their own safety, why should anybody else?

[IROC]

Originally Posted by David

If it's a big pack, I'd say you're stuck behind them. You could probably pass them all, but if you don't you're libel to kill a few of them. You might get out of the charges, but you'd be out tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in legal fees plus the knowledge that you'd killed someone.

Well, what happens is that people end up trying risky passes trying to get around the packs and avoid head-on collisions with cars coming the other direction. I have even seen cars in the oncoming lane slow down and stop to allow people to pass the cyclists. The cyclists don't seem to care at all and have a "we have just as much right to the road as you do" attitude.

While I'm complaining...at one end of this road there is a red light (although not much traffic most of the time). I've been sitting there at the red light waiting for it turn green and on more occasions than I'd like to count, the cyclists simply ride right through it without stopping.

There are just not that many good roads where there's room for 10's or 100's of bicyclists to ride in a group and still allow room for a car to safely pass. Fortunately for you non-riders, these rides usually happen early on weekend mornings.

Usually, it's two, three or four cyclists. I see them often (every day?) on the way home from work between 4 an 5. The bigger packs are on the weekends.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Pedestrians hate motorists; motorists hate pedestrians, but everybody hates cyclists.

Truth and humor both...arrogance, thy name is a pack of bicyclists.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I live off a similar style road. 2 lane road, double yellow, no bike lane, very popular with cyclists. I cross line everyday to pass.

[Jim Richards]

The solution is an old car from the carb-era that's tuned much too rich, that also needs new rings and valves badly, and also happens to have a muffler that's badly in need of replacement. Just get in front of the pack and pace them.

Bicycling and etiquette are antonyms.

[Jeff Higgins]

One has to wonder who a lone cop arriving on such a scene would pull over and ticket, the motorist passing illegally on the double yellow or the pack of cyclists riding illegally, two or three abreast, and impeding the flow of traffic.

[john walker's workshop]

in washington, i believe it's illegal to hold up five or more cars in a row, but you see that every day with a biker in the center of a lane during rush hour. no respect for anyone.

[David]

I understand that you guys and the folks behind a large group of cyclists are not thrilled about being held up for a few minutes. It's not the intention of most cyclists to be a road block. Hence the very early morning ride times on lightly traveled roads.

As a cyclist, I just hope that the drivers of the cars are smart enough not to risk killing somebody. Unfortunately we know that's not always the case and many riders are killed every year during group rides. I bet if the drivers who are sitting in prison or otherwise had their lives destroyed had it to do over, they'd just wait until the group turns off onto another road.

When I ride alone, I do ride on the very far right of the road. Most car drivers still give me 6 foot or so of clearance when they pass, but every few rides there's that one driver who feels the need to pass with 2 foot clearance or less and that's not a very good feeling.

[flatbutt]

doncha just love the "WHOOSH" of a truck mirror as it goes by your head?

[Talewinds]

I've resigned to never finding an understanding of the attitude...
I hate a lot of things in this world, A LOT OF THINGS. But I just don't hate cyclists. I ride a bike, love to.
I don't ride on the roads (stick to trails and MUPS).
But when I see cyclists on the roads I try to be a good steward, I never feel like they've inconvenienced me, it still never occurs to me to hate them or "teach them a lesson"......
It does bug me to see people on bikes doing the wrong things though, like riding against traffic, or riding on the sidewalks.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by David

I understand that you guys and the folks behind a large group of cyclists are not thrilled about being held up for a few minutes. It's not the intention of most cyclists to be a road block. Hence the very early morning ride times on lightly traveled roads.

As a cyclist, I just hope that the drivers of the cars are smart enough not to risk killing somebody. Unfortunately we know that's not always the case and many riders are killed every year during group rides. I bet if the drivers who are sitting in prison or otherwise had their lives destroyed had it to do over, they'd just wait until the group turns off onto another road.

When I ride alone, I do ride on the very far right of the road. Most car drivers still give me 6 foot or so of clearance when they pass, but every few rides there's that one driver who feels the need to pass with 2 foot clearance or less and that's not a very good feeling.

I'm always polite and I've never seen any type of "cyclist rage" perpetrated on these folks, but they are breaking the laws and it is frustrating when one small group of people (cyclists) routinely violate the law and then flaunt the violation to everyone else on the road.