Bicycling Laws in DC, MD and VA - Potomac Pedalers

Notice "cars passing cyclists" is left blank in VA. So, speed up and skim past, yer gud to go.

Don't understand the "my 3 ft" remark. On 24 ft wide Rd with 10 ft traffic lanes most riders ride about 3 feet from edge to avoid tree limbs and debris and gravel from driveways and adjoining gravel roads. The cyclist occupies about 2 feet of space. That takes up a total of 5 feet if the cyclist maintains a perfectly straight path. Add 3-5 ft (3 ft is the minimum and a bit close) to that and you are up to 8-10 ft. My Cayenne (which is narrower than many vehicles) is over 6 feet wide (75.9 in) putting me very far into the opposite lane (4-6 feet) if I pass. That does not leave an oncoming vehicle any room to pass and remain on the road.

Per the state, my road averages 11k vehicles per day on a weekday and 10k per day on the weekend.

Yep, only 2 ft in VA...but it also requires you pass safely and with the bumpy roads. With rocks and other debris out in the country and a deer carcass or two...most cyclists just can't seem to take a straight line...so I try to give them 3-5 feet. Not that I am timid as suggested earlier....just keeps me from having to clean Lycra and body parts from my grill.

DC
"General: Cyclists traveling on roadways have all the general rights and duties of drivers of vehicles."

LOL. It's the rare case when you see a bike rider obey the traffic laws in DC. But heaven forbid if you curtail their "rights."

"Traffic Flow: Ride with the flow of traffic on the right half of the roadway."

Never obeyed.

"Where to Ride: Operate a bicylce in a safe and non-hazardous manner, so as not to endanger himself or herself or any other person."

As a pedestrian, I'm always trying to avoid being hit by bikers blowing through crosswalks, or sprinting along on the sidewalks.

"Cycling on Sidewalks: Yield right of way to pedestrians. Prohibited in the central business district (bounded by Massachusetts Ave. NW, 2nd St NE-SE, D St SE/SW, 14th St NW, Constitution Ave and 23rd St NW). Allowed where posted in this area, and prohibited where posted outside this area."

LOL! Watch out! :eek:

Make bicyclists get an operator's license, insurance, and pay road use taxes.

Moonbeam vetoes the 3 foot rule in CA.

Haven't read the full law yet, but if it doesn't have anything objectionable, I'm gonna crap on his door step.

California Bicycle Coalition » Governor vetoes SB 1464, citing new concerns about liability

Edit: Straight forward bill no pork. Moonbeam is an asshat.

21 states have 3 foot laws. Several more, including Oregon, have safe distance laws. Its not rocket science. Californians can figure it out.

MCBC - How Do Motorists Endanger Bicyclists?

So, here's the reality. 99.99% of the population have places to go,things to do. They (we) have no time for the lycra hotshots that think we care about their pastime. Get the hell off the roads.

Ahh, you forget one silly thing. The bikers pay the same taxes you do and have just as much right to be on the road as anyone does, especially YOU.

Next time you think about posting things like the above, STFU and find something else to do.

Its wonderful jerks like this that caused me to start wearing a shoulder holster and carry a 1911 .45 auto when I was riding bikes. For some silly reason being forced off of the roads stopped after doing this!

Joe. Skateboarders and Pedestrians pay the same taxes. Do they have the same right to be on the road?

I like the shoulder holster idea.

Pastime? I commute and work out as well....I just want to be left alone. If I could legally carry in CA I would....

I think your opinion is as narrow minded as your pinhead.

If they are following the law, guess so. Ask your local cops! :)

well put

a few bike on car road rage incidents would encourage some respect, tho the penalty makes want others to do it

So now a legislator has suggested to a bike blogger that riders should be required to have a minimum of three high intensity flashers on the rear of a bike frame....day or night.....

The key words here. If bikers would only leave it at that. Aside from the numerous traffic violations bikers commit, they seem to ignore licencing laws where applicable. In fact, so many bikers did not obtain the required bike license that the city rescinded the law. (This was mainly due to the overwhelming numbers of out of town cyclists that would occasionally appear for a large informally staged event.) The law was aimed at curbing bike theft, a big problem here. IOW, the city was trying to help the biking community and the police.

We are no longer talking about children riding around the cul de sac. We are talking about a prominence of rude and aggressive riders with an over inflated sense of entitlement.

It has nothing to do with the daily bike commuter. When Long Beach started pushing for a bike friendly environment, in changing the configuration of street lanes they bottlenecked traffic; made it worse. Normally, there are no bikes to be found in the new lanes.

Frequently there are bikes on the sidewalk of the very same streets being ridden by adults that don't have expensive bikes or attire. Many are the inner city poor.

This whole cycling thing is not going well. If bikers want to be accepted and respected on shared roads, they need to get in line and ride responsibly. Until they do, the anger against their aberrant behavior will persist.

do bikers purchase gas to contribute to the road tax? how light grey is this right?

I.... just don't know where to begin!

So apparently, this is a free country, but only for people behind the wheel of a car? The road and fuel taxes I pay on two cars in my garage still doesn't entitle me to use those roads to ride my bike? Might makes right?

99.99 percent of the population - Did you look that up? Do a little research? 2 minutes on The Google showed me a statistic that 27% of people 16years old or older rode a bike at least once during the summer, and that 40% of the earth's population rides a bike.

Maybe in the land of Myopia just a small percentage of the population rides a bike, but in the real world, where gas is 4 bucks a gallon and people are trying to take better care of themselves, there are a lot of people cycling on a daily basis, and these people are going places and getting things done too.

Bicycle "licenses" are not about safety. They're not about theft recovery either. They are simply about revenue.

Requiring bicycles to carry lights in the daytime is silly, given the limitations of battery light technology, and not even cars are required to have daytime running lights. Requiring bicycles on the street to run lights at night - that I can see. Pun, funny.

Too bad you didn't have a box of thumb tacks....That what they use on a two way busy road that the bicyclist insist on using in a rural part of Va Beach...Not that I'm condoning that behavior.,but saying f#%k you while your on a bike is pretty stupid..

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This is why I pretty much have given up riding solo. Too many people with this attitude driving around with nothing to lose. They would sooner kill me than slow down for 5 seconds & I am not a person, just an obstacle.

My shift partner had this idea & we got into our only heated argument about 5 years ago over his comments. Fast forward 5 years. His only commute involves a $5 bridge toll, so he started to ride to work & now is an avid cyclist. I wish him the best, but see trouble down the road for him.