What makes a bike lane a bike lane?

[Carrie12345]

I’m getting close to 30 years of driving, in which I think I’ve only had 1 complicated encounter with a cyclist where I was trying to pull up the brain file marked “Driving laws that have never applied to my life.”
We generally don’t have many serious cyclists creating situations, as there are many roads that are just too dangerous, or roads that are super simple to share.

Anyway, our neighboring township recently painted miles and miles of bike lanes on the main roads. Cool. But then they stop abruptly, with signs that say “End Bike Lane”. One is at a bridge in the middle of nowhere, and another is just past a busy intersection. The roads themselves continue with shoulders just as wide as the bike lanes, minus the stencils of the little person on a bike.

So what is the legal or implied meaning of the bike lanes??? Cyclists WILL have to continue, and the space they have is basically the same.  For some reason, it irks me. Probably because I’m often driving that route at 5:30am and haven’t found anything else to complain about that early. 😛 

[Katy]

Cyclists always have the same rights as other vehicles, the lanes simply give cars more room to pass. 

[Carrie12345]

13 minutes ago, Katy said:

Cyclists always have the same rights as other vehicles, the lanes simply give cars more room to pass. 

The roads are the same width they’ve always been, and continue the same for miles more!

[Melissa in Australia]

Here cars cannot pass a bike unless they would be able to pass a car , unless there is a bike lane. So that does mean that if you are driving down a main road you do come across people on  bikes riding (often 2 abreast but even if they are single they are legally allowed to ride right in the middle of the  road ). You have to slow down and drive behind them at whatever speed they are going at until there is only doted lines on the road, no longer solid lines.  this can take a few kilometers . If there is a bike lane then the bike would be riding in the bike lane and cars can easily pass. Occasionally I have seen bike riders riding along with a pool noodle attached horizontally to their bike to remind cars that they can  legally take the whole road.

 

locally to me there is a very windy road that connects the coastal areal I live with the closest town. it is 17 km long ( speed limit on this road is 100 km/h) . There are only 4 places that a car can overtake. Often there are bikes on this road.  lots of locals have petitioned for a bike lane to be made.

[gardenmom5]

37 minutes ago, Katy said:

Cyclists always have the same rights as other vehicles, the lanes simply give cars more room to pass. 

They also have the same responsibilities to follow the traffic laws.

 

[regentrude]

One more thing: cars can only cross a bike lane to turn but cannot stop or park in a bike lane.

[Bambam]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

They also have the same responsibilities to follow the traffic laws.

 

This is the part that bothers me. The bikers around here often don't stop at stop signs/red lights or obey the traffic light turn signals. I know it isn't everyone, but it bothers me every time I see this. I know it takes extra effort to completely stop and then start up your bike again - especially if you are headed uphill, but that is the law. 

To be fair though, there are plenty of cars that do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. Typically they do slow down and make a pretense while the bikers are looking ahead of time and just going through at their full speed. 

[skimomma]

Basically, when the bike lane ends the road is going from a two-lane (in that direction) to a one-lane from a car standpoint.  As others have said, where the bike lane exists, cars can pass freely.  When it stops, cars can only pass as though they were passing another car.  Bikes may continue to ride on the shoulder, but they do not have to.  They can legally ride in the middle of the single lane if they so choose.  Even if they are in the shoulder, a car should not pass unless the opposing lane is free.  I can see how it doesn't seem to make a difference when there is a wide shoulder and all bikers seem to stay on it, but there is a legal distinction should there be a collision.

That said, no one in my area has any idea about any bike rules and smart bikers understand that they have to protect themselves from people who don't know the laws.  I do a lot of road biking and have seen it all, unfortunately.  And, yes, I do follow all of the driving laws while on a bike.

[J-rap]

I've noticed in some areas in our state that when a bike lane suddenly ends, there's sometimes a "Share the Road" sign with a bike pictured.  That means the bike lane may have ended, but bikes can still be on the road.  

That said, even without a designated bike lane, bikes are still expected to hug the right side of the road, unless it's unsafe/impossible.  The state law says, "Where this is possible, the bicyclist must keep as far to the right as safe." 

Cars can pass them -- they don't need to move completely out of their lane to do so.  But there needs to be a minimum of 3 feet between the car and the bike when passing.

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Bambam said:

This is the part that bothers me. The bikers around here often don't stop at stop signs/red lights or obey the traffic light turn signals. I know it isn't everyone, but it bothers me every time I see this. I know it takes extra effort to completely stop and then start up your bike again - especially if you are headed uphill, but that is the law. 

To be fair though, there are plenty of cars that do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. Typically they do slow down and make a pretense while the bikers are looking ahead of time and just going through at their full speed. 

We were out in rural Oregon - it was a motorcycle, not a bike - but the guy wouldn't even let us legally pass him.  He was weaving back and forth across both lanes, only staying in one lane with oncoming traffic.   The sheer arrogance.   This is the epitome of "not sharing the road".

he'd wave at other motorcyclists - thinking he was being friendly.  We only got out from behind him when he turned off in a different direction.

 

In both SF and NYC - bicycle couriers have killed people by crashing into them in crosswalks when the pedestrians had the right of way.

[Alice]

One bike lane thing that I did not know until I hit a bicyclist is that if you are turning right and there is a bike lane you are supposed to treat it like another lane of traffic and signal, merge into it and then turn. I had always been under the assumption that you weren’t supposed to get into the bike lane as a car. 

The incident I had was thankfully minor. I was turning right and had come to a stop before turning. I had a green light and signaled and turned across a bike lane. A cyclist was coming up next to me but I didn’t see her. She didn’t see me turning and basically ran into me/I hit her as I turned. She was fine...didn’t even fall off the bike. The windows were down and I tried to stop and see if she needed help or anything but she waved me on and kept riding. It was pretty traumatic for me, I felt terrible. Hopefully less traumatic for her, but I can imagine it shook her up also. I was sure I was in the right because it seemed to me like I had the right of way. So I looked it up when I got home, mostly because it was an intersection near my house and I knew I’d have to turn there again. Nope, I was wrong. You are supposed to basically act like it’s another lane of traffic. Which makes total sense, I just had never learned it. So now I tell anyone when it comes up. 

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, skimomma said:

Basically, when the bike lane ends the road is going from a two-lane (in that direction) to a one-lane from a car standpoint.  As others have said, where the bike lane exists, cars can pass freely.  When it stops, cars can only pass as though they were passing another car.  Bikes may continue to ride on the shoulder, but they do not have to.  They can legally ride in the middle of the single lane if they so choose.  Even if they are in the shoulder, a car should not pass unless the opposing lane is free.  I can see how it doesn't seem to make a difference when there is a wide shoulder and all bikers seem to stay on it, but there is a legal distinction should there be a collision.

That said, no one in my area has any idea about any bike rules and smart bikers understand that they have to protect themselves from people who don't know the laws.  I do a lot of road biking and have seen it all, unfortunately.  And, yes, I do follow all of the driving laws while on a bike.

This.

Where bike lanes exist, in our state motor vehicles must yield to bikes.
Where bikes have clear right of way, bikes can treat stop signs and blinking reds as yield signs.

There are places downtown where bikes have two way directionality to ride in bike lanes but motor vehicles are on one-way streets. Additionally, bikes are prohibited from sidewalks in many of those same areas (ie they must be on the road). 
 

Most people have a good understanding of the bike lanes here but our state also does an awesome job of educating people and bicyclists don’t trust vehicles.

Though our state prohibits lane splitting with motorcycles, there are many riders who do it. And, as a result, there are deaths from that. 

 

[KungFuPanda]

I thought of this thread when I was coming home today so I snapped a photo of our new two-lane bike lanes. These went up not long before I heard we’d become a LEED platinum community.  I think these lanes must have been some of the finishing touches just before the award. They certainly make it easier and safer for everyone. 
 

ETA: Where the bike lane crosses an intersection they made it look like a striped crosswalk that’s a weird day glow green color so it seems we are to treat it like a regular crosswalk and cross carefully  

Edited September 24, 2022 by KungFuPanda

[Bootsie]

10 hours ago, Alice said:

One bike lane thing that I did not know until I hit a bicyclist is that if you are turning right and there is a bike lane you are supposed to treat it like another lane of traffic and signal, merge into it and then turn. I had always been under the assumption that you weren’t supposed to get into the bike lane as a car. 

 

We have an intersection like this a couple of blocks from our house.  It really isn't clear what a driver who wants to turn right is supposed to do.  Once there was a police officer at the intersection and DH stopped and ask him and the officer's response was that he really didn't know either; I try to avoid the intersection if I need to go right because it seems like an accident waiting to happen.  I am glad the accident you were involved in wasn't serious.

[Tanaqui]

Gardenmom5, it's true that bicyclists have killed pedestrians in NYC. However, you forgot to finish your sentence - for every ONE pedestrian killed or injured by a bicyclist, many MORE pedestrians and bicyclists have been killed by cars.

There is nearly one pedestrian fatality involving a car in NYC every single day. There isn't even one fatality involving a bike every week.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Tanaqui

[Bootsie]

15 hours ago, Bambam said:

This is the part that bothers me. The bikers around here often don't stop at stop signs/red lights or obey the traffic light turn signals. I know it isn't everyone, but it bothers me every time I see this. I know it takes extra effort to completely stop and then start up your bike again - especially if you are headed uphill, but that is the law. 

To be fair though, there are plenty of cars that do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. Typically they do slow down and make a pretense while the bikers are looking ahead of time and just going through at their full speed. 

This is not the case in all places.  In some areas, cyclists are required to come to a complete stop at all stop signs even if there is no car traffic in site.  In other places, cyclists are not required to do so if there is not a car that has the right of way; the risk of injury can be higher in that falls are more likely to occur when the cyclists comes to a complete stop and it takes the cyclists much longer to clear the intersection, which provides more opportunities for an accident to occur.  Also, in some areas, cyclists are supposed to cycle off the street on the sidewalk, in other areas, it is against the law.  

[Carrie12345]

I finally looked up my state’s website (this is not where I took my drivers test) and there really isn’t much detailed other than to be sure to have 4’ distance when passing. No mention of bike lanes vs. non.

When I made the trip yesterday, it seems a trash crew had been busy. The bike lanes were dotted with bags of trash for miles! 😳

[Bambam]

8 hours ago, Bootsie said:

This is not the case in all places.  In some areas, cyclists are required to come to a complete stop at all stop signs even if there is no car traffic in site.  In other places, cyclists are not required to do so if there is not a car that has the right of way; the risk of injury can be higher in that falls are more likely to occur when the cyclists comes to a complete stop and it takes the cyclists much longer to clear the intersection, which provides more opportunities for an accident to occur.  Also, in some areas, cyclists are supposed to cycle off the street on the sidewalk, in other areas, it is against the law.  

This is good to know. However, in my state, cyclists have the same rights and duties as motor vehicle operators. 
I'll have to remember to look this up before I travel again - just like in the old days when you had to look up if it was legal to turn right on red in the states you were traveling to!

 

[Tanaqui]

Bambam, fyi, it's currently not legal to make a right on red in NYC unless posted.

[Bambam]

6 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

Bambam, fyi, it's currently not legal to make a right on red in NYC unless posted.

Wow - that is good to know. I thought it was legal in every state. I didn't consider that individual cities might have different rules. But from the pictures I've seen, I don't think I would want to drive in NYC! Thanks for the tip!