Engage a motorist who is a nonbicycle rider in a conversation about bicycles and you may be surprised to hear a frequently held view that a “bicycle revolution” has occurred in this country in the last several years. When this happens I am frequently left asking myself the question, “Did I miss something?” The answer is that from a motorists’ perspective the “bicycle revolution” is evidenced by a new presence: the bicycle lane. When the majority of drivers obtained their driver’s licenses bicycle lanes did not exist. Consequently, most motorists have never been taught about how to drive around bicycles in bicycle lanes; the same situation applies to bicyclists. Consequently, there is much confusion on everyones’ part about how to ride with and drive around bicycle lanes.
Fortunately, the new Oregon Driver Manual (5/98) includes a section on bicycles and it contains three new bulleted sections about bicycle lanes as follows:
- Do not drive on a bicycle lane. You may cross a bicycle lane when turning or when entering or leaving an alley, private road or driveway. You may use a bicycle lane as part of an official duty, such as delivering mail. Farm equipment may briefly use a bicycle lane to let other traffic pass.
- You must yield to bicycles in a bicycle lane or on a sidewalk before you turn across the lane or sidewalk.
- You may not park any motorized vehicle on a bicycle path or lane.
Oregon Driver Manual, page 70.
This is a fair summary of the law relating to bicycle lanes, but the actual legal framework, while straightforward, is a little more complex.
Bicyclists Must Use Bike Lanes If One Is Available.
Oregon law requires that a bicyclist use a bike lane if one is available. Oregon Revised Statute 814.420 (ORS) requires that a bicyclist use a bicycle lane or path if one is available. This is the section that was used to cite a number of riders who refused to ride on bicycle paths (now called multi-use paths). Many riders refused to use the old bike paths because they were poorly constructed and infrequently maintained. Riding at 15 mph over a bumpy (roots and potholes), glass covered bike path with blind crossings for driveways was never a pleasant experience. However, paragraph 2 of ORS 814.420 states that a person is not required to comply with the rule unless the responsible jurisdiction has established, after a public hearing, that the bicycle lane or path is “suitable for safe bicycle use at reasonable rates of speed.” Since no one certified any of the bike paths as “suitable,” since they were inherently unsuitable, there was a large loophole in the law and no one was ever convicted of violating it.
It would seem that the same loophole applies to bicycle lanes; at least, I am not aware of any public hearings which have resulted in the required findings. Nevertheless, bicycle lanes are a great improvement over the old bicycle paths. However, it is unfortunate that sometimes the bicycle lanes contain more debris than adjacent travel lanes because of the absence of high speed traffic blowing debris off of the surface. There is a real public relations problem when bicyclists fail to use designated bicycle lanes because motorists legitimately feel that considerable space and financial resources are being dedicated to bicycles on the roadway and the least that bicyclists can do is to use the available facilities.
Still, some purists refuse to recognize bicycle lanes as preferred locations of bicycle travel because “separate” means “unequal” on the roadway and bicyclists should never allow themselves to be “moved” anywhere off of the main roadway. All in all, I believe that bicycle lanes are an improvement for bicycling and that we should at least use them any time we are moving at a speed which would slow down motorized traffic.
When Are Motor Vehicles Allowed On A Bicycle Lane?
Bicyclists frequently complain that motorists are driving on bicycle lanes. Motorists frequently resent bicyclists’ efforts to direct them off of bicycle lanes and back into the motorized section of the roadway. The Oregon Rules of The Road provide that motorists may not use bicycle lanes except when necessary to cross over the lane.
ORS 811.440 provides as follows:
- A person may operate a motor vehicle upon a bicycle lane when:
(a) Making a turn;
(b) Entering or leaving an alley, private road or driveway; or
(c) Required in the course of official duty. - An implement of husbandry may momentarily cross into a bicycle lane to permit other vehicles to overtake and pass the implement of husbandry.
Conflicts Over The Right-Of-Way In Bicycle Lanes.
When a motorist is entitled to drive across a bicycle lane the motorist must still yield to a bicyclist occupying the lane. This is a difficult concept for many motorists, unfamiliar with the rules of road to understand. First, the bicyclist is usually proceeding at a slower speed than the motorist, so, for example, if a motorist is going to be turning right and crossing the bicycle lane, it is difficult for many motorists to willingly wait until a bicyclist they just passed is safely through the intersection to the motorist’s right side before the motorist cuts across the path to make their right turn. However, this is the way a right turn maneuver should occur. Bicyclists should not be passed by motorists who then cut the bicyclist off by squeezing a quick right turn in front of the approaching rider. This scenario seems to be the most frequent source of conflict.
However, parking maneuvers, entering driveways or parking lots, and exiting motorized vehicles are all areas of potential conflict over who has the right to be in the bicycle lane. ORS 811.050 makes it a Class B traffic infraction (up to a $300.00 fine) for a motorist to fail to yield to a rider in a bicycle lane, or a person operating a motorized wheelchair, or a moped in the human power mode. The technique motorists need to learn to use in driving around bicycle lanes is to drive so that bicyclists do not have to alter their speed in order to avoid a collision with the motorists. This means that motorists must wait for the bicyclist to pass, slow down as they approach a bicyclist in the bike lane (such as in the right turn example), or stop in the lane of traffic with the turn signal on while waiting for the bike lane to clear before turning or parking. Other approaching motorists need to recognize and defer to the slowing or stopping motorist in order to avoid a potential collision that places everyone in danger.
The bicycle lane is a hybrid invention encountered mostly in urban environments. Many motorists are not certain about the rules relating to bicycle lanes, and some motorists are resentful of the fact of their existence (and of bicyclists for that matter). There will be a motorist learning curve over the years that results in more drivers having confidence around bicycles and bicycle lanes. During the “early years” after the bicycle revolution that is presently upon us, if there was one, both bicyclists and motorists need to recognize that we are trying something new here that will ultimately make the streets safer, cleaner, and more user friendly for all of us.
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