Bicyclists have complained for years about the former Oregon law that prohibited passing on the right when motorists and bike riders were sharing the same lane. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance Legislative Committee and the 2005 Oregon Legislature worked together to change the law so that passing on the right is allowed when it is safe under existing circumstances. The new law goes into effect with the rest of Oregon’s 2005 legislative changes in January of 2006.
First, what is not different. The old law permitted passing on the right when a vehicle was in the same lane and turning left, so long as the following vehicle did not have to go off of the paved roadway in order to go around. The new law continues to allow this maneuver, which aids the smooth flow of traffic. Passing on the right in a bicycle lane (which is a separate lane from the regular traffic lane) is allowed at any time, even under the old law, just as passing on the right when there are two parallel traffic lines in the same direction on a highway is allowed.
The “New” Law About Passing On The Right
What has changed about passing on the right in Oregon is that the 2005 Legislature adopted the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Legislative Committee’s recommendations that certain safe maneuvers will improve the law for bicycle riders and help improve the flow of traffic. Senate Bill (SB) 938 was passed with a bipartisan effort in the Oregon House and Senate and signed by the Governor in late June 2005. The new law, while simple, makes a significant change for Oregon bicyclists. ORS 814.420 now provides as follows (the new matter is in bold below):
Unsafe Passing on the Right.
SECTION 1. ORS 811.415 is amended to read:
811.415. (1) A person commits the offense of unsafe passing on the right if the person:
(a) Drives a vehicle to overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle at any time not
permitted under this section.(b) Drives a vehicle to overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle at any time by
driving off the paved portion of the highway.(2) For purposes of this section, a person may drive a vehicle to overtake and pass upon the
right of another vehicle under any of the following circumstances:(a) Overtaking and passing upon the right is permitted if:
(A) The overtaken vehicle is making or the driver has signaled an intention to make a left turn;
(B) The paved portion of the highway is of sufficient width to allow two or more lanes of vehicles
to proceed lawfully in the same direction as the overtaking vehicle; and(C) The roadway ahead of the overtaking vehicle is unobstructed for a sufficient distance to
permit passage by the overtaking vehicle to be made in safety.(b) Overtaking and passing upon the right is permitted if the overtaken vehicle is proceeding
along a roadway in the left lane of two or more clearly marked lanes allocated exclusively to vehicular
traffic moving in the same direction as the overtaking driver.(c) Overtaking and passing upon the right is permitted if the overtaking vehicle is a bicycle
that may safely make the passage under the existing conditions.(3) The offense described in this section, unsafe passing on the right, is a Class B traffic violation.
In application, the new law allows safe passing on the right which helps to make the flow of traffic more smooth, and keeps riders from being stuck while stopped in a line of exhaust spewing motor vehicles. The illustrations below show typical applications of the new law.
What Has Not Changed under the “New” Law
While the new law allows passing the right when it is safe to do so, it is still a violation of the passing law to engage in unsafe passing maneuvers. While it is a fact question in each situation, it is likely that judges and juries will have a dim view toward passing on the right when it occurs at reckless speeds on lane divider lines of multi-lane roadways, or when riders fail to cautiously approach cars stopped with blinking turn signals waiting for the light to change. While the law does create a right of passage on the right side of the traffic lane, riders will have to help car drivers learn to drive around bicyclists using the right part of the lane. Fluid and dynamic utilization of the entire roadway requires full attention and constant scanning by drivers. A glance over the right shoulder is necessary for all movements that may cutoff a passing bicyclist on the right side.
The old law was unfair to bike riders because few people even knew about the legal restriction on passing on the right and it was not until somebody got into an accident that the passing prohibition was used against them. The old law was unfair because it created a blanket prohibition against a riding maneuver which is used safely throughout the world by bicyclists. Further, the old law discriminated against bicycle riders because motorists were allowed to pass slower moving bicyclists in the same lane, but when the motorist slowed the bicycle riders were unable to then move forward, such as at a traffic light where there was a long line of stopped cars. The new law removes one more trap from the Oregon Vehicle Code and promotes a dynamic and fluid use of the traffic lanes akin to the cooperative sharing of the road encountered in other countries where roads are not dominated by motor vehicles.
Of course, bicycles are entitled to pass cars just like any other vehicle on streets without a bicycle lane. Note that ORS 811.410 prohibits overtaking vehicles from speeding up until they are completely passed. When bicyclists are passed by cars, such as on a rural two-lane blacktop, the passing car frequently crosses the centerline of the roadway in order to give berth to the cyclists since the speed difference between the vehicles can be as much as 50 miles per hour. Bicyclists must recognize that if the pass takes the motorist over the centerline then the passing car must yield to vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
Experienced bicyclists shudder when they sight a truck quickly approaching from the rear on a rural highway when another truck is coming in the opposite direction, such that all three vehicles have the chance of meeting on the same section of roadway. When necessary, the overtaking vehicle is supposed to slow down and pass the slower moving cyclist after the roadway is clear and unobstructed in the opposite lane.
Bicyclists Deserve Additional Room on the Roadway
Many bicyclists wonder why car drivers are so miserly with their relinquishment of a portion of the travel lane, and so reluctant to cross the center line in a roadway when it is unoccupied. While it is generally true that the Rules of the Road prohibit crossing the center line in no passing zones, there is an exception in ORS 811.420 allowing a vehicle to cross over the center line “when an obstruction or condition exists making it necessary to drive to the left of the center of the roadway.” Of course, the driver must yield to oncoming motorists, but if the roadway is clear, there is no reason that a motorist should be reluctant to move over to give a safe wide berth to bicyclists.
One way we can teach drivers is through our own actions.
One exercise I sometimes enjoy when driving is to watch the vehicles ahead of me go around a bicyclist, usually giving the rider little room when they pass. Then when I go around the bicyclist, I give four feet of space to the bike rider and then watch my rearview mirror to see what happens. Most times, the following vehicles automatically end up following my lead if the opposite lane is clear, taking their cue from me about giving bicyclists room on the road. It says something good about human nature that when we follow each other like lemmings it is not always toward bad behavior, but sometimes toward improved behavior. The changes in the passing law are an important step in creating a legal environment in Oregon which takes bicyclists into account.