As for me, the US isn’t that great when it comes to providing ubiquitous bike lanes throughout the cities (though this is very contingent on what city you’re in, i.e., Portland, Oregon, Boulder, Colorado, or even New York (City), New York). But for the vast majority of cyclists in the US, don’t have anything except the general road or street to travel on.
But let’s say there were bike lanes. Depending on which country you live in, these would be the laws you would follow. Take a moment and use the webpage search and look up “obligatory” on there.
Now, let’s say that there are lanes but they are shared with vehicles. Often these are called a, Shared Lane with markings. This design idea is to make it safer for cyclists and vehiclists to know that the road is to be shared and where. Sharing the lane comes into play for various reasons. A common one is when a cyclist has to go around something on the side of the street or road. That could be anything from a delivery truck parked on the side, a car in a pick up area, or just a car parked on the side of the road/street as shown here. There are of course, times when there isn’t a bike lane in certain sections of the street, and thus a lane ends up being needed for more than just one person’s mobility needs. While it’s more common for cyclists to be passing by things on the side of the street, it’s not wrong for them to be in the middle of the road or street if they are planning to turn across the oncoming traffic. The common sense reason for this allowance is that they, just like anyone else, are trying to get somewhere in a reasonable time. And having to always pull off to the crosswalk and wait for it to switch traffic flow and indicate your chance takes a lot of time. Imagine having to cross a street in your vehicle, but every time you have to stop to cross, you have to push your car a bit to get it going. It would get tiring sooner than later, huh? Well, the same feeling is had with cyclists. Hence why they use the turn lanes to get over faster than otherwise.
But why can’t they just use the sidewalks and crosswalks!? As for the US, it’s a mixed bag of reasons and a lack thereof. You see, this isn’t just a patchwork of laws in the states. This is also happening at the county, city, or town levels of law. You can learn more here.
Some other things worth mentioning. There are lots of resources that cover bicycle and e-bike laws. Here’s a solid pick. The Center For Cycling Education
U.S. I use to bike but was hit by someone. I just use a stationary bike now. We don’t have bike lanes in my area older area. I never ride in road. I was hit at a stop sign when a car ran it.
That’s why the idaho stop is important. But if there are no lanes then that’s probably why people ride in the road… and if you do ride in the road it’s much much more dangerous to bike to the side as people will try and pass you in an unsafe way instead of respecting your bikes legal standing as a vehicle on the road
Hmmm. I’ll ask.
What country do you live in?
As for me, the US isn’t that great when it comes to providing ubiquitous bike lanes throughout the cities (though this is very contingent on what city you’re in, i.e., Portland, Oregon, Boulder, Colorado, or even New York (City), New York). But for the vast majority of cyclists in the US, don’t have anything except the general road or street to travel on.
But let’s say there were bike lanes. Depending on which country you live in, these would be the laws you would follow. Take a moment and use the webpage search and look up “obligatory” on there.
Now, let’s say that there are lanes but they are shared with vehicles. Often these are called a, Shared Lane with markings. This design idea is to make it safer for cyclists and vehiclists to know that the road is to be shared and where. Sharing the lane comes into play for various reasons. A common one is when a cyclist has to go around something on the side of the street or road. That could be anything from a delivery truck parked on the side, a car in a pick up area, or just a car parked on the side of the road/street as shown here. There are of course, times when there isn’t a bike lane in certain sections of the street, and thus a lane ends up being needed for more than just one person’s mobility needs. While it’s more common for cyclists to be passing by things on the side of the street, it’s not wrong for them to be in the middle of the road or street if they are planning to turn across the oncoming traffic. The common sense reason for this allowance is that they, just like anyone else, are trying to get somewhere in a reasonable time. And having to always pull off to the crosswalk and wait for it to switch traffic flow and indicate your chance takes a lot of time. Imagine having to cross a street in your vehicle, but every time you have to stop to cross, you have to push your car a bit to get it going. It would get tiring sooner than later, huh? Well, the same feeling is had with cyclists. Hence why they use the turn lanes to get over faster than otherwise.
But why can’t they just use the sidewalks and crosswalks!? As for the US, it’s a mixed bag of reasons and a lack thereof. You see, this isn’t just a patchwork of laws in the states. This is also happening at the county, city, or town levels of law. You can learn more here.
Some other things worth mentioning. There are lots of resources that cover bicycle and e-bike laws. Here’s a solid pick. The Center For Cycling Education
U.S. I use to bike but was hit by someone. I just use a stationary bike now. We don’t have bike lanes in my area older area. I never ride in road. I was hit at a stop sign when a car ran it.
That’s why the idaho stop is important. But if there are no lanes then that’s probably why people ride in the road… and if you do ride in the road it’s much much more dangerous to bike to the side as people will try and pass you in an unsafe way instead of respecting your bikes legal standing as a vehicle on the road