The slogan on the new EBBC T-shirt, "It's My Lane Too!," featuring an original drawing by internationally known cartoonist Andy Singer, is meant to communicate that bicyclists are allowed on the road and have as much of a right to the traffic lane as cars, trucks and even SUVs!
Drivers and bicyclists are often confused about the rights of bicyclists to use the traffic lane, as spelled out in the California Vehicle Code. Drivers can get impatient or angry when they have to slow down to pass a cyclist. Unfortunately, some bicyclists have come to believe that their rights are secondary to those of motorists. This obsequiousness can translate into unpredicatable and unsafe riding. For example, bicyclists who dart toward and away from the curb to cede all available road space to drivers are putting themselves in danger by acting unpredictably.It doesn't help that the California Vehicle Code Section 21202 is written in a confusing manner. The crux of this section is 21202 (a) (3) which says that bicyclists are not required to ride as far to the right as possible when there is a substandard width lane. It goes on to define a substandard width lane as "a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane." Using this legal definition, there are very few lanes with standard widths; the tendency has been to cram in extra lanes to accomodate more cars. Therefore, bicyclists are frequently not subject to 21202 (a) which asks bicyclists to ride as close to the right-hand curb as possible.
To avoid glass on the road, to stay out of the "door zone", or to pass other bicycles or vehicles, bicyclists should take the lane knowing that it is the safe, smart and legal thing to do. But, of course, use caution. Many drivers are aware and happy to slow down when they are near a bicyclist; but those that don't call for our constant vigilance.
California Vehicle Code 21202
(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
- When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
- When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
- When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
- When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.
(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway of a highway, which highway carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.
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