From: josh@Happy-Man.com (Joshua_Putnam)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles,rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: BICYCLE CRASH
Date: 13 Apr 92 21:41:42 GMT
Reply-To: Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399

In <1992Apr10.161905.2473@island.COM> fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:

>In article <00958CA7.0FB169C0@FHYDRA.FYSEL.UNIT.NO> dahls@fhydra.dnet.unit.no (Joern Yngve Dahl-Stamnes) writes:
>>Thus spoke the keyboard of Mike Fester:

>>>In California, if 5 or more vehicles are lined up behind you waiting to pass, 
>>>you are required by law pull over as soon as safely possible to allow them 
>>>to pass. Most cops I've talked to interpret this (in the case of bicycles) to 
>>>mean "immediately". 

I do not know California laws well enough to comment, but here in
Washington the definition is a bit more specific than given above.  From
Washington's Rules of the Road, which gives bicycles the same rights
and responsibilities as other vehicles with a few limited exceptions:

"RCW 46.61.427  Slow moving vehicle to pull off roadway.  On a two-lane
highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite
direction or other conditions, a slow moving vehicle, behind which
five or more vehicles are formed in a line, shall turn off the roadway
wherever sufficient area for a safe turn-out exists, in order to
permit the vehicles following to proceed.  As used in this section a
slow moving vehicle is one which is proceeding at a rate of speed less
than the normal flow of traffic at the particular time and place."

So the definition is only "immediately" if the bike is slower than the
usual traffic, passing in the oncoming lane is dangerous, five other
vehicles are lined up to pass, and there exists room for the
bicycle (or other vehicle) to pull off the road safely.  This can be a
matter of interpretation, so the attitude of the police makes a big
difference in whether you'll get a ticket, and the attitude of the
magistrate determines whetther the ticket will stick.

>>Are bikers required to look back one or twice a minute just to check if there
>>is more than 5 cars lined up behind him? I don't think this is very safe
>>from a bikers point of view.

>Doesn't matter what you think. That's the law. If you don't believe that,
>try arguing with a cop.

The same safety argument once applied to cars, which are bound by the
same rules.  Then legislators decided to mandate rear-view mirrors.
If enough cyclists obstruct enough traffic, public pressure may lead to a
similar requirement.  Reflector laws, helmet laws, mirror laws... next
it may be 5mph bumpers.  Soon our bikes will need motors to get them
moving....

Personally, I'd feel very uncomfortable _not_ knowing what traffic was
doing behind me.  If there are five cars backed up behind you, are you
really going to ride in blissful ignorance of 10,000 lbs of steel
aimed at your backsides?  You may not have to pull over right away if
the conditions are not safe, but you should at least know the cars are
there.  Otherwise, you'll eventually end up having to say, "I just
didn't see him."

>>Why do cars need to honk when they approach bikes? As a biker I find this very
>>annoying. Some cars does honk when they are just some meters behind the bike.
>>I have seen several bikers who has been scared because of this annoying
>>honking. A scared biker might do things which can be fatal for him/her.

>100 yards is more than a few meters. And I was on a motorcycle. And only one
>person seemed to think it inconvenient to make sure he was out of the line 
>of (potential) danger.

I don't mind cars or motorcycles honking from a respectable distance
back, though the noise is almost always redundant over engine noise.
(Especially for bikes with loud pipes.)  Technically, the overtaking
vehicle is supposed to signal audibly when passing in order to secure
its rights.  Few cars bother honking when passing other cars, but that
doesn't take the law off the books.

On steep downhills my own wind noise may cover up engine noise until
the motorist is almost on top of me, so there honking is appropriate.
Again, honking from a ways back is preferred.  (When I warn other
cyclists or pedestrians that I am passing them, I try to do it far
enough back to give them time to react calmly instead of panic.
Polite, but not technically required.)

Note, however, that honking does not _compel_ the bicyclist to take
any particular action.  If road conditions do not allow the cyclist to
move any farther to the right, then the cyclist is already complying
with the rules of the road.  Sometimes broken glass, cracked pavement,
drain gratings, or other road features beneath the notice of most
motorists are life-threatening to bicyclists.  The rules of the road
put the burden on the overtaking vehicle, not the overtaken vehicle,
to maintain safe clearances.  The overtaken vehicle's responsibility
is to stay to the right and allow the overtaking vehicle to pass
safely and predictably.

From the RCW again:

"RCW 46.61.110  Overtaking a vehicle on the left.
  The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of
vehicles proceeding in the same direction, subject to those
limitations, exceptions and special rules hereinafter stated:
  (1)  The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding
in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe
distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway
until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.
  (2)  Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted,
the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in
favor of the overtaking vehicle on audible signal and shall not
increase the speed of his vehicle until completely passed by the
overtaking vehicle."


There is a difference between honking from a reasonable distance, so
that the bicyclist is aware of an overtaking vehicle, and honking up
close to say "Get the hell off _my_ road!"  Bicyclists tend to
remember the latter; motorists tend to remember cyclists who ignore
the former.

>>>So in general, MOST bicyclists were reasonably safe, and I don't have any
>>>real problem with them on these roads.

>>Most cars is not any problem for bikers, but the one out of 100 that drive
>>unsafe might kill some just to save some seconds or because the driver didn't
>>find it convenient (sp?) enough to move his foot to the brake pedal!

>Wasn't in a car, I was on a motorcycle. Let me ask some other bicyclists: was
>my post offensive?

Reading only what was in your post, I don't find it necessarily
offensive, though without knowing the road conditions I can't tell
whether the one cyclist who moved left instead of right was acting
sensibly or not.  Many cyclists would read into your post a belief
that you are against bicycles having equal rights on the roadway, and
would suspect that your honking was intended as an aggressive act.
This may not be true, but it is what many cyclists have been
conditioned to expect from motorists, just as motorcyclists often
expect nothing but abuse from cagers and interpret all drivers'
comments as insults and attacks.


As always, laws vary by state and country.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the Bar.
-- 
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