from TheWashCycle by washcycle<\/p>\n
A couple of questions came in to Dr. Gridlock on bicycling that argued that cyclists are breaking the law<\/a> (when they aren’t) or using poor judgement, even though they’re following the law.<\/p>\n As near as I can tell, in Maryland, bicycles are considered “vehicles” by the Transportation Code (11-104) and bicyclists are subject to “all duties required of the driver of a vehicle (21-1202). Those duties invclude stopping at stop signs and not passing on the right except in certain limited defined circumstances (beating a line of cars stopped at a red light not among those). Maybe DC and VA have similar laws, but I wonder why we don’t seem to see these in your frequent columns on bicycles. Just this morning I had a bicyclist go between two lanes of traffic stopped for a red light and then proceed through the red light and resume a blocking position in the right lane.<\/p>\n Of course running a red light is still illegal in Maryland, but lane splitting is not according to WABA<\/a>. So the commenter is wrong on that (it’s also legal in VA and DC).<\/p>\n Dr. Gridlock says<\/p>\n Bicyclists across the region are supposed to obey the traffic laws, and as I frequently point out, many don’t. (I also point out that drivers at least slow down for stop signs.)<\/p>\n That’s the third time he’s said that recently, as though that somehow absolves drivers. Of course drivers slow down (and so do cyclists more often than not). They’re going faster to start with, had less time to look as they approached the intersection, have poorer vision and don’t have the benefit of stereoscopic hearing. If I were half blind and half deaf, I’d be more cautious too. But either one is opposed to scofflaw behavior, or one is not. And even slowing down, drivers are still probably more dangerous at intersections.<\/p>\n The next commenter wrote<\/a><\/p>\n The WaPo has had quite a few stories about, yes, it’s legal for bicyclists to take a full lane while riding. I wonder though whether it is prudent to exercise this right on (for example) a single lane curvy uphill road with a 35 mph speed limit, when you have trouble maintaining 6 mph. None of the stories ever seem to address the safety aspects of what can be an enormous speed differential.<\/p>\n Banning cyclists from going uphill, is the same as banning cycling. I wonder how often the situation described above has ever occured. Plus we just recently talked about how a driver should be prepared to stop for a stopped vehicle, so 6mph should give a pretty good cushion. The only reason it would be dangerous, is because of bad drivers. Dr. G does a better job with this one.<\/p>\n When I hear cycling safety advocates urge bikers to take the lane, it’s usually in this scenario: They’re driving on city streets with cars parked along the sides, and they’re hugging the curb, then pulling out to get around cars, then pulling back to the curb, then pulling out to get around cars.<\/p>\n That’s not a safe situation. They’re confusing the drivers — sometimes they’re there, and sometimes they’re not. It would be better to remain in the drivers’ field of vision at all times, rather than popping in and out.<\/p>\n