Bike Law Talk | City of Golden, Colorado

Come and learn the state and city laws regarding bicycling so you KNOW your rights and obligations as a cyclist! Megan Hottman, aka TheCyclist-Lawyer, will inform you and provide you tips for riding safely and confidently . Whether it's riding for fitness, recreation, or transportation, you'll leave knowing more about safe and legal cycling practices!

More info here: http://www.cityofgolden.net/event/bike-law-talk/

How far to the right?

This is the million dollar question facing cyclists ... how far to the right must we ride?  

After my discussions with cyclists, motorists and law enforcement officers, I think this is one of the most misunderstood portions of C.R.S. 42-4-1412 -the primary statute addressing cyclist conduct in Colorado.  

Let's break it down one section at a time -MY COMMENTS ARE IN BOLD ITALICS TO INDICATE MY THOUGHTS vsTHE STATUTORY LANGUAGE:

FIRST - WHAT SPEED IS THE CYCLIST GOING?  

(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle or an electrical assisted bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic shall ride in the right-hand lane, subject to the following conditions:

STOP RIGHT THERE -- THIS SECTION IMPLIES THAT IF A CYCLIST IS GOING THE NORMAL SPEED OF TRAFFIC, THEN YOU NEED NOT READ ANY FURTHER.  

BUT - ASSUMING THE CYCLIST IS TRAVELING LESS THAN THE NORMAL SPEED OF TRAFFIC, THEN WE CONTINUE OUR ANALYSIS... 

 

SECOND - IS THE LANE WIDE ENOUGH TO SHARE? 

(I) If the right-hand lane then available for traffic is wide enough to be safely shared with overtaking vehicles, a bicyclist shall ride far enough to the right as judged safe by the bicyclist to facilitate the movement of such overtaking vehicles unless other conditions make it unsafe to do so.

THIS SECTION ABOVE NOTES THAT IF THE LANE IS WIDE ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH A VEHICLE -AS IN, THERE IS ROOM FOR THE CYCLIST, THE 3-FOOT SEPARATION, AND THE ENTIRE VEHICLE... THEN, THE CYCLIST SHALL RIDE FAR ENOUGH TO THE RIGHT AS JUDGED SAFE BY THE BICYCLIST. 

THIS IS A KEY PHRASE!!!  EACH CYCLIST'S DETERMINATION OF WHAT IS SAFE, WILL VARY.  ROAD TIRES VS MTB TIRES?  ROAD DEBRIS? NARROW SHOULDER? STEEP DROP OFF TO THE RIGHT?  VETERAN RIDER WHO CAN HUG THE WHITE LINE OR NEWBIE RIDER WHO IS NOT QUITE AS STEADY OR SMOOTH?  PLUS, SEE BELOW -CYCLISTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO RIDE OVER HAZARDS! 

SO- IF THE LANE CAN BE SHARED BY A BIKE AND A CAR, HOW FAR TO THE RIGHT IS A JUDGEMENT CALL THAT THE CYCLIST MAKES.  NOT THE CARS, NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT.  

THIRD -WHAT IF THE LANE IS TOO NARROW TO SHARE?  

NOTE THE IMPLICATION OF THIS SECTION - IF THE LANE IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH TO BE SAFELY SHARED WITH A CAR, THEN THE CYCLIST MAY TAKE THE LANE!  AND BIKE EDUCATORS NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS, TEACH THIS APPROACH.  WE WOULD RATHER HAVE A CYCLIST TAKE THE LANE (AND HAVE A CAR BEHIND THEM HONKING), THAN HAVE A CYCLIST INVITE A CAR TO SHARE A TOO-NARROW LANE WITH THEM AND GET SIDESWIPED OR END UP UNDERNEATH THE CAR.  

= TAKE THE LANE IF IT'S TOO NARROW TO SHARE!  

(II) A bicyclist may use a lane other than the right-hand lane when:

(A) Preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private roadway or driveway;

(B) Overtaking a slower vehicle; or 

(C) Taking reasonably necessary precautions to avoid hazards or road conditions.

(III) Upon approaching an intersection where right turns are permitted and there is a dedicated right-turn lane, a bicyclist may ride on the left-hand portion of the dedicated right-turn lane even if the bicyclist does not intend to turn right.

I POINT OUT THE ABOVE SECTION TO YOU SO THAT YOU KNOW A CYCLIST MAY LEGALLY RIDE IN THE LEFT PORTION OF A DESIGNATED RIGHT-TURN ONLY LANE.  AND IT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? IF THE CYCLIST WERE ON THE VERY RIGHT SIDE, IN THE RIGHT TURN LANE, THEY'D RISK BEING TURNED INTO, IF THEIR INTENT IS TO PROCEED STRAIGHT. SIMILARLY, RIDING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TURN LANE ALLOWS TURNING CARS TO MAKE THEIR RIGHT TURN, WHILE ALSO KEEPING THE THROUGH TRAFFIC LANE CLEAR FOR CARS PASSING TO THE RIDER'S LEFT.  WIN-WIN.

 

(b) A bicyclist shall not be expected or required to:

(I) Ride over or through hazards at the edge of a roadway, including but not limited to fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or narrow lanes; or

(II) Ride without a reasonable safety margin on the right-hand side of the roadway.

NOTE THE ABOVE - CYCLISTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO RIDE OVER ROAD DEBRIS ON THE ROAD'S EDGE, NOR ARE THEY EXPECTED TO RIDE WITHOUT A SAFETY MARGIN TO THEIR RIGHT.  

 

BOTTOM LINE TAKE AWAY -- NOWHERE IN THIS STATUTE IS THE WORD IMPEDE.  IF A CYCLIST TAKES THE LANE BECAUSE IT IS TOO NARROW TO SHARE WITH A CAR, MOTORISTS and/or law enforcement MAY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CITABLE OFFENSE - "IMPEDING TRAFFIC."  

IN FACT, THE STATUTE DOES NOT MAKE ONE MENTION OF "IMPEDING TRAFFIC"  (YOU WILL FIND THAT LANGUAGE IN THE TWO ABREAST PORTION OF THE STATUTE).  THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO COLORADO STATUTE, THERE IS NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR A CYCLIST TO MOVE ALL THE WAY RIGHT TO ALLOW A CAR TO OVERTAKE THEM.  CYCLISTS DO NOT HAVE TO YIELD BACKWARDS - IN OTHER WORDS THEY DO NOT HAVE TO MOVE RIGHT OR HUG THE WHITE LINE SIMPLY BECAUSE A CAR WANTS TO PASS.  IS IT OFTEN GOOD PRACTICE TO DO SO -ESPECIALLY ON HILLS OR CLIMBS WHERE THE CYCLIST'S SPEED IS 4MPH COMPARED TO THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT?  YES OF COURSE.  BUT ONLY IF IT IS SAFE. 

MOTORISTS: WHEN YOU SEE A CYCLIST RIDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A LANE, ESPECIALLY IN BUSY URBAN AREAS OR CONGESTED ROADS WITH ON-STREET PARKING AND LOTS OF TRAFFIC, THEY ARE THERE INTENTIONALLY, FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY.  THEY HAVE "TAKEN THE LANE" TO BE SAFE, TO BE VISIBLE, AND TO MAKE IT OBVIOUS WHERE THEY INTEND TO TRAVEL, ESPECIALLY IN AN INTERSECTION.  

You can read the entire statute here.

See also this great instructional video

League-Certified!

On June 20-22, 2014, 10 of us took part in a grueling 20-ish hour training weekend at Hottman Law Office, presented by the League of American Bicyclists, in the hopes of becoming LCI (league-certified-instructors).

Over the course of the weekend we learned the ins and outs of presenting topics like bike safety, basic bike maintenance and nutrition/hydration as well as how to set up a skills course and teach skills like the quick stop and rock dodge to new cyclists.  Finally, we practiced and then tested our ability to lead a group of newer cyclists on a short road ride, to teach them how to ride in traffic - how to signal, for example, and how to take the lane.  

The entire experience was amazing and meaningful -we learned a lot and we were thrilled to learn that Megan, Amber, Andi and Gary, (HLO team members), all passed! 

Once we receive our official certificates from the League you can expect to see regular bike classes offered at our office including TS101 (traffic skills 101), TS201, Bike commuting and more!!  If you would like to host us at your workplace, your local community center, at your cycling team or club meeting, or you would like to setup a private class for you and your cycling friends, please contact us!

Gary practices his bike crash statistics presentation and receives feedback from the group and our amazing instructor, Jenni: 

Our "night ride" to see how reflective items and lights do (or don't work) -however it fell on the summer solstice so it was still a bit light out, even at 9pm:

Gary3.jpg

Hip hip hooray!  We survived the intense weekend and got certified:

Education... it's working!

When I returned home from the National Bike Summit, I vowed to commit my firm's time and resources to teaching cyclists the rules.  It is my opinion that there are 2 types of cyclist:

(1) those who know the rules and CHOOSE not to follow them -and for those cyclists, we rely on law enforcement to correct that behavior; and

(2) those newer riders who truly don't know -and want to learn the rules.  

For the latter group, we began to tackle the "I don't know" problem by offering Biking 101 classes at local bike shops and businesses in April. 

Full Cycle, Boulder

 

I'm proud to say that after last night's huge turnout at Full Cycle in Boulder, we've now taught over 130 cyclists.  In just a 3 months!  Kudos to the following businesses, who hosted us for these classes and found them worthwhile and a great way to connect with their customers and/or employees:

Trek Store of Kansas City

Full Cycle, Boulder

Treads, Lakewood

Big Ring Cycles, Golden

Peak Cycles, Golden

Oz Architecture, Denver

In addition, our office has hosted two TS101 (traffic skills 101) classes for citizens who wanted to learn bike basics including the laws and skills, as well as the riding etiquette on the roads in a short group ride format.  These were full classes and through them we trained another 25 cyclists.  This weekend our office is hosting the League for Instructor Certification Training.  By Sunday assuming we all pass, most of the Hottman Law Office staff will be certified and so will 6-8 more local residents!  This means more people certified and empowered to teach to more and more cyclists! WIN WIN! 

Finally -a key component of the education goal is to work with enforcement and be sure we are all on the same page.  I am proud to say that our office is helping law enforcement by providing training to local officers on bike laws.  We use our own case examples to show how the accident occurred, what citation was issued and how the ensuing traffic case/trial played out.  We had over 20 officers attend our Badges on Wheels event in April, and since then we've been invited into two departments to provide bike law ed during their officer briefings.  All told, by the end of July we will have helped teach this information to over 100 law enforcement officers in Colorado.  This is incredibly exciting -and it shows a desire on the part of these officers and departments to learn the laws to apply them appropriately.  

Briefing officers at their 6:30am day shift briefing

Bottom line, we are making cycling safer and more accessible by teaching people the rules and HOW to follow them, one cyclist at a time.  It's powerful stuff and I'm so excited with the momentum we've seen already!!!  Look for more events at our office...coming soon!  

Ride on Chicago

I feel even giddier now than I did when I returned home from the National Bike Summit .... Wasn't sure that was possible but, yes, it is. 

I just spent 5 days riding 550 miles from Kansas City to Chicago with PeopleforBikes and Tim Johnson.  We wanted to raise $100,000 on this ride (and we did!), and more importantly, we set out to spread the bike love with the midwest, while enjoying some of the biking infrastructure already in place.

Photo by Jamie Kripke (go here for his entire ROC album).

I really can't describe all the magic that unfolded this week, the heart-bursting love and excitement we all experienced and felt towards cycling, the group evolution from day 1 to day 5, the ideas that were exchanged, the possibilities, the potential we can all feel just right there, waiting .... the anticipation of what's to come, in cycling, in the US... it's just so exciting.  

I will add more to this blog post as I continue to digest all that we saw, experienced, brainstormed, and felt... but for now I will share with you a few blog posts, photos and interviews from other riders:

Aren’t We All People for Bikes?

Tim Johnson, Why Do You Ride Bikes? 

A Work in Progress by Richard Fries 

https://tagboard.com/rideonchicago/174151

 http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2014/06/00784_06-02PFB_122012.shtml

I leave you with this Richard Fries email excerpt -he sent this to us this morning:

"We are not just working for a share of the American road; we are working to get a share of the American mind. When great athletes, great executives, great journalists, and great advocates get together - all of us on bikes - amazing things happen."

My photos from the trip: 

Badges on Wheels event was a HIT!

Last Friday we hosted approximately 15 law enforcement officers from various entities along the front range.  We began with a presentation of Colorado statutes and city ordinances that affect cycling on public roads, and I used specific case examples that I've handled as actual real world evidence of the problems that can arise when laws are not correctly interpreted or enforced.  After our morning session all of the participants took to the open roads in 3 group rides: beginner, intermediate and veteran.  Everyone had a blast, especially those who took advantage of the Cannondale demo fleet!  

After the ride we enjoyed some healthy lunches from Mad Greens, we raffled off some prizes and we wrapped up the silent auction for items donated to raise money for the Police Unity Tour.  We also got to hear from some of the PUT riders and hopefully we recruited new riders for the 2015 tour!

Overall we had a wonderful time and received very positive feedback.  This will certainly be an annual tradition moving forward!  Many thanks to all of the officers who took part! 

Here are some of our favorite photos of the event: