by Robert Johnson, Education Coordinator for The PedNet Coalition
It has been my experience that most people assume they understand what the term “sharing the road” means. Most motorists think it means bicycles should stay as far to the right as possible and bicyclist think it means drivers should not honk, scream, or curse at them.
If only it were that easy! This kind of thinking prevents most cyclists, motorists, and sometimes even law enforcement, from learning what the bicycling laws really are and making the road safer for all of us.
So let’s look at one cycling myth and how it relates to the law.
Myth:
Bicyclists should stay to the right at all times.
Reality:
Sometimes it is safer for the bicyclist to be in the middle of the lane, intentionally keeping motorist from passing them inside the same lane.
Missouri State statute 307.090 says that bicyclists shall ride as far to the right as is safe... except when making a left turn, avoiding a hazardous situation, when the lane is too narrow to share with another vehicle or when on a one way street.
When is a lane too narrow to share with another vehicle? Let’s do some quick math and find out.
- First, let’s pick a commonly bicycled and driven street in Columbia as an example. West Broadway, in front of the library, is a good one with four-lanes approximately 10 feet wide.
- Next, let’s review our knowledge of bike safety and acknowledge that a bicyclist should ride no less than three feet from the right curb on any street. This guideline helps cyclists avoid tire-grabbing drain grates, debris and it puts the cyclists in a more visible location for motorists.
- Third, let’s not forget those handlebars. Add about 1.5 feet beyond the tire width for those.
- Finally, let’s remember that there is a law in many states requiring passing motorists to leave at least three feet between their vehicle and the bicyclist. While Missouri’s law is more generic than that, we can all agree that leaving at least three feet is just good common sense.
So, if a car is getting ready to pass a bicyclist in the same lane, the right side of the vehicle should be 7.5 feet away from the curb at this point. And, the average automobile is about 7.5 feet wide itself. That’s 15 feet of space between the curb and the far side of the vehicle. Now we can see how it would be unsafe for an automobile to pass a bicycle inside one of those 10 feet lanes! However, we know that if a bicyclist takes a passive position in the lane by staying as near to the curb as possible, a motorist will try to pass them inside the lane - endangering both the cyclist and the driver.
So what is a bicyclist to do?
The safest thing is to ride right down the middle of these narrow lanes so that motorists know to pass by getting into the other lane.
What? Are you crazy? Ride in the middle of the lane?
Many people are initially hesitant to do that but after trying it in our Confident City Cycling course they are amazed at how well it works. No more getting “buzzed” by passing cars and truly feeling safe on a busy road for the first time.
Won’t the cars get mad at me?
I sometimes talk to motorists who see cyclists following this safe guideline and think they are “arrogant” or “making a point.” In fact, the cyclists were following the law and doing the same thing that I hope all of the people traveling around Columbia are doing; driving defensively and trying to get home safely.
To learn more about safe cycling in Columbia, I invite you to take one of GetAbout Columbia’s Confident City Cycling courses taught by the PedNet Coalition staff. They are designed to help everyone from a beginner rider to an experienced rider be safer and gain knowledge about using a bicycle as a vehicle.
