Stay Single File (or Shoulder-to-Shoulder)

I was out for a ride Saturday morning when I came up behind three guys on the Long Island Expressway service road heading east. Two guys were riding side-by-side with the third just behind. The two guys riding side-by-side were at least three feet apart and the guy on the left was actually riding to the left of the solid white line that separated the lane from the shoulder.

I don't get it. Why in the world would a cyclist ride in the lane of traffic when the shoulder is probably eight feet wide? Honestly, this makes no sense to me. Is it that some cyclists believe that SHARE THE ROAD means they can travel in a lane of travel when there's plenty of room on the shoulder? The scenario identifies a few problems.

First, when you're riding next to one of your buddies, there's no need to keep three feet between the two of you. Riding shoulder to shoulder is NOT dangerous. If the person next to you accidentally nudges your shoulder, you're not going to crash. Rather, all you have to do is swerve an inch or so out of the way. If that's insufficient, slightly lean in the same direction of the other rider to prevent yourself getting tossed out into traffic coming up from behind. Problem solved.

Second, the guys riding three feet apart put passing cyclists in danger. Think about it. If you're to the left of the solid white line and I'm passing you, then I have to ride almost in the middle of the right lane of traffic to get by. Now you're putting my safety in jeopardy. More often than not, I won't do it. Rather, if the shoulder allows for it, I'll pass on the right, which some club cyclists believe is a no-no. I disagree because if there's enough room to ride by, I'll do that than put myself out into the middle of the right lane on the service road and risk getting mauled by some asshat too busy looking at his or her phone while doing 75 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.

Third, riding in the lane of traffic when you have eight feet of shoulder is illegal. Check out Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1234(a): "Upon all roadways, any bicycle . . . shall be driven either on a usable bicycle . . . lane or, if a usable bicycle . . . lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic . . .." 

To that end, riding in the lane of traffic when there's a shoulder really, really pisses of drivers. Even though I'm a cyclist, I'm also a driver and it drives me nuts when I have to slow or stop for some cyclist who thinks SHARE THE ROAD means HOG THE ROAD. Regardless of what I think of such behavior, there's enough road rage out there in NYC and Long Island already. Why ride a bike in a manner that makes it worse?

Finally, from a personal injury perspective, riding in the lane when you there's a shoulder can really screw up a possible lawsuit. For example, let's say you're riding at about 7 p.m. in the evening heading west on the Long Island Expressway service road where the shoulder is about six feet wide. However, rather than ride on the shoulder, you take it upon yourself to ride to the left of the white line when WHAMMO!  you get knocked off your bike by a woman in her mid-sixties behind the wheel of a mid-size Lexus SUV.

If the scrapes and bruises aren't enough, you end up with a fractured collarbone due to the way your shoulder took the brunt of the fall against the asphalt. You're thinking, "Awesome, now I can't ride for weeks. I don't even be able to work for a while." What do you do? Like every smart, well-informed cyclist, you call the New York Bike Accident Lawyer at 516.274.9900 and explain what happened.

During the initial consultation, the New York Bike Accident Lawyer politely asks, "Did you say you were riding to the left of the white line?"

"Only by a few inches," you say, trying to make the circumstances sound better.

Here's what the New York Bike Accident Lawyer is probably going to tell you.

"Look, I'm a cyclist myself. I get it. We don't always follow the rules. And just because you were a few inches to the left of the white line doesn't give a driver permission to run you down. But now the driver is going to say that if you were on the shoulder, this never would have happened. In other words, she's going to say, you're partly liable for your own injuries because you were not riding where the law says you should have been riding considering there was a shoulder. And based on what you're telling me, that you were not riding on the shoulder, you may end up with a settlement or verdict for an amount lower than you might have received had the car hit you while you were riding on the shoulder. You're still likely going to receive some sort of award for your fractured collarbone but, again, it'll be less than it could have been had you been on the shoulder of the service road."

See what I mean? Stay on the shoulder and ride single file!