What "Share The Road" Doesn't Mean

It's common to see yellow or orange street signs that read SHARE THE ROAD.

The problem with SHARE THE ROAD is that it can mean different things to different people. To an uninformed driver, SHARE THE ROAD might mean a cyclist has to ride on the sidewalk when there's no bike lane. And to an unreasonable cyclist, SHARE THE ROAD might mean riding in the dedicated bike lane is entirely optional.

Neither is accurate. While SHARE THE ROAD may be open to interpretation, the laws that state the rules of the road for cyclists are not so loosey-goosey, so let's talk about what rights and obligations are imposed upon us while we're out riding.

CYCLISTS MUST OBEY THE SAME TRAFFIC LAWS AS MOTOR VEHICLES

Check out section 1231 of the NY Vehicle and Traffic law. This is the section that basically says cyclists have to follow all the same traffic rules as motor vehicles. In other words, we don't get to blow red lights and STOP signs because we're riding bicycles. But we all knew this already, right?

STAY TO THE RIGHT & RIDE SINGLE FILE WHILE BEING PASSED BY MOTOR VEHICLES

Section 1234 is a bit of a doozy because it lumps inline skaters in with bicyclists, but here's the basic gist:

When riding on roads, always stay to the right "to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic" unless the cyclist is preparing to make a left turn or needs to avoid conditions on the side of the road that "would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge."

Cyclists are permitted to ride more than two abreast ONLY while riding on a shoulder or bike lane where there's enough room to do so. Otherwise, cyclists can only ride two abreast while staying to the right UNLESS being overtaken by motor vehicles from behind, at which time riding single file is required.

In other words, if there's enough room on the shoulder or bike lane to ride three-wide, go for it. If there's no shoulder, don't ride more than two abreast BUT if there's traffic coming from behind, cyclists MUST ride single file.

Based on my experiences having ridden in the New York area since 2006, the majority of riders, especially while out in groups, think SHARE THE ROAD grants cyclists the right to ride in a double paceline even when there's no shoulder. Or they seem to think SHARE THE ROAD means they can ride to the left of the solid white line that divides the right hand lane from the six foot shoulder.

Most drivers don't have favorable opinions of road riders. Why? Because we ride through red lights. We don't stop at STOP signs. And during groups rides, a lot of us maintain double pacelines that unduly interfere with the flow of traffic especially when there's not enough shoulder to support riding two abreast.

To my fellow cyclists: forget the signs that read SHARE THE ROAD. Nowhere in the law does it read SHARE THE ROAD and the law is what's going to control in the event of an accident or getting stopped by police.

The law is pretty straightforward. Don't blow red lights. Stop at STOP signs and check for traffic. When there's a bike lane, you must ride in the bike lane. If you're riding in a group and there's enough room in the bike lane or on the shoulder, feel free to ride in a double paceline or even wider. But if there's no shoulder or bike lane and cars are coming up from behind, ride single file.

Very simple. Not much open to interpretation.

LIGHTS & LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN INCIDENT

A few other things. Under section 1236 of the Vehicle and Traffic law, a bicycle must have a headlight and taillight when riding half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise, i.e., when it's dark. Most of us do that anyway, though, so that's not really new news.

The same section makes having a bell on your bike mandatory. But sirens or whistles are prohibited. I'd be surprised if most law enforcement personnel were even aware of the provision about the bells.

"New" bicycles must have reflectors. This is why every new bike you buy from a store has reflectors on it: they have to have them on there to be compliant with the law. I realize we all just crack them off the spokes as soon as we step out of the bike shop.

And let's say you have an incident with another person and that other person suffers a "physical injury." If you leave the scene without providing your name and address to the injured person, that's a violation under NY criminal law. And if the other person suffers what's considered a serious physical injury (defined as ". . . substantial risk of death, or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ . . .") and you leave the scene without providing your information, that's considered a Class A criminal misdemeanor.

Happy riding! (And stay single file!)