Riding Bicycles Side-By-Side

I’ve written about this before and, considering how often I see cyclists riding two or even three abreast when there’s little to no shoulder, I suspect I’ll be writing about this so long as I practice law trying to help injured cyclists.

A big part of the reason why I continue to bring up this topic is due to the amount of misinformation that I hear from cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians alike, but let’s start with one of the biggest misconceptions we’ve all heard before.

Pedestrians have the right of way.

That statement is inaccurate because there is no law in New York State that pedestrians have the right of way at all times. Rather, here’s a summary of the New York Vehicle & Traffic Law as it relates to pedestrians.

• When traffic control signals are present, a pedestrian has the right of way whenever a traffic signal shows a steady “Walk” or a walking person.

• A pedestrian must not cross if the phrase “Don’t Walk” or the upraised hand is flashing, even when crossing signals display a countdown showing remaining time left to cross.

• A pedestrian must not cross if the phrase “Don’t Walk” or the upraised hand is steady.

• If a person has already started crossing on a “Walk” and the signal changes, then he or she can continue to a sidewalk or safety island.

• When there are no traffic control signals but there is a crosswalk, pedestrians have the right of way if there is an intersection or any marked crosswalk on the road and no traffic signals. Drivers must yield, slowing or stopping, to allow pedestrians to cross.

• When there are no crosswalks, drivers have the right of way if there are no intersections or no marked crosswalks on the road. Pedestrians must yield the right of way to vehicles.

Let’s make sure that’s clear. If a pedestrian is crossing the street when there is a DON’T WALK sign flashing, the pedestrian does NOT have the right of way. And if a pedestrian attempts to cross a street where there is no intersection or crosswalk, the pedestrian MUST yield to vehicles.

So the next time someone walks in front of you and yells, “Pedestrians have the right of way,” you can reply, “WRONG!”

But what about cyclists? What about those SHARE THE ROAD signs that show a cyclist next to a car? The ones that look like this? Don’t those mean my friends and I can ride next to each other?

 Unfortunately, there is no legal definition of SHARE THE ROAD. It’s nothing more than a polite reminder that drivers, cyclist, and pedestrians have different rights and obligations while on the road.

VTL § 1233 states a cyclist’s rights and obligations while on the road, so let’s go through those together.

First, bicycles shall be driven in a bike lane. If there is no bike lane, then bicycles shall be driven near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder in such a manner to prevent undue influence with the flow of traffic.

However, there are two exceptions to when a cyclist needs to stay either in the bike lane or to the right of the road: when a cyclist is preparing to make a left turn or when it’s necessary to avoid conditions that would “make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge.”

That was a bit of a mouthful but, in sum, it means that (a) if there’s a bike lane, a cyclist must ride in the bike lane, and (b) if there’s no bike lane, a cyclist must stay to the right of the road unless making a left hand turn or staying to the right would make riding unsafe.

What does “unsafe” mean? The law actually goes on to say that it means, “fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, in-line skates, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle . . . and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the lane.

So there. Stay right unless there are “surface hazards” or when the lane is too narrow to allow a bike and car to travel safely in the same lane side-by-side.

What about riding side-by-side with other cyclists?

The law goes on to say that cyclists shall not ride more than two abreast, which makes it sound like it’s lawful to ride side-by-side, right?

Not so fast. The next sentence states that riding two or more abreast is permitted except when either passing another cyclist, driver, or pedestrian or “when being overtaken by a vehicle.”

That’s really, really important.

When you’re out riding with friends and you want to ride side-by-side, fine. If you’re on a road like 9W and you’ve got a 6-8 foot shoulder and you’re not interfering with the flow of vehicle traffic, go ahead and ride two or even three abreast.

However, if traffic behind you is waiting to pass and you’re riding on a road without enough of a shoulder to allow that to happen, you must ride single file. Remember, the law trumps all those SHARE THE ROAD signs.

Moreover, riding two abreast when there’s not enough room for it and there are cars behind you trying to pass only serves to fuel the ongoing fire between cyclists and drivers. I’ve been a road cyclist for fifteen years and I’ve had more than my fair share of near misses with aggressive drivers who dangerously pass within inches of my left shoulder but I still stay as far right as I can because my sense of self-preservation far exceeds any sense of entitlement that a SHARE THE ROAD sign seems to give some cyclists.

All that said, I would encourage you to ride single file on any roads that do not have shoulders wide enough to safely stay out of the way of traffic coming from behind.