BIKE LANES vs TURNING DRIVERS

Making the Traffic System Safe

When a bicycle lane is placed next to a traffic lane, conflicts between bicycles and drivers occur if either wants to turn across the lane of the other. This page shows the right and wrong ways to deal with these conflicts.

THE WRONG WAY

The wrong way is to give the bicycle the right of way over the car. This causes a problem if the car or truck driver must slow down for other traffic or a signal, and can't see the bike. If the bike rider counts on having the right-of-way and passes the car or truck, a crash occurs.

DIAGRAM	CAR IN FRONT			BIKE IN FRONT
	CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT		CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT
Yield to Bikes	Go	Go		Go	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go
DIAGRAM	CAR IN FRONT			BIKE IN FRONT
	CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT		CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT
Bike Box	Go	Go		Go	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		CRASH	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go
	(yield)	CRASH		YIELD	Go

In the cases where the word "yield" is in parentheses, the driver of the car or truck is supposed to yield to a bicycle he might not be able to see. This is a poor design. It is usually demanded by cyclists, because they don't want to have to stop. But it is dangerous.

The rule for the bike box is that the bikes are allowed to pass the cars while the signal is red, collecting in the bike box in front of the cars. The problems occur in two cases:

1. A vehicle large enough to hide a bicycle is stopped at the stop line in the right lane.
2. The signal changes to green while a bike is in the middle of positioning itself in the bike box.

In these cases, the bike may remain invisible to the driver of the car or its intentions may remain unknown until it is too late to stop in time.

The WRONG THING to do is to give special right-of-way to the bicycle.

THE RIGHT WAY

The right way is to give the right-of-way to the vehicle closest to the intersection. Prohibit both cars and bikes from passing each other or staying alongside each other when close to the intersection. Then the driver behind can always see the driver in front, and stay out of the way.

DIAGRAM	CAR IN FRONT			BIKE IN FRONT
	CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT		CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT
Merge Before Intersection	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
DIAGRAM	CAR IN FRONT			BIKE IN FRONT
	CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT		CAR MOVEMENT	BIKE MOVEMENT
Yield when Behind	Go	Go		Go	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go

DIAGRAM	BIKE IN FRONT			CAR IN FRONT
	BIKE MOVEMENT	CAR MOVEMENT		BIKE MOVEMENT	CAR MOVEMENT
Yield when Behind - One-way	Go	Go		Go	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go
	Go	YIELD		YIELD	Go

Notice that the person who can see best is the person who is required to wait. Also note that when the bike lane is continuous, the cyclist going straight does not have to yield unless the car driver is turning toward the lane. But since drivers often fail to signal, it is a good idea for the cyclist to not pass the car until its intended direction is clear.

The RIGHT THING to do is to prohibit bikes and cars from passing each other close to the intersection.

Do what is safe, not what is politically popular.

Links:

• Bicycles
• Bicycle Paths - Right or Wrong