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League Takes the Lead on Bike Laws
You know the rules of the road when you’re out riding. Maybe you even teach bike skills as a League Cycling Instructor. But do you know all the bicycling laws in your state?
Since coming to the League in August, I’ve reviewed more than 2,000 laws related to bicycling. From planning and taxation to funding and traffic, I dusted off and dug in to statutes and administrative codes in each and every state. By researching those primary sources and tapping into great resources compiled by bicycling organizations and agencies, I was able to pull together a comprehensive database of laws.
The first product of this research: State-specific highlights of traffic laws that affect bicyclists.
There are plenty of laws shared by all states; and plenty of laws that are intuitive for both bicyclists and other road users. Our highlights focus on eleven categories of laws that most states have, but differ in ways that can have important impacts on bicyclists and other road users.
These highlights are meant to help bicyclists go beyond knowing the rules of the road and understand the laws that are significant to bike advocacy efforts. While not comprehensive, they provide easy access to the laws of all 50 states and the District of Columbia and are supplemented by updated links to comprehensive state and local advocate legal resources.
Throughout my research I found incredible lawyers, legislators, and bike advocates working hard to make sure the law works for bicyclists. Now that we have a large data set regarding laws for bicyclists throughout the country, we will not only be a hub for best practices but work with you to get model, bike-friendly legislation passed in your state. By combining the passion and knowledge of the legal and bicycling community, we hope to not only ensure that you know your rights and responsibilities on the road – but that laws contribute to making biking better.
Look forward to more blog posts highlighting advocate-backed legal innovations and discussing legal issues soon. In the meantime, see how your state stacks up at bikeleague.org/bikelaws.
Photo: League Cycling Instructor training in Portland, Maine, by Jeff Scher
Ken McLeod
Legal Specialist, Advocacy Advance
Ken joined the League in 2012 after graduating from William & Mary School of Law. He is a licensed attorney in the state of Virginia. During law school he worked for a private law firm in Cambodia and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Prior to that, Ken worked at a law firm in Orange County and a legal services provider in Seattle. He graduated from Pomona College in 2007 with a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He began using his bike regularly after college and has been car-free since February 2012.
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January 10th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Next Steps: Documenting bike-relevant municipal code and how it relates to or violate state law. We’re doing this in Orange County, CA.
January 10th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
BTW, the 3 feet please jersey pictured is available here: http://www.voler.com/partner/li/3FeetPlease/
January 10th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
We incorporated the 3-ft law message in our Tennessee Share the Road license plate, it is making a difference! Check it out at http://jeffrothcyclingfoundation.org –As Ramon mentions, local ordinances should reflect state law.
January 10th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
In case you’re wondering how Virginia’s ’3 feet’ law became ’2 feet’… http://www.vabike.org/how-three-feet-to-pass-became-two-feet/
January 12th, 2013 at 11:57 am
It’s nice to have a summary like this, but it’s important it be accurate. For example, under Hawaii it says that we do not have a vulnerable users law. That law was actually passed by the legislature last year and became law on 7/10/12.
In addition, I think it’s important for us to be clear about the distinction between bike lanes and bike paths. Under Hawaii, it indicates “Mandatory Use of Bike Paths, but the law is actually about use of bike lanes.
There is a header for “distracted driving.” Wouldn’t regulation of cell phone usage fall under this? If so, we do have a law about that on Oahu.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:31 am
Thank you for the feedback. Compiling state laws was a long process and it is great to see the interest of the cycling community. Accuracy is absolutely important and it is very helpful to have interested cyclists throughout the country who can check our work, keep us up to date, and supplement the resources we provide.
January 14th, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Ken
NJ bike laws stipulate: “39:4-14.1 Rights and Duties of Persons on Bicycles.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway is granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver.”
Being subject to all the duties of the motor vehicle driver would imply that riding a bike under the influence, is a violation.
Lloyd
January 14th, 2013 at 8:38 pm
I agree with Lloyd on New Jersey law. I did an extensive review of NJ Title 39 regarding bicycling while in grad school. I interpret 39:4-14.1 the same way.
Still this is an excellent bit of work at LAB and is exactly the type of work I want LAB to do. Keep it up!
January 15th, 2013 at 9:17 am
Bicycling under the influence can be a very complicated legal subject.
There are three cases that have interpreted whether the New Jersey drunk driving statute applies to bicyclists that I know of. State v. Tehan, 190 N.J. Super. 348 (1982) found that the drunk driving statute applied to bicyclists. State v. Johnson, 203 N.J. Super. 436 (1985) and State v. Machuzak, 227 N.J. Super. 279 (1988) found that the drunk driving statute did not apply to bicyclists.
Each decision was a trial court decision, so there is no controlling opinion at this time. I chose to go with the more recent interpretation, which is also consistent with how similar provisions have been interpreted in other states. It would be great if the law was clearer in this area and it would be great to see other research so that we can provide accurate resources.
January 15th, 2013 at 3:34 pm
As an additional source of information, we have the domains http://www.safepassing.com and http://www.safepassing.net that the club maintains to provide information regarding initiatives at the state, national and global level. Drilling down at the state level can prove a valuable resource – for example, in the state of Texas, although there are no state level safe passing or vulnerable road users laws – there are a number of cities that have passed local ordinances. There are other states taking this approach while waiting on a broader application of the law. Hope this helps and thanks for the great info you’ve provided!
January 18th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Just started looking through the bike laws page. I live in NJ, and you correctly state that under state statute 39:1-1, bicycles are not considered vehicles. However, under section 39:4-14.5, the bicycle is defined as a two-wheel vehicle.
So in NJ, a bicycle both is and is not a vehicle!