Questions tagged [legal]
Concerning laws concerning bicycling, and their enforcement.
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Should I use lights in foggy conditions?
Today it was foggy, visibility was only slightly reduced, I already wear a high-vis on my bike but I am wondering if it is still worth me using my lights or is that overkill?
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Is it good practice to wave following cars through when safe?
When I am being followed by a car that is unable to safely overtake, I would normally take the lane and adopt primary position as recommended, making an obvious move to secondary position once it is ...
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Bike Rack from Apartment's Underground Carpark Removed - Is building management liable?
My question is somewhat similar to Whole Bicycle Rack Easily Removed! Is the provider liable?, however, in this case, it was from my apartment's bike rack, which is managed.
I live in an apartment ...
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Cycling on the sidewalk/pavement fines in belgium/netherlands
So, when cycling there is one narrow, but busy road I always 'evade' parked cars by cycling a bit on the sidewalk. I am aware this is entirely illegal, however compared to the alternative (stopping ...
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Insurance for carless cyclist in California
I am a bike commuter without a car in California, that seems to be such an unusual combination that it is difficult to find insurance.
I have health + disability insurance, my bike is worth less ...
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Figures on accidents involving cyclists where motorists are using cell/mobile phones
I am trying to get hold of some figures for accident rates where either, ideally just cyclists or, just general road users & pedestrians, are involved in accidents (or reported near misses) ...
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Regulations regarding Braking redundancy on single speed bikes.
Recently there have been an increase in the number of fixed gear bikes in my (U.S.) city. Increasingly they tend to have one or zero brake levers, justified by their ability to stop with pedal power ...
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Does this sound right: $485 ticket for not walking my bike across the street? [closed]
We got a $485.00 ticket for not walking our bikes across the street. Can i fight this? $485.00 is a bit much!!??? This ticket was given in Glendale Ca. Has this ever happened to anyone? did you fight ...
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Must a Bicyclist Riding on a Sidewalk Stop at a Stop Sign?
Riding my bicycle legally on the sidewalk, I approach an intersection controlled by a stop sign. Let's say there are wheelchair ramps at the intersection, and there may or may not be painted ...
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Is vehicular cycling legal in France?
I learned to ride in Toronto, where behaviour such as the following is legal:
if there is not enough space to share the lane safely with another vehicle, it is legal to ride near the centre of the ...
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Are New York pedestrians allowed to use bike lanes? [duplicate]
In NYC, some street bike lanes (specifically, one on 8th avenue in midtown) are typically full of walking pedestrians.
Is this legal? (e.g. are the pedestrians doing it actually jaywalking or ...
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Is it legal for me to ride facing traffic on the sidewalk in California?
I'm just wondering. I live in the OC by the way. I like to ride against traffic because it makes me nervous otherwise. I grew up in Brooklyn and there they tell us to ride facing traffic.
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Is there legal recourse to drivers passing too close?
I'm a daily commuter on my road bike. I commute into Manchester NH. Over the years drivers seem to have gotten better and better at passing me safely. I attribute this to the following:
Me learning ...
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Left Turn Across Major Intersection
I'm new at biking, and have seen many examples of left-turn situations, but none that quite match this one. Simply, what is the proper / best way to complete the turn pictured below, or is it smarter ...
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What is the braking (stopping) distance for bicycles?
A vehicle driver must keep enough braking distance (aka stopping distance) between him/her and a vehicle in front in order to avoid collision. It depends on the driving speed.
What is the braking ...
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How can I mitigate the risk of public urination charges on long rides?
Qualifying offenses for the sex offender registry
can include public urination. Though the chance may be small, the potential consequences are severe. Unfortunately, bladders are apparently designed ...
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Are tow-hitch bike racks legal? [closed]
I am considering buying a tow hitch and bike rack for my minivan to transport a few bikes for an upcoming vacation. I've read a few reviews of these bike racks, and many folks have said that their ...
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Reflective tape instead of rear reflector, in Australia
I currently have not enough room on my seat post for a saddle bag, rear reflector and a rear light.
My question is if replacing the rear reflector with reflective tape on the saddle bag would be ...
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Is a headlight required to emit light to the sides?
The California Vehicle Code says:
(d) A bicycle operated during darkness upon a highway, a sidewalk
where bicycle operation is not prohibited by the local jurisdiction,
or a bikeway, as defined ...
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Should I fight a ticket I got for riding my bicycle in a crosswalk? [closed]
I was riding my bicycle home. I live on a one way and was waiting in the crosswalk while oncoming traffic down the one-way was green. This was at a 4 way intersection. There was no oncoming traffic ...
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Does a three foot passing law actually require drivers to give three feet?
Utah has a three foot passing law that states:
Title 41 Chapter 6a Section 706.5
Operation of motor vehicle near bicycle prohibited.
An operator of a motor vehicle may not knowingly, ...
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Can cars legally drive in the bike lane down the street?
Every day on my way to school there is a long street with a bike lane and two car lanes on each side. But when the street is jammed I have cars going really fast behind me and honking because I'm not ...
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Cycling on Manchester Metrolink tram routes
I have been looking around for information on this topic but can't find anything definitive.
The tram routes through Manchester city centre are for trams (obviously), but it seems public transport ...
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Must cyclist yield to car turning right across a bike lane into driveway?
While riding in the bike lane on a four lane street in Northern California, a car passed me on my left, stopped in the right-hand lane twenty to thirty feet ahead of me, and signaled to turn right ...
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Laws applying to Homemade Tricycles
I am a freshman in high school who is planning to build his own recumbent tricycle. However, I would be very disappointed if my creation was illegal to ride on bike paths and sidewalks. I have ...
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Is it legal to pass a car on the right when that car is turning?
So I've been poring over the bikes SE, and as a recreational biker and an automobile commuter, I'm naturally most interested in topics addressing how bikes interact with automotive traffic.
In one ...
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What is the "3 foot law" and which US states have it?
Some states seem to have something called the 3 foot law to keep cars away from cyclists. Why 3 feet? Which states in the USA have it?
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Are Velomobiles street legal in the UK?
I saw a question about velomobiles and recumbent bikes and I was wondering if they were street legal in the UK?
Can you ride one on a cycle path or would you have to stick to roads?
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The back brake on my bike is not functional, is it illegal for me to cycle in the United Kingdom?
I live in the UK and cycle to and from work. I recently noticed that the back brake on the bike is not functioning. Is it legal for me to be cycling on the road (the front brake works fine but it is a ...
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Why are bicycles considered vehicles and not "walking aid"?
The Bicycles.SE blog states "Cyclists are vehicles, not pedestrians.". I think most of this community, plus most of the laws agree with that.
However, a cyclist has the speed, mass and ...
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California: Riding against traffic on a one-way street
I did some searching, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer to this question. Is it legal to ride against traffic on a one-way street (no bike lane) in California, specifically in Los Angeles?
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If I report intentional dangerous driving to police, will it have any effect?
Today I was riding ~3 feet out from parked cars (dooring is the most common way to get killed) and this pickup truck comes up behind me and just lays on its horn for an entire block. The driver was ...
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Why is it safer to bike with traffic, instead of facing oncoming cars?
There has been an ongoing debate in my area's local newspaper, regarding biking with vs. against the flow of traffic. A recent incident in which a cyclist was hit from behind, and later died of his ...
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How to convince fellow cyclists to follow the rules, like stopping at red lights?
I'm basically a year-round cyclist in Toronto, Canada. The popularity of bicycling as a form of transportation and commuting here has been growing over the past few years, and I'm generally happy ...
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Safe cycling lights red but the man is green
At a standard road crossing, the lights have turned red, but the man has gone green for pedestrians to cross. What do you do?
Honestly in the situation I coast through as long as there is room. (i.e ...
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After an accident, what next?
Cycling home in the dark a car pulled across me to enter a super market car park. Apparently the car that let him cross didn't remove their full beam so he didn't see me in the cycle lane and I hit ...
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Is it generally the case that bikes are allowed to use the "full lane"?
Many blogs and other sources of information on cycling advocate "riding like a car" or "taking the lane" as a way to increase safety and visibility when riding on a road. But such advice presupposes ...
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Rules for rotary/roundabout?
Does a cyclist have the right of way in a traffic circle/roundabout/rotary (in the US)? Any tips for riding around one of these scary things?
This past summer, I was riding around a rotary (a.k.a. ...
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How do hand signals vary between countries?
There are several conventions on how to signal properly
The simple method (straight left arm = left, straight right arm = right)
This answer on SE depicts a left-arm-only way of signalling (straight ...
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Legal to ride bikes on sidewalks in Seattle?
I know in parts of the US it is illegal for bicyclists to ride their bikes on the sidwalk. I've been seeing it a lot in Seattle, WA, US and not sure if it's allowed.
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Is it legal for me to ride a bicycle on the pavement (sidewalk)?
UK only, just wanted to check if it's actually legal. The area I'm living on is deadly on the roads, so want to know about riding on pavements (sidewalk/pedestrian walkways) instead where there is no ...
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What statutes govern the directing of traffic by citizens in Massachusetts?
Are there laws or statutes governing the directing of traffic by citizens or "members of the public"?
A scenario I often encounter is one in which someone — typically another rider or pedestrian in a ...
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Can cyclists legally ride on the sidewalk?
Can cyclists ride on the sidewalk? What if the road in question has no bike lane? If cyclists can ride on the sidewalk, does it matter which side of the road the sidewalk is on? I live in California - ...
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Are runners or pedestrians allowed to use the bike lane?
This morning on my commute I encountered a runner in the bike lane I was riding in. This irked me because:
The bike lane was on a busy street, with three lanes of motor vehicle traffic in each ...
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Can racks cause damage to a bike?
Reading this question about the best way to lift a bike on to a pictured rack, it struck me that I'd be less worried about how to lift the bike than the potential for damage by hanging the bike from ...
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Are public bicycle rack providers liable if your bicycle is stolen from their rack?
My bicycle was insured and locked to a leisure centre provided bicycle rack while I was in the leisure centre and was stolen by the time I came out. I was later informed that someone else had their ...
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How should I alight from the pavement?
Whenever I'm exploring a new bike route or climbing a steep hill, I often need to get of the road and onto the pavement to avoid motorists, pushing my bike on the pavement until I feel it is ...
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Alternatives to trailers for transporting young children
A representative in Oregon has recently introduced a bill that would prohibit children under the age of six from riding in bicycle trailers. While it is far too early to tell whether this bill will ...
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Is taking a bike TRAILER on SF Bay Area Rapid Transit permitted?
My partner and I were considering purchasing a Burley Travoy (http://www.burley.com/products/cargo-utilities/travoy.cfm). We thought we might do this because we like to get groceries at Rainbow in ...
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Should I be concerned about new helmet laws?
In Australia there was recently a change to to bicycle helmet standards as outlined in AS/NZS 2063:2008.
Basically, helmets complying to the 1996 version of the standard will soon become illegal to ...
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