The state’s highest court affirms that bicyclists can determine the safest lane position to ride, and police can’t pull you over for it

Back in October, we reported about a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case that threatened the rights of bicyclists to ride on the road, as well as decide where it is safest to place yourself in the lane. We wrote an Amicus Brief (cited in the ruling) for the defendant, Brendan Linton of Butler County, who fought his $25 ticket he received all the way to the highest court in the Commonwealth.

Today, on June 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in his favor, affirming that bicyclists can indeed ride in the road and choose the safest place on the road to position themselves. It basically says that police cannot pull a bicyclist over for riding in the street, but would need another reason to do so. There has been confusion over this, even in the City of Pittsburgh, where an officer’s personal bias against bicyclists, or that they may not know the law, has lead to a reprimands, inaccurate crash reports, or tickets.

A ruling in favor of upholding the ticket would have had broad unintended consequences and would have affected bicycling across the state, as well as the work that BikePGH does. Changing the long established position would have set a dangerous precedent for Pennsylvania bicyclists.

Take a deep dive into the case!

• You can view the hearing proceedings on the PA Supreme Court Youtube channel
• BikePGH Amicus Brief
• Read the PA Supreme Court Docket
• Read the Majority Opinion – Chief Justice Todd and Justices Donohue, Mundy, and Brobson
• Read the Dissenting Opinion– Justices McCaffery, and Wecht

Context for the case

In July of 2021, Brendan Linton was riding on Evans City Rd, a two-lane road in Butler Township, when a police officer pulled him over. The cop claimed that Mr. Linton was impeding traffic and issued him a ticket.

However, Mr. Linton disagreed, and said that he was riding within the rules of the road according to Title 75, the PA Vehicle Code. The police officer, and then the state, claimed that he should have pulled over into the shoulder to allow faster moving vehicles to pass, while Linton says that the shoulder was unsafe to ride in and that there was opportunity for vehicles to pass him as he took the lane.

Linton decided to challenge the ticket, losing at the local level, but through a series of appeals to higher courts, has ended up with an argument in front of the PA Supreme Court.

The heart of the case involved whether a person riding a bicycle can determine the best lane position in order to stay safe, or if that decision is up to a police officer. Taken to a logical end, basically: Are bicyclists required to pull off the road to allow motor vehicles to pass? This then begs the question as to why legislators have already included language allowing drivers to pass in no passing zones, if bicyclists aren’t allowed to choose their safest lane position, even if that means riding in the travel lane.

Section § 3301(c) of the PA Vehicle Code, “Vehicle proceeding at less than normal speed,” states that “any pedalcycle . . . proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway (emphasis added).”

Our position is pretty clear – the person on the saddle of a bicycle is best equipped to make the decision to ride where they feel safest, and this seems to be backed up in the PA Vehicle Code by the inclusion of the word “or” within the guidance. There are many factors that go into lane position while riding a bike that someone driving a motor vehicle may not even notice, such as debris, cracks, potholes, parked cars, and a door zone, among other hazards. 

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Bicycle Driver’s Manual, a PennDOT publication, seems to agree.

The PA Bicycle Driver’s Manual provides the following guidance: 

Normally, slower traffic keeps to the right, and faster traffic passes on the left. Since your bicycle is usually slower than other traffic, you usually ride near the right edge of the road. However, how far to the right? Generally, the usable width of the road begins where you can ride without increased danger of falls, jolts, or blowouts. A road may have a gravel shoulder, its edge may be covered with sand or trash, or the pavement may be broken. Do not ride there. Closer to the Center, there is better pavement, which is swept clean of sand and debris by passing cars. The right side of the road begins there.

On the lead up to the PA Supreme Court Hearing on October 10, BikePGH wrote and submitted an Amicus Brief to explain to the court how a ruling leaving the decision of lane position up to a police officer could affect our events, education, and advocacy efforts – the core of what we do. The League of American Bicyclists also contributed to the brief to show how PA’s current legislation compares to other states, and how Pennsylvania’s existing law regarding lane placement is the right approach.

Our brief emphasizes that the lower court’s interpretation of this statute is in conflict with PennDOT guidelines, creates a higher risk of harm to cyclists and drivers, and goes against long standing best practices found in bicyclist educational programming and community safety guidelines. Additionally, changing precedent will add confusion to behavior on the streets, and can result in more bicyclists getting pulled over, and cited, without justification. A ruling maintaining the status quo will help solidify our rights to the road to both drivers and law enforcement.