BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

+++++1

That is fantastic. That response should go right in the driver education program.

Who would be in the equivalent position in PA, and that person as awesome as this Michael Jackson?

Wow. Dude nailed it - and without being preachy or condescending.

Excellent post!

Although to0 be fair, I believe I've driven along the road in question many times. the road is similar to Allegheny River Blvd, except it has the C&O between it and the Potomac.

I resented a bicyclist on the road. I felt that road would be good candidate for a special "No bikes allowed on this stretch of the road" dispensation.

The bicyclist may have been able to go 3 or 4 mph faster on the road, and (perhaps more importantly) forgo fenders, but still, the road struck me as a senseless, dangerous place for him to be.

Given this lack of clarity most “Share the Road” signs on roads without shoulders should be replaced with the new (R4-11) signs that say “Bicycles may use full lane.”

Maryland actually has these signs? Wow! How do we get that here?

Real Talk!

YES!

Doesn't Maryland also requires bikes to use the shoulder on roads with speed limits of 45 MPH or more?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3638/3671525222_e75b52642c_b.jpg

Good: They actually have shoulders in MD.

Bad: I could do without the continuous SNAP (Sonic Nap Alert Pattern) depressions at roadway edge.

Stu, that photo is on the "Ocean Gateway" along the Eastern Shore. As the sign notes, it's a marked bike route. The only times I had a problem with the road was when I crossed the Choptank into Cambridge and in Cambridge itself. Neither had shoulders and I was forced to take the lane with 18 wheelers honking at me. I didn't see any of those "bikes may take lane" signs anywhere in MD in 2009, either on the Ocean Gateway or any of the roads I used to get around the muddy C & O from Williamsport to Shepardstown.

The SNAP things didn't bother me much, since the shoulder was generally wide enough I didn't need to ride on them.

@historian.

"Maryland prohibits cyclists from using the roadway (but not the shoulder) if the posted speed limit exceeds 50 mph." http://bicycledriving.org/law/guide-to-improving-laws

PA has no "Far Right Rule", nor mandatory bike lane usage requirement, so it seems bicyclists may use the full lane. http://bicycledriving.org/law/guide-to-improving-laws

What action can we take to effect the installation of signage reminding drivers of the law of this land?

By the standards of the page you cited, PA's bike laws appear to include a far right rule with the standard five exceptions, though the wording is different.

One difference is that PA, like Maryland, Nevada, and Washington, says that cyclists must stay right only when it's “safe”, instead of saying when it's “practicable.” Our law also has a provision that seems comparable to CA and VA's "approaching right turn area" exception, but more broadly worded, and not bike-specific. ("This subsection does not apply to a driver who must necessarily drive in a lane other than the right-hand lane to continue on his intended route.")

So our far right rule seems to be one of the better ones for cyclists.

ETA: In some ways, anyway. Adding a non-exhaustive list of conditions that could make far-right riding unsafe would improve it.

As the statute reads "or" rather then "and" there appears to be no requirement to for a cyclist to move to the far right at any time.

"[3301(b). Vehicle proceeding at less than normal speed.

Upon all roadways, any vehicles proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under the conditions than 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..."

By my read, that's not a "far right rule", which states: "Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.” Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Again, "What action can we take to effect the installation of signage reminding drivers of the law of this land?"

You're right - that's a "slow-moving vehicle" rule. The rule you describe is usually referred to as a FRAP rule.

Thanks for pointing out that distinction.

Re: signage. Maybe contact state-level politicians (state senators and reps)? Talk to state bike advocacy groups like PA Walks and Bikes, encouraging legislators to allocate money for new signs via their lobbyists?

The December 2009 edition of the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices added the "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" sign. I wonder if 311'ing Pittsburgh's Share the Road signs and asking for them to be replaced by the new signs would be effective?