PSA on doorings: check your mirrors!

[Jeremiah Curry]

I split my commutes between biking and driving.  So I will chime in.  I am
not daring enough to venture out into the road to make left turns or the
like, nor do I ever ride to the right of the white line delineating the
right edge of the right lane.  Bikers are not more important the riders or
visa versa, but there are more drivers than bikers.

 

Not all roads around here (Utah) have a reasonable place to ride to the
right of the lane.  Some recently widened roads, don't even paint the right
side because there is no space for it.  In times like that I ride either in
the gutter or on the sidewalk.  That isn't really a big problem for me and
avoids slowing down traffic or getting me hurt.

 

Utah's bicycle laws seem fairly good to me, here they are:

 

*         A bicyclist traveling at less than the normal speed of traffic
must ride as near as practicable to the right-hand edge of the roadway
except: to pass, make a left turn or avoid hazards. 

*         Persons may not ride more than two abreast except on paths
exclusively used for bicycles. 

*         If a usable path exist for bicycles adjacent to a roadway,
bicyclists must use the path and not the roadway.

*         A person may not operate a bicycle upon a sidewalk path or trail
or in a crosswalk if prohibited. If not prohibited, then the bicyclist has
the same rights and duties as a pedestrian.

*         When making a left-hand turn, the bicyclist may use the left turn
lane just as a vehicle does; or cross the intersection as close to the right
curb as practicable (like a pedestrian), then proceed in the new direction
from the right curb.

 

Those are the important ones, though we are supposed to signal turns too (I
never do)

 

Thanks,

Jeremiah