30 replies to this topic

[Barb J]

I have a question about an incident thatvocurred today for all you cyclists out there.

A cyclist comes to a four way stop, he was in the road, not in the bike lane. I was stopped going in the opposite direction as he approached. I assumed he would stop as it was a four way stop but as I proceeded through the intersection, he made an attempt to make a left turn in front of me never stopping. He had his arm out that he was making the left turn. I only forwarded my car about a foot and it wasn't an issue to stop but I put my hands up like "dude, there's a stop sign!" He changed course and turned in te opposite direction and circled back around to stop in the center of the road to wait for the stop sign and his turn. My question, do bicyclists have some special right of way where they don't have to stop for stop signs that I am unaware of? I should add we were in a residential neighborhood.

Barb J

[4thgenFolsomite]

I think cyclists are supposed to use bike lanes.

[nomad]

I think cyclists are supposed to use bike lanes.

...and follow those other pesky rules of the road, like stop signs and traffic lights. At least most of them aren't peeing while they are riding...I guess.

[andy]

You had the right of way (you were there first). He was supposed to stop. He was in the correct lane for making a left turn (the far left traffic lane).

He's not 'supposed' to use the bike lane - cyclists are supposed to use the lane farthest right that is 'practicable' - that means the lane that makes the most sense under circumstance. For traveling straight, that's as far right as reasonable for conditions; for turning left that would mean the left turn lane or farthest left lane - it's very dangerous to turn left across traffic lanes on a bike.

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

I've yet to see a cyclist in this town stop at a stop sign. They blow through like they own the world.

[4thgenFolsomite]

You had the right of way (you were there first). He was supposed to stop. He was in the correct lane for making a left turn (the far left traffic lane).

He's not 'supposed' to use the bike lane - cyclists are supposed to use the lane farthest right that is 'practicable' - that means the lane that makes the most sense under circumstance. For traveling straight, that's as far right as reasonable for conditions; for turning left that would mean the left turn lane or farthest left lane - it's very dangerous to turn left across traffic lanes on a bike.

are you rolling your eyes at me?

[Barb J]

Thanks everyone, I thought I was nuts cause he acted like the stop sign wasn't even there! I see cyclists do this all the time as well as start going through an intersection before the light has turned green. I don't have anything against cyclists, I just like them to follow the rules of the road for everyone's safety!

[Homer]

It doesn't matter if your in a car or on a bike, Your supposed to come to a complete stop at the intersection. Someone i know got a ticket for rolling through a stop sign on his bike.

[tony]

I think cyclists are supposed to use bike lanes.

Not if they are turning left (unless there is a left turn bike lane, of which there are none in Folsom)...or going straight where right turns are permitted (but where there is not a right turn lane)...or if there is some obstruction in the bike lane (like a parked car or debris or a slower-moving bicyclist)...or if going the same speed as traffic...or several other circumstances.

[4thgenFolsomite]

Not if they are turning left (unless there is a left turn bike lane, of which there are none in Folsom)...or going straight where right turns are permitted (but where there is not a right turn lane)...or if there is some obstruction in the bike lane (like a parked car or debris or a slower-moving bicyclist)...or if going the same speed as traffic...or several other circumstances.

Correct, but I was going to ask you to answer this anyway, Tony. I know I saw it on Wikipedia with all the California laws, but I couldn't cut and paste it here for some reason.

[tony]

I've yet to see a cyclist in this town stop at a stop sign. They blow through like they own the world.

You should pay more attention when you drive. If you drive in Folsom, you've seen me on my bike. I stop at stop signs.

That said, yes, we have a problem with bicyclists not stopping for stop signs. And I'm all for more enforcement. But we also have a problem with motorists not stopping at stop signs. I live at a 4-way stop. Every day that I spend any time in my front yard I will see at least one car go through the stop sign without so much as tapping the brakes, and many others who do a glorified CA stop. I'm a lot more worried about them than I am about the comparable move by a bicyclist.

[tony]

Correct, but I was going to ask you to answer this anyway, Tony. I know I saw it on Wikipedia with all the California laws, but I couldn't cut and paste it here for some reason.

Here it is:

V C Section 21208 Permitted Movements from Bicycle Lanes

Permitted Movements from Bicycle Lanes

21208. (a) Whenever a bicycle lane has been established on a roadway pursuant to Section 21207, any person operating a bicycle upon the roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride within the bicycle lane, except that the person may move out of the lane under any of the following situations:

(1) When overtaking and passing another bicycle, vehicle, or pedestrian within the lane or about to enter the lane if the overtaking and passing cannot be done safely within the lane.

(2) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

(3) When reasonably necessary to leave the bicycle lane to avoid debris or other hazardous conditions.

(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.

(b) No person operating a bicycle shall leave a bicycle lane until the movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 22100) in the event that any vehicle may be affected by the movement.

Amended Sec. 5, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.

[4thgenFolsomite]

how did you get it to cut and paste?

[andy]

are you rolling your eyes at me?

No, just using quotation marks for emphasis - a lot of folks assume that the presence of a bike lane means that's where a bicyclist must be no matter what and it's just not true.

[andy]

You should pay more attention when you drive. If you drive in Folsom, you've seen me on my bike. I stop at stop signs.

That said, yes, we have a problem with bicyclists not stopping for stop signs. And I'm all for more enforcement. But we also have a problem with motorists not stopping at stop signs. I live at a 4-way stop. Every day that I spend any time in my front yard I will see at least one car go through the stop sign without so much as tapping the brakes, and many others who do a glorified CA stop. I'm a lot more worried about them than I am about the comparable move by a bicyclist.

Personally I think folks over-obsess about this...car bike collisions at 4-way stops are quite rare, and the need to come to a full stop is just silly in my view - I do it in a car to avoid a ticket and because (more importantly) it's not as easy to see some hazards from inside a car, but two-wheeled vehicles provide so much more exposure and visibility to the environment it just isn't necessary in some cases. So long as the person with the right of way gets it and folks are using common sense I don't stress about it.

Some jurisdictions enforce "stop as yield" rules, which allow you to slow down on a bike as you approach a stop sign, see that no cars, pedestrians, etc. are there and then proceed without stopping. It's efficient, easy, and just as safe really.