Rules of the road
Bill Borst, Special to The Gazette
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Emporia and the state of Kansas consider bicycles on streets and roads as vehicles — just like a car.
Bicycles that venture on to the road system have the same rights and responsibilities as all other road vehicles. Even though bicyclists enjoy the rights of the road they are especially vulnerable when sharing that road with larger vehicles.
Bicycles must interact with motorcycles, automobiles, trucks and even other bicycles, many driving at 20 or more miles per hour. Older members of the family, preferably parents, ought to accompany novice riders on streets until they prove they understand the rules of the road and are capable of handling street and road traffic.
Those rules include:
F Wear an approved helmet. Labels inside such helmets are from either the American National Standards Institute, American Society for Testing and Materials or Snell Memorial Foundation. Most parents insist their children wear helmets, but often do not wear one. Their demonstration teaches more than their insistence.
F Drive on the right side of the road. Some Kansas roads have paved shoulders to the right of the solid white line where bicyclists are expected to ride. Riding on streets and roads without shoulders takes finesse (look that up in the dictionary!). State regulations require “riding as close to the right as practical while still allowing room to react to broken glass, sewer grates and other conditions.” Staying to the right often means passing parked cars. What does one do if a door is suddenly opened? Perhaps there is a car passing on the left? Swerving into traffic is not an option. This is when a rearview mirror, braking and the habit of anticipating problems can be a life saver.
F Obey all signs and signals:
STOP means Skid Tires On Pavement — STOP
Bicyclists must signal their intentions. Using a straight left arm: out means turning left, up at a 45 degree angle means turning right and down at a 45 degree angle means stopping. One may also signal a right turn by putting the right arm straight out.
Making left turns can be a problem. Just like a car, bicyclists must signal for a left turn and move to the left as they approach the intersection. In traffic this is not for the faint hearted. Ah, but there is a neat solution. Bicyclists, especially children can be just like a pedestrian, too. Simply get off the bike, walk the bike on the walkway straight ahead, turn and walk across the street to the left, remount and one is safely on their way. Takes longer but is less stressful.
Respect and yield to other drivers. As one grizzled bicyclist says, “I’d rather yield than be dead right!”
• Pedestrians always have the right-of-way.
• The law permits bicyclists to ride two abreast on roadways. Bicyclists must ride single file allowing other vehicles room enough to pass safely without moving into on-coming traffic.
• Stop at least 15 feet from railroad crossings. Cross railroad tracks at right angles. Crossing at too slight an angle could catch a wheel within the rails.
• Bicycles are not made for passengers, unless each rider has a permanent seat. Tandems, the “bicycle built for two,” child seats and trailers, bicycle taxies are acceptable.
• Bicycles are not allowed on interstate highways in Kansas.
• Passing on the right is forbidden. When passing pedestrians and other bicyclists one should give warning by calling “On your left.”
• There are rules for riding at night. Night riding is for the very brave and skilled. Drivers cannot accurately judge the distance and speed of the bicyclist no matter how brightly lighted and costumed. The bicyclist must depend on their own skills to avoid being hit. Those who must ride at night had better know those rules!
So, it is springtime. Children as with flowers are beautifying Emporia’s environment. They are running, roller blading, skate boarding and bicycling. And all should encourage them to do so. Emporia and Kansas wants them out there enjoying the warm, fresh air, getting good exercise, burning off any excess weight and having fun.
Many of those children are walking and bicycling to and from school. Some are accompanied by parents or older siblings. Many are not and sometimes make bad choices when interacting with traffic. Hence, all those rules.
The Community Health Coalition assisted by the Multi-Use Path Planning board and BG Consultants are involved in a national program called Safe Routes to School to make walking and bicycling safe, give parents assurance and teach safe habits. The Coalition won a $15,000 Transportation Enhancement grant to plan safe routes of students of Logan Avenue, Walnut and William Allen White schools.
Shape Up, Emporia! is a weekly fitness and health column aimed at readers of all ages to get off the couch and get into shape. Each week will feature a fitness, health or nutrition professional from around the area who will share some friendly tips on how to improve your overall health. Our goal is to make getting in shape fun and easy to fit into your existing lifestyle and daily routine.
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ZaneRokklyn (anonymous) says...
"STOP means Skid Tires On Pavement — STOP"
Look *that* one up in a dictionary, Mr. Borst. Losing traction is dangerous with any vehicle, but particularly with a two-wheeler. If your car has been built anytime in the last 20 years, it is designed to be incapable of skidding its tires unless you can turn off the anti-lock brake feature, which is there for everyone's protection. Why there is still a requirement in many states (including Kansas -- see http://www.ksdot.org/burrail/bike/bik...) for a bicycle to be able to lose traction is beyond me -- might as well require it to be able to flip over the front wheel if it hits a curb.
So yes, it is a rule of the road, but as a practical matter it is usually safer to not skid.
April 29, 2009 at 9:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I think he's saying its better to know how to safely skid rather than hit a car and going flying over it. I wasn't sure what he meant by that, either, but that was my best guess. I wish more bicyclists would signal and wear bright clothing. We've been seeing a bunch more out on Road 175 lately which has no paved shoulder. It can cause some traffice hazards if there's oncoming cars. I almost ran over one of those recumbant bikes on old 50 over by Lebo one day. He did have a flag but at 55 mph by the time I saw the flag and figured out what the heck that was, I was within about 2 car lengths from him. I hope he had as much adrenaline as I did after that incident! That was not safe, in my opinion.
April 29, 2009 at 9:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )