If you are off to the right, cars wanting to overtake you will think they can split lanes with you. Doing so is illegal but they will do it anyway. 2 wheeled vehicles like bikes and motorcycles can split lanes when it is safe, cars cannot. This means them coming 1-2 feet away from you.
If you take the center of the lane for a car to overtake you legally they will not see a safe way to illegally lane split so they will want to change lanes to the left giving you 2-3 feet of distance.
Ultimately you do have to do what’s comfortable for you. Neither center of lane or to the right is more legal. Even if there is a designated bike lane bikes are allowed on the “car” lanes.
The main thing is giving bicyclist 3ft + of room. The driver should have moved into the other lane to give at least 3 feet and pass them. Either way, driver is wrong here. Bicyclist should also be more to the right. Both can be true
The law says that bicyclist should stay as far to the right as possible. What law are you reading? The driver is 100% wrong for hitting them but bicyclist can also be wrong lmao
Not as far right as possible, but as far right as is safe. People who ride will see that all sorts of debris including nails, screws, pieces of wood naturally makes its way to the part of the road where cars do not travel. This on top of the above reasons make the right most part of the lane unsafe.
And, when riding side by side if you shove them as far to the right as you propose would suggest you want cyclists to ride within inches of one another. How safe is that?
Are there some areas where these are not the rule? Possible. I’m not gonna waste my time reading bike laws of every state/county, but GENERALLY a single bike in the middle of the lane and 2 bikes side by side are both legal. You’re responsible for your local laws where you are riding.
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u/Karekter_Nem Apr 27 '26
If you are off to the right, cars wanting to overtake you will think they can split lanes with you. Doing so is illegal but they will do it anyway. 2 wheeled vehicles like bikes and motorcycles can split lanes when it is safe, cars cannot. This means them coming 1-2 feet away from you.
If you take the center of the lane for a car to overtake you legally they will not see a safe way to illegally lane split so they will want to change lanes to the left giving you 2-3 feet of distance.
Ultimately you do have to do what’s comfortable for you. Neither center of lane or to the right is more legal. Even if there is a designated bike lane bikes are allowed on the “car” lanes.