A combined A Rider – Glider ride was pulled over today by a Deputy (who was not a traffic officer).  The Deputy has sent an apology to the Club, after receiving intense instruction in the law from the riders.  (I’ve transmitted the apology via A_Mail and GliderMAIL).

 

I’ve been asked to explain the law involved.

 

First, the ride was proceeding in a double line formation on a country road with very light Sunday morning traffic.  At one point, a few vehicles had to wait a few seconds due to traffic coming from the other direction.  One of those vehicles was driven by the Deputy.

 

The Law:

Roadway Position (see Section 316.2065, F.S.)

• A bicyclist who is not traveling at the same speed of other traffic must ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. A bicyclist may leave the right-most portion of the road in the following situations: when passing, making a left turn, to avoid road hazards, or when a lane is too narrow for a bicycle and a car to share safely.
• Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two abreast shall not impede traffic when traveling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions existing, and shall ride within a single lane.

The emphasized phrase was the controlling factor on the road today.  The Florida Department of Transportation defines a lane as being too narrow to share safely when the lane is less than 14 feet wide.  Virtually all country roads fit into this category.  In this case, a cyclist is entitled to the full use of the entire lane.  Therefore, it becomes moot whether there are two cyclists riding abreast.

 

There are a couple of other safety considerations that argue for the use of double lines when there is a significant group of cyclists.

 

1.  The danger in a paceline increases as the line gets longer.  Doubling up makes the line shorter.

 

2.  A single line will be twice as long as a double line, and thus require more time to pass.

 

3.  A single line encourages motor vehicles to pass without slowing, even when there is oncoming traffic.  Due to the substandard lane width, this almost always puts the passing motorist over the yellow line, which oncoming drivers find very disturbing.  Over the years, I’ve seen a number of motorists drive off the road when encountering this situation.

 

Roger Pierce

Gliders Group Captain, Gainesville Cycling Club

http://gccfla.org/