So I have heard many conflicting reports about whether or not it is actually on the books that cyclists can legally ride the wrong way down a one-way street, so long as they give the right-of-way to traffic going the proper way. The most official word I've had on the matter is seeing bicycle cops go the wrong way down streets, but the police aren't known for following traffic laws.
Can anyone enlighten me on this?
i was stopped an harassed for a good 2 minutes for doing this last week (going the wrong way down a one-way street)... the cop had no idea what he was talking about but insisted that it's illegal (i didn't disagree)... so there is one pgh cop who knows nothing about cycling laws weighing in.
No, but you can ride on the left hand side.
Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Chapter 35 - SPECIAL VEHICLES AND PEDESTRIANS
Subchapter A - Operation of Pedalcycles
Bicycles)
d) One-way roadways. -- Any person operating a pedalcycle upon a roadway, which carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.
Comment: Bicycles may ride in the left lane of a one-way street which contains two or more lanes. However, this does not apply to pedalcyclists on freeways. See Section 3511(d), below.
Glory! Where were you stopped kwik1? Downtown?
btw... a certain "coordinator" employed by a certain local "second class city" was seen pedaling through a few red lights last week by the bus station.
I saw what you did there...
No, you can't ride the wrong way down a one-way street! Plus it's dangerous. I recently saw a couple of guys almost get hit doing that. You can yield all you want, but motor vehicles turning left onto the one-way street will always cut that corner close.
I'm curious how it is possible that anyone could give "conflicting reports" about this, other than "I've seen lots of people doing it and nobody gets in trouble for it" ?
Incidentally, I once had a cop in a cruiser give me a hard time over his PA while I was riding in the left lane of Penn Avenue -- his beef was that he thought I should be riding in the door zone. About 15 minutes later I bumped into a bike cop and mentioned this to him. His reply "yeah, we get the same thing from the cruiser cops too".
@ lyle: Re. motor vehicles turning left and cutting the corner close.
I agree. I still ride the wrong way especially on the street by my house, but I almost got hit the other day by someone doing just that. He stopped to lecture me. I didn't say anything and just kept going. What if there had been a pedestrian in the crosswalk there instead of me pulling up on a bike? He would have creamed them.
I was still wrong though and pull up to that intersection in a safer way now.
It is illegal, and I would it.
I see people riding the wrong way on Atwood all the time. At the section between Dawson and Bates, I have seen numerous people almost hit by car turning onto the street from the street between Dawson and Bates.
Though, I do ride the half of block to my house on a one-way sometimes....
Heh. I ride on my one way street the wrong way too.
@Lee, I love the drivers who get scared because they were maybe not as alert as they should have been and then try to tell you the rules.
in oakland, it was 1:30am on a tuesday and i road forbes the wrong way in the parking lane for the half block between the intersection and CVS... there were no cars on the road except for the cop car who pulled across the road blocking two lanes of traffic to scold me... ohhh wellll... it was kind of funny... the reasoning power of some cops is scarily low.
also, does that law imply cyclists can't ride on single lane one way roads? wtf?
I don't ride the wrong way on one-way streets. I think it's a dangerous practice.
Fundamentally, the issue is that drivers, pedestrians, and other bicyclists have expectations about how people behave on the roads. Most road philosophy is built around the idea that one may have reasonable expectations. Of course, defensive driving is all about watching out for exceptions, but not everyone drives defensively, and that only goes so far.
One-way streets are a great example of this. Pedestrians *know* which way a one-way street goes, and will often step off the kerb with little or no warning after only looking in the normal "from" direction. If a car or bike is travelling the wrong way with any speed, this can easily result in an accident.
Traffic lights are another example. If I have the green light in my direction, then whether I'm in a car or on a bike, I assume that I can travel through the intersection safely without stopping or slowing down. I *do* glance at the intersection to see if anyone is violating this expectation, but honestly, if the light is green, then by the time I'm close enough to get a good look, I may be moving too fast to safely come to a complete stop before someone enters the intersection on red.
It's this same violation of expectation that makes my blood boil every time a car changes lanes in front of me without signalling, or cuts me off at an intersection with an unsignalled turn.
A lot of driver hostility towards bikers comes, consciously or unconsciously, from these violations of expectations. Many drivers see bikers going the wrong way up a one way street, or through red lights or stop signs without stopping, and say to themselves "This is why bikers should not be allowed on the roads - they cannot share them in the proscribed manner." This paints us all with the same brush. The next time that driver sees a cyclist, the driver may be less inclined to cut the cyclist some slack. That makes things worse for all of us.
Some streets seem to be OK for riding the wrong way. Slow, sparse traffic, lack of intersections, wide street, access to the sidewalks, willingness of the biker to pull to the side and stop. Those things make a difference.
I live a couple blocks from Atwood. IMO, it is not one of the streets where it might be OK to ride the wrong way.
Nick's right, you see it a lot. Most of those folks are helmetless hipsters, though. "You talkin' to ME?"
Mick
"Fundamentally, the issue is that drivers, pedestrians, and other bicyclists have expectations about how people behave on the roads."
This is very true.
I was coasting down a one way street downtown at about 3mph after picking up some lunch, barely moving. A jaywalker was startled by me and yelled at me for going the wrong way. A JAYWALKER yelled at me. 
also, does that law imply cyclists can't ride on single lane one way roads? wtf?
No. It implies that if it's a one lane, one way road, that you stay as far to the right as is practicable, as you would on a two way street.
Outside of PA, are there any states where it *is* legal to ride the wrong way on a one-way street?
It is not legal to ride the wrong way on a one way street in PA - some of the posters above seem to think otherwise?
I read an article about a pilot program to allow this in the UK. I think it's a bad idea, mostly for the reasons JZ gave.
A JAYWALKER yelled at me.
This is Pittsburgh. They don't actually ticket pedestrians for using crosswalks. Yet.
They were ticketing when I worked downtown many moons ago but I believe it was targeted enforcement. I just love the holier than thou attitude of someone breaking the law themselves.
jeffinpgh: I'm curious... does that mean the "left hand curb" from the wrong-way-biker's perspective, or from the proper-way-cars perspective?
I agree with those who said that it can surprise pedestrians who only looked one direction before crossing. I don't do wrong-way riding much - mostly for short stretches or on very sparse roads - and when I do, I'm very careful to slow down and get way over at each intersection in case a car is pulling out.
On the other hand, it is a driver's responsibility not only to check that nobody is already in the lane they wish to join, but that nothing is blocking where they wish to be. In other words, first to check that nobody will hit them from side/behind, and second to check that they can complete their turn (what if there's a fallen tree or a playing kid there?). But still, a bike is a moving object that closes faster than even a responsible driver may normally check.
Anyway, thanks for the lots of responses. And in response to Lyle, about what I meant by conflicting reports: I've heard numerous people say that it's actually on the books and legal, and others say that it's illegal but they do anyway.
I think there is some confusion about the section of the law that jeffinpgh quoted. It does *not* mean that a cyclist can ride the wrong way down the left side of a one-way street. Instead, it lifts the restriction from the previous section that generally requires cyclists to ride in the rightmost lane (with exceptions).
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/bikelaws.htm
..."any vehicles proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under the conditions than existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic"
@Mick: You live a block from me, yet I never have seen you on the road.
I ride on the left lane on Fifth through Central Oakland all the time. Most drivers seems to understand that I'm there because I'll me making a left. When I had classes in the Cathedral, I did the same thing down Forbes.
@nick, Yeah, I've wondered.
Next time there's a bike party, we should ride to it. Or if you play music, you should come by my house and do some tunes sometime.
I often take the left lane on Forbes between Bouquet and Bigelow, but rarely end up in the left lane on 5th.
And really, I do ride my bike. Honestly.
Mick
Not necessarily a good idea LOL... I almost got myself killed a couple months ago going down the wrong way on a one-way in the rain trying to make a shortcut... I ended up somehow hitting the brakes, doing a "James Bond" 180 degree spin with the brakes locked, and slid backwards between two vehicles, only to smack my hand really hard on the back of one of the cars (oh yeah and never put a foot down LMFAO)...
I scared the living crap out of the woman who's car I hit as the thud made her think she took me out.
My hand still hurts like hell to this day even though this was probably 2 months ago... Just a reminder to NOT do that again... especially on a road bike that I had previously slid through an intersection trying to stop in the rain on a few minutes before!!!
I was startled one morning by some car rolling down Alger St (a one way) the wrong way. Lady actually honked at me because I was riding out in the lane away from car doors. I pulled over and yelled "ONE WAY" as she zoomed passed me. I don't know if she lived down the street and thought she was entitled to go the wrong way, or maybe she was simply confused.
"Look both ways before you cross a one-way street."
I think Descartes said that.
Mick
That's because he was tired of putting Descartes before the horse...
that one was baddddddd
I think there is some confusion about the section of the law that jeffinpgh quoted. It does *not* mean that a cyclist can ride the wrong way down the left side of a one-way street. Instead, it lifts the restriction from the previous
Yes, this is correct. You can never ride the wrong way on a one way street legally. In fact, you can't ride the wrong way (facing the traffic) on a two way street legally either. You are rquired by the code to ride on the right. The one exception is for a one-way street that is at leat TWO LANES Wide (that's important), there you can ride as far to the left as possible as well.
Note: If it's a one lane, one way road, then you have to stay to the right if I read the code correctly.
"What if there had been a pedestrian in the crosswalk there instead of me pulling up on a bike?"
Pedestrians in crosswalks are visible as you approach the intersection, before they suddenly appear in front of you. They're moving MAYBE 3 miles per hour, in a parallel direction to the approaching traffic, as opposed to 12-20 mph at right angles. It's really not equivalent.
