BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Hey, this is great, I really like the reference for common bike laws. But - two things I'm confused about - the top right icon signifies that cars making a left turn are supposed to yield to cyclists traveling in the opposite direction in the opposite lane, right (just as they are for cars)? And, which statute corresponds to which icon (or do you think it's not necessary to know that)? I'm just worried about saying "Hey! It's illegal that you just doored me!" and have the driver say "According to which statute?" and I'd have to say "Well, one of these five, not sure which".

the top right icon signifies that cars making a left turn are supposed to yield to cyclists traveling in the opposite direction in the opposite lane, right (just as they are for cars)?

Absolutely.

second part: good question.

I thought that was a bit weird too. i know the first one is in reference to dooring. yeah, that is a design flaw and needs to be reworked. thanks for pointing that out.

it looks like 3331 is for left turn.

the penndot website doesn't reflect the new safe passing law yet, but this is what it says:

§ 3331. Required position and method of turning.

* * *

(e) Interference with pedalcycles.--No turn by a driver of a

motor vehicle shall interfere with a pedalcycle proceeding

straight while operating in accordance with Chapter 35 (relating

to special vehicles and pedestrians).

3303 is the "four-foot rule"

§ 3303. Overtaking vehicle on the left.

(3) The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a

pedalcycle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the

left of the pedalcycle within not less than four feet at a

careful and prudent reduced speed.

3501 is just the general "you are allowed to ride on the road" law

3501. Applicability of traffic laws to pedalcycles.

(a) General rule.--Every person riding a pedalcycle upon a roadway shall

be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties

applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this title, except as to special

provisions in this subchapter and except as to those provisions of this title

which by their nature can have no application.

and finally:

3314. Prohibiting use of hearing impairment devices.

(a) General rule.--No driver shall operate a vehicle while wearing or using one or more headphones or earphones.

i guess that means that hands free devices that use an ear bud are illegal

OK, cool. It might make more sense to put the section numbers immediately below each corresponding icon, or give a tiny summary of each. Just a suggestion... I feel like in most cases just knowing the law is enough. Also it seems like the two abreast section is not listed then (unless that's what you mean by "the penndot website doesn't reflect the new safe passing law yet").

yeah, that makes sense.

yeah, the 2 abreast wasn't part of the new safe passing law, but it is in section 3505

(e) Limitation on riding abreast.--Persons riding pedalcycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of pedalcycles.

I'd say 3505 should be listed on there too then.

Doors are 3705. I don't have the text handy.

I've also made use of 3112, for when I have to proceed through a solid red when the sensor does not detect my presence. Having to do that has resulted in at least one verbal altercation with a motorist (who was behind me at the light but not closely enough to trip the mechanism for me). Not exactly a crash thing, but good to be able to cite chapter and verse.

The card is cool. I've requested one.

BTW, I've found that riding directly on the sensor wire, which is usually visible in the pavement, works pretty well to activate the light (even without steel in your bike -- I think my aluminum rim activates it). Pretty cool to ride up to an intersection and see the light change just for you.

Abracadabra's right. The top right illustration shows a cyclist at the left edge of the roadway, heading south. It should be fixed so it correctly illustrates a left hook, with the cyclist heading north, not south, and his dashed line extending toward the bottom of the image, not the top.

hmm. maybe that's just how you're reading the illustration. The cyclist is heading up (arms extend in the direction of travel) on the right side. car is making a left across the path. yield sign says to yield.

these are all good comments.

i personally wasn't involved in the design of this, so i can't answer to everything, but the comments are good.

yeah, and 3505 should be on there.

the dashed lines show where the vehicles are going to. not from. see how the car is.

hmm. maybe that's just how you're reading the illustration. The cyclist is heading up (arms extend in the direction of travel) on the right side. car is making a left across the path. yield sign says to yield.

OK, I get it now. Perhaps it would be better if all the cyclists were oriented in the same direction though, instead of the smallest one going up and all the rest down? And maybe the going-to lines could include an arrow head?

yeah, good suggestions.

I like all the work you guys put out. You have some very talented designers.

One other thing that confused me about the "left hook" picture:

The dashed line is white (presumably as a result of the color choices for the card), which makes me think that I'm looking at two lanes in the same direction. This isn't a problem on the two-abreast image, where the lane count isn't relevant.

One possible fix would be to use orange-dash (or orange-solid with break at the intersection) for the lane marker, and try a different line style for the biker's path (such as the arrow suggestion above).

Your monitor must be a bit off. The cyclist path line is blue.

Escargonaut is talking about the white dashed line between lanes, not the blue cyclist path line.

In the upper right left-hook image, the line between lanes going in opposite directions is white, whereas it would be yellow in the real world.

Ahhhhh yeah my brain is wonky.

Josh (the guy behind these cards?) has been trying to ping someone on twitter re: this PA version. Someone give him some love?

https://twitter.com/BikeSafeBoston

Yeah, Josh is the designer. He deserves some love from someone, not me, who does Twitter.

I connected BikePgh with him as a volunteer project because I thought it would really help make sure to get all the important info.

Also, despite layout issues, I think the images w/citations is a decent way to do some basic education on driver's rights.

Which we need very badly right now. Another accident, WTF. I would like to see these images out there in the world more, maybe as postcards or something.