Why bicycle riders should not ride on the wrong side of the road.

Why bicycle riders should not ride on the wrong side of the road:

Hazardous encounters with other vehicles entering the legal counterflow: Another traveller turning right from a side street or driveway onto the road might not look for traffic on the wrong side of the road. The legal traveller may meet the unnoticed oncoming wrong-side rider where there is not enough lane width or reaction time to avoid a head-on collision.

Hazardous encounters with other vehicles legally turning left from the parallel flow: Other travellers turning left at an intersection or into a driveway do not look for traffic overtaking them on their left. The wrong-side cyclist, fearfully watching for oncoming traffic, may never notice the intersecting left turner.

Hazardous encounters with pedestrians at crossings: As they step from the curb, pedestrians may not look for traffic approaching from the wrong direction.

Narrow road problems and head-ons with right-side cyclists. Wrong-way cyclists cause unexpected flow constrictions that move against the flow of traffic and may require evasive maneuvers. Right-side cycling only requires overtaking traffic to slow to the cyclist speed when there is no room to pass. When a wrong-way cyclist encounters a right-way cyclist, one of them may be forced into passing traffic.

Ambiguity of intentions and right-of-way: When noticed by right-way travellers, the wrong-way cyclist cannot be expected to interact with the rest of traffic according to any mutually recognized rules of the road. To retain any safety against the hazards listed above, the wrong-way cyclist must yield to all other traffic at every intersection rather than taking the right-of-way when entitled to it on the right side of the road.

Legal consequences: Travelling on the wrong side of the road is illegal for cyclists as well as for motorists. The wrong-way traveller has diminished legal claim in case of damage or injury when an accident is attributed to wrong-side travelling. (I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice; but the interpretation of a cycling citizen.)

Motorists can easily and routinely avoid 100-200 pound objects moving straight along a parallel path ahead of them. A slower moving object can be easily and safely passed if it is moving visibly and predictably, according to the agreed-upon rules of the road.

The title page of the THE UTAH DRIVER HANDBOOK states: "The operator of a bicycle must obey the same rules of the road as motorized traffic and has the rights and duties of the operators of other vehicles." On page 55, it tells motorists to "pass a bicycle in the same way you would a car."

The UTAH CODE, Section 41-6-87, states that bicycles should be ridden as near as practicable to the right except when (a) passing, (b) preparing to turn left, (c) avoiding debris and surface hazards or (d) when the lane is too narrow for another vehicle to travel safely along side the bicycle within the lane.

When a lane is too narrow for safe "lane-sharing" with motor vehicles, the cyclist should "take the lane" as allowed by law. Many unnerving "close encounters" are due to traffic squeezing by when the cyclist feels obliged to share a too-narrow lane.

The UTAH Code is on the web where bike regs are described as part of Title 41 Chap 6, the motor vehicle code. A compendium of electronic access to state bike laws is maintained at Harvard by the Bicycle Coalition of Massachusetts if you want to make comparisons.

Go back to my Bike Rules page.
I also have information for cyclists about signalling turns properly and the dangers of sidewalk riding.