Knowing the law helps -- cop vs cyclist

[Keith A]

A friend posted this about recent interaction between a local (CFL) cyclist and a LEO. Here's part of the post on Facebook...
"Name withheld" may have been just a little confrontational but he was right, and obviously the policeman realized it ... and drove off. FL ST 316.20165(5)(a) says (pay particular attention to paragraph 3, which allows a cyclist to take the full lane.)

(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
3. When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition or potential conflict, including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, turn lane, or substandard-width lane, which makes it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge or within a bicycle lane. For the purposes of this subsection, a “substandard-width lane” is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

Here's the link to the video the cyclist recorded...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y8EVlXwAhw

[F150]

Keith, that would make 99% of all lanes substandard-width, correct? I imagine few traffic lanes are designed to accomodate both a cyclist and motor vehicle side-by-side in the same lane. Very interesting.

[bcroslin]

Keith, that would make 99% of all lanes substandard-width, correct? I imagine few traffic lanes are designed to accomodate both a cyclist and motor vehicle side-by-side in the same lane. Very interesting.

Yup. We've done this math on all the roads around here in St Pete and there isn't a single one without a bike lane that isn't substandard width. Problem is that we're the only ones who know the law including the LEO's we occasionally come into contact with.

[Dead Man]

Only time I've ever been hassled by cops locally was for running a red. Similar - cop pulled up next to me (I was actually in a bike lane, he the regular lane) and shouted through the open passenger window "you know you're supposed to stop for those, right?"

Which is annoying.. 'cause none of these teenagers on their BMX bikes or dudes in trucker hats with DUIIs/suspended licenses on their daughter's purple Walmart Schwinn MTB going the wrong way in the bike lane, running stop signs, riding on the sidewalk (city code forbids with no exceptions) are ever stopped. But the guy on the road bike.... the guy in spandex.. suddenly I'm the problem. But I didn't get a ticket, or even officially pulled over, so I can't complain too much.

The video uploader makes a comment about "entitled motorists," and that's actually a concept I've been doing some reflecting on, as I ride around/through my small, cyclist-hostile town, getting buzzed and insulted and harassed usually several times per ride; depending on how much time I have to spend riding in the actual city. There's a few roads in or on the outskirts of town that are interesting for observing motorist reaction to a cyclist, as you can do "normal traffic speed" on the bike on them. Ride in/with traffic.. something these rednecks are not used to. One in particular where I'm usually doing quite a bit over the speed limit for an extended period - the road comes down off my favorite of the immediate climbs surrounding town, -6%, -4%, -1.5%, and then finally levels off around -1% as it comes into town proper, and the speed limit pretty well matches the gradient decreases... 40, 30, 25mph.. So as I come down and back into town, I'm often doing "normal traffic speed" most of way... sometimes a little under, often quite a bit over. And here's where I experience "entitlement" at its best - cars that try to rage past me, even though I'm doing 5+mph OVER the limit.

Especially once we're coming back into town, and it's 30 or 25mph down narrow, semi-rural/residential arteries... where if you were behind another car going 32 or 27mph, you wouldn't even think of passing... but the sight of a damn spandex wearing fag, grown ass man on a bi-cycle in the middle of the damn road! RRRAAAAGGGGEEEEE

why?

Entitlement.... Motorist just plain believes he's entitled to never have to be behind a bike. Speed irrelevant... get behind me, you lesser being. More equal than me.

Gotta educate these people, man. Why is it so hard to include some basic bike code education in the licensing process? Or is the problem that we only have to test for a driver's license once in our lives? Should we have to prove some level of knowledge proficiency when we renew our driver's license? CE maybe? I have CE for any other license I posses... many of which don't put the power to run people down quite literally into the recipient's hands.

[Fivethumbs]

Cops know some of the law all of the time and all of... well I guess that's about it. They just don't get enough training.