Cyclists Beware!

On: Friday, May 30, 2008


Everyone's out to get you!

In this day and age we should not only be prepared to defend ourselves from the layperson, we should also be ready to defend our rights to the authorities. I have been browsing though commuting websites lately and noticed that it is recommended by a LOT of riders to keep a copy of the state statutes regarding bicycles and their rights to the road on their bike (or person). I believe it! I mean how many times has someone driven by you about 1' away yelling at you to get off of the road? I am not a short tempered kinda person, but one of these days there might be a foot in their door and maybe a fist in their mouth; I'd throw my bike at them, but I like my bike...I digress...
One day you may find yourself in a situation where the police, who may be ignorant of the law, will try to write you an at fault ticket for something. Maybe your were on a road in the middle of the lane during "rush hour" to safely go around an obstacle and someone calls the police or maybe they themselves found you irritating and "stupid". Now if you have your handy dandy little copy of the state statutes on your person and can prove your right to that lane then maybe you won't get a ticket, or at least one that will hold up in court. I mean, heaven forbid you make a left hand turn!

The "downside" is that you have to OBEY the law! Running a red light? Don't do it! Stop Sign? Nope! If you expect them to follow the law, then you should start by setting the example. Speed limits are hard to follow though....there's something about breaking the speed limit while on your bicycle...

Anyways, here is some good reading for MO and KS riders:

MO Bike Law

MO Driver's Guide: Sharing the Road, pg 60-62

KS Bicycle Statutes

Interesting Commuter Website

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