Riding "not in the bike lane"

Today's monsoon kept me off the road, so here's a fun video from a cyclist in NYC who was ticketed for riding his bike "not in the bike lane."

Bike Lanes by Casey Neistat

My thoughts after the break...




Funny as it may be, this video manages to express a simple and frightening reality about cycling - NOBODY knows the law when it comes to cyclists!  Laws of course vary from state to state, but here in Louisiana, cyclists are expected to follow all of the same laws as automobiles.  This includes but is not limited to stopping at stop signs and stop lights:

"Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway of this state shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this Chapter, except as to special regulations in this Part, including special regulations applying to peace officers utilizing bicycles in furtherance of their official duties, and except as to those provisions of this Chapter which by their very nature can have no application." ~RS 32:194

We are also given the same rights, which means we may ride in the road and DO NOT need a bike lane:

"Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction, except under any of the following circumstances..." RS 32:197

And undoubtedly the most infuriating to motorists:

"Persons riding bicycles shall be allowed to operate on the shoulder of a roadway." ~RS 32:197

And giving me a bit at least a little peace of mind:

"The operator of a motor vehicle, when overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on the roadway, shall exercise due care while the motor vehicle is passing the bicycle and shall leave a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle of not less than three feet and shall maintain such clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle. An operator of a motor vehicle may pass a bicycle traveling in the same direction in a no-passing zone only when it is safe to do so." ~RS 32:76.1

And encouraging, but scary that there needs to be a law...

"Harassment of bicyclists prohibited; penalties

A. It shall be unlawful to harass, taunt, or maliciously throw objects at or in the direction of any person riding a bicycle.

B. Any person who violates this Section shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days." ~RS 32:201

I've heard it said (jokingly, of course) that:

"When I'm driving, I hate pedestrians, and when I'm walking I hate cars; but no matter what I'm doing, I hate cyclists!"

Sure, it's a joke, but I can't help but wonder if it's evidence of a deeper problem.  Why is it that so many of us (myself included) resent one another on the road?  We see other cars as obstacles that are slowing us down, preventing us from getting where we want to go as quickly as we want?  I'm trying not to rant (not working), but it's something that has been creeping into my consciousness slowly over the past few years.  In our quest for efficiency, the space between places has dwindled to the edge of non-existence, and anything and anyone that prolongs our exposure to the rarefied air of this "in-between" brings about sort of altitude sickness in which we forget ourselves and our obligations to our fellow man.

"It was all those people in the cars coming the other way," she says. "The first one looked so sad. And then the next one looked exactly the same way, and then the next one and the next one, they were all the same...It's just that they looked so lost...Like they were all dead. Like a funeral procession."  Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, ch. 1

Has the "commute" killed our spirit?  Our sense of adventure or whimsy or love of simple things?  I don't know.  Perhaps it's something to ponder further over the course of this project.  I will say, however, without qualification, that the five smiles exchanged on Monday's bike commute are five more than I can remember ever having in a morning drive to work.

Hoping to get out tomorrow (it'll be wet in the morning, but should clear up by the afternoon)...in the meantime, thanks for sharing the road...