Bike-To-Brown

Cyclist Told He Shouldn’t be on the Road – By Police

Did anyone happen to catch today’s Projo letter to the editor? There was a letter from a cyclist riding through Providence that was almost hit by a police SUV, pulled over, and then told he shouldn’t be riding on the roads! I posted an entire thread on the Bike Providence website. It is truly amazing that even the police don’t know the law.

It can be really frustrating some days, trying to be a cyclist and “do the right thing”. I for one have become increasingly annoyed by the various hurdles I’m currently dealing with during my commute; the bike path is all torn up, the Washington Bridge is shut down, and soon the Henderson bridge will be under construction. I stop and wonder sometimes what type of protest motorists would stage if they were forced to jump through similar hurdles. Yet, as a group, we grin and bear the obstacles and find a way. I guess it helps to be able to carry your vehicle

Helmets in Rhode Island

While this probably won’t pertain to many of us, Rhode Island does have a bicycle helmet law.

Any child fifteen (15) years of age and younger operating or a passenger on a bike or using or operating a scooter, skateboard, inline skates or rollerskates on a public highway, bike path, recreational area, school property, shared use path or any other public right-of-way must wear a helmet

I happened to be pursuing the Bike Rhode Island site and they have some good illustrations of a boy and girl properly wearing a helmet. One of my pet peeves is riding down the bike trail and seeing kids with helmets that would do them no good in a crash. I know many of us on the list have young kids, so let’s make sure we set a good example for the general populous.

Judge Judy is a Friend of Cyclists

It’s more than a year old, but in a cyclist vs. dog case, Judge Judy in her inimitable style comes down hard on behalf of … the cyclist!

This is exactly the kind of popular-culture support that cycling needs. Think of everyone in the broad Judge Judy audience that got a clear lesson in responsibility and legality of cycling on the road.

Bike Trail Crossings

I posed a question on the email list a while back about who has the right of way at the crosswalks along the bike trail, a bicycle or the car. The question I posed at the time was when, if ever, the cyclist becomes a pedestrian and, thereby, should be awarded the same legal status. I was perusing the section of the RI motor and other vehicles Laws that pertains to RI bicycle laws and happened upon this:

§ 31-19-12 Bicycles on sidewalks and crosswalks – Rights and duties. – A person propelling a vehicle by human power or operating an electric personal assistive mobility device (”EPAMD”) upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall be granted all the rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances.

If I’m reading this correctly, bicycles should be afforded the right of way at all bike trail crossings.  I’m not going to start forcibly asserting this right, but I do think it’s interesting to know, as I watch dozens of cars file past me as I’m waiting at the crosswalk, that they could all be legally ticketed.