Unfortunately for cyclists, it means different things to different people, and the folks who decide in courts what it means are usually not cyclists. This is, in my view, why we need to remove such weasel words from the law books and allow cyclists to choose a lane position that the CYCLIST HIMSELF - and no one else - judges to be safe. In other words, allow the cyclist the same lane position rights that every other road user enjoys.
Hear, hear!!
ReplyDeleteI had a cop tell me that HE was the one who determined what was practicable (insinuating that it's a function of his expertise and police training). However, the first statement he made when he got out of his car was parallel to "you can ride the bus, but stay in the back rows."
In most places, "practicable" applies to all road users. Unfortunately, only cyclists get the "double" practicable discriminatory treatment.
ReplyDeleteHave not some states decided by law that the cyclist decides what is practicable?
ReplyDeleteIs that right? Do you know which ones? I'm pretty sure MD doesn't, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeletePerhaps *some* have, but I know Kentucky has not specified. Indeed, the law the cop apparently was basing his opinion on doesn't even mention bicycles, but "slow moving vehicles," a category into which bicycles often fit.
ReplyDeleteSadly, KRS 189.300 seems to date to the 1940s, when few roads in Kentucky had lane lines (or even pavement).