When we bicyclists fight for the right to be on the road and to hold all the entitlements as a motor vehicle, we've also committed ourselves to following the rules of the road.
A blogger at the Citizen-Journal Online asked a Topeka, Kansas, police spokesman what traffic laws bicyclists most commonly break.
How many moving violations would you have committed in Topeka on your weekend ride? I'll admit to doing a slow roll through most stop signs unless there's a car in the intersection.
1. Failing to stop completely at a stop sign or red light. (A “bump and run” isn't adequate to see a car coming, police say.)
2. Riding the wrong way on a one-way street.
3. Not stopping for a school bus loading or unloading children.
4. Riding after dusk without a headlamp that emits a white light visible at least 500 feet (this varies state to state; many also require a red light or reflectors on the rear of the bike).
5. Riding at speeds faster than what is reasonable and proper for road safety.
6. Not using arm signals when turning.
7. Riding three or more abreast. The Topeka cop says, “Traditionally speaking, if they will break and allow traffic to get by, we normally won’t write them a citation. But if they are making traffic go out of their way, we can write (the cyclists) a ticket.”
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