By John S. Allen, CRW Safety Coordinator

The rules of movement which underlie the rules of the road are quite simple : 

• First come, first served;
• Ride on the right
• Yield before merging;
• Merge before turning;
• Pass on the left;
• Turning traffic yields to through traffic.

But some situations require extra attention by cyclists, so let’s take a look. The issues here bear on traffic law, convenience of travel, and safety. Sometimes these do not always agree with each another. You may need to be either more cautious or more assertive, reflecting the spirit of the law.

This is a quiz, with answers. I could get two articles for the price of one if I held the answers till next month. But then you might not remember the questions.

Here goes:

• You are approaching a 4-way intersection and planning to go straight through. The traffic light is red for you but it turns green just as you reach the intersection. A car waiting opposite you has its left-turn signal on and will reach the intersection at the same time. Who is required to yield? What do you have to do to be safe?
• Answer: Left turning traffic is required to yield to all other traffic in the intersection. But in Massachusetts, a driver first in line will often rush to turn left as soon as the light changes. In my experience, this is less likely when I am bicycling, and I can easily avoid it if it happens, but still, an assertive hand signal pointing straight ahead can help. It helps to be waiting in the middle of the lane rather than at the right edge – both to be more conspicuous and to have more maneuvering room to turn right and avoid a collision.

• Here’s a situation which may look the same, but… You are at a driveway which is directly opposite the “upright” leg of an uncontrolled T intersection (no stop or yield signs or traffic signals). You are planning to turn right. A car coming from ahead of you has its left-turn signal on. Who is required to yield right of way?
• Answer: This is different from a four-way intersection. Traffic in a driveway is required to yield to all traffic on the street. So, you yield to the car, even though it is turning left..

• You are approaching the T intersection on its “upright” leg. There is no stop sign or traffic signal. A car is approaching from the left. Who is required to yield?
• Answer: You are. Turning traffic is required to yield to through traffic, and here, you can only turn right or left. You’ll find many T intersections in Massachusetts with no stop sign, though stop signs are increasingly being installed because many drivers do not know of this exception to the usual rule that the vehicle on the left yields.

• You are in Paris, France on a street approaching a larger one at an uncontrolled intersection (no signs or signals). A car is coming from your left. Who is required to yield right of way?
• Answer: In France, « priorité de droite » (yield to the vehicle on the right) prevails, and there are few stop signs. Be aware of this rule if you are going to be driving or cycling in France!

• You are on a street approaching a larger one at an uncontrolled intersection in Paris, Maine. A car is coming from your left. Who is required to yield right of way?
• Answer: The rule as stated in the law is the same as in France, but the unspoken rule in the US is that drivers on a side street yield to those on a through street. Usually though not always, there is a stop sign to clarify the situation. That is one reason that we have so many of them.

• You are waiting first in line on your bicycle at an intersection where right turns on red are prohibited. Where should you wait?
• Answer: It makes good sense to wait in the middle of the right lane, for the reason given in the previous example. As the light is red, you aren’t preventing anyone from going anywhere legally. You can merge back to the right as you cross the intersection.

• You are waiting first in line to go straight at an intersection where right turns on red are permitted. Where should you wait?
• Answer: If there’s room and you see that the vehicle behind has its right-turn signal on, you can often be far enough to the left to let the driver turn right on red, while still blocking through traffic. Sometimes I have to encourage a driver to take advantage of the courtesy which I am offering! I also want to prevent a following driver who will be going straight through or turning left from coming up next to me on the right. This requires some finesse in lane positioning and possibly a slow signal (arm extended downward) or stay-back signal (arm extended horizontally, palm of the hand facing the rear). Massachusetts law permits a slow signal or right-turn signal to be made with the right hand. The stay-back signal is nonstandard, but consider it as a more emphatic version of the slow signal. What matters here is to get the message across.

• You are riding in a bike lane approaching an intersection at a red light. A truck is waiting, first in line. What is legal, and what do you need to do to be safe?
• Answer: In Massachusetts, it is legal for bicyclists to pass on the right. The truck driver is required to yield to you. But you can’t trust that the driver has seen you and will yield, so wait behind. Or you may be able to position yourself to pass it on the left once the truck is turning the truck turns right -- with plenty of clearance to brake and fall back if it does not. A video drives home the importance of this.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1226033499

• Vehicles arrive at three of the entrances to a four-way uncontrolled intersection (no signs or signals) at the same time. Who is required to yield right of way?
• Answer: Looking around the intersection clockwise, the most clockwise driver may go first. There is a logic to this: The vehicle on the left has an extra ½ road width in which to stop.

• Vehicles arrive at all four entrances to a four-way uncontrolled intersection at the same time. Who is required to yield right of way?
• Answer: Trick question! The rule that the clockwise vehicle goes first fails here. Only common courtesy resolves this problem. Stop signs or traffic signals are usually placed at intersections where there is enough traffic that this problem is likely.

And that makes a point which applies to all the other examples as well. Common courtesy applies in every one of the situations which I have described. And it is often the necessary fallback, because the rules are not clear, or people do not understand their details. But, when you make your intentions clear, most people will cooperate.

When you have to be assertive or relive confusion, your communication using hand signals makes the difference between other road users’ perceiving you as clueless and selfish, or reasonable and cooperative. Don’t even expect that you will get the rules straight in very situation: they can be complicated and confusing, but if you communicate, you can keep the situation manageable.

I’m not done. Expect another article with more questions and answers next month.