Making Right Turns
Question
Carter asked: I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green and I proceeded to turn right. A cyclist was passing everyone stopped and as I turned he swerved around behind me, yelling explicits and hand gestures while doing it. My question is wouldn’t he be the one at fault for passing on the right in an intersection? I never saw him approaching me.
Answer
Please see this post:
http://flbikelaw.org/2009/08/138/
Concerning passing on the right, please see this:
I have this problem with cars turning right all the time. It’s not a problem when they use their turn signal. The problem is many drivers think they are too privileged to use turn signals. I guess that’s one of the reasons I have a GoPro camera on my bike.
Agreed on the turn signals. As an experienced cyclist, I would never attempt to pass on the right near an intersection. Most motorists do not have their turn signals on. Rather, I pull along side a car going straight (presumably since there are no turn signals activated) and make eye contact with the driver so they know that I am there. One should always exercise caution when passing cars on the right. I typically would only do so in a bike lane and make sure that there are no potential right hook opportunities if I did have to pass.
Part of the problem with motorists is that once they’ve passed you, they’ve basically forgotten about you. They don’t realize that once they’ve stopped in their lane of travel, that the cyclist is still moving forward, sometimes at a considerable pace.
Carter fails to mention whether he had passed the cyclist prior to the light. Or if there was a bike lane present. Regardless, I believe the cyclist was in the wrong and not riding defensively.
Carter said ” the cyclist was passing everyone” so he saw the cyclist. Yet he follows with, “I never saw him.” Which is it, you never saw him or you saw him. Was the cyclist riding to the right of traffic? Was Carter in a turn lane or a through lane? If he was in a through lane then he should have been far to the right with his turn signal on, making it hard for his scenario to have happened.
Why didn’t Carter take a right on red? Following from google.
Unless a sign tells you not to, you may make a right turn facing a red light as long as you first come to a complete stop and wait until the way is clear. Remember to signal your turn and yield to pedestrians and others using the road.
Was this a two lane street? Need more info??? As far as “wouldn’t he be the one at fault”, is the question phrased as if you would have had a collision or in general would it have been illegal for him to pass you at an intersection.
I had a police officer tell me once, it was illegal for me to pass a long line of stopped cars in the same lane. I said, since I am considered a vehicle wouldn’t it be illegal for the same cars to have passed me.
So, if your question is, can a cyclist pass you in an intersection, in general as long as the cyclist is not breaking any laws, yes. Think about it and ask yourself the same question. It is legal for a motorist to pass a cyclist in an intersection.
I would not fault the cyclist based on Carter’s description of what happened. The onius is on the motorist, not the cyclist. I didn’t see him is not an excuse.