Making Right Turns
Question
Jacquie asked: Is it illegal if an X-Treme E-Bike passes a motor vehicle on the right when the motor vehicle is taking a right hand turn? Doesn’t the driver of the X-Treme E-Bike need to abide by all traffic road rules?
Answer
Everyone should follow the law. The driver of the motor vehicle preparing for a right turn is required to move as far right as is practicable which would minimize the possibility of such an incident. See this post:
Similar conflict could occur on a multi-lane roadway if a driver tried to make a right turn from an inside lane, where the outside lane was a through-or-right lane. Drivers nearing a side street who intend to turn right avoid conflict by scanning for any potentially conflicting operator, sorting out their order of approach, and approaching the right curb or edge of roadway. This movement also helps makes intent clear to a following driver (in case turning driver neglects to signal) and can reduce risk of rear-end collision.
Curious if Jacquie could expand on the other driving conditions such as: 1. at what point prior to the turn the motorist passed the cyclist? 2. Was it a right hand turn only lane or a thru lane? 3. Was the cyclist in a bike lane when passing? 4. Was the cyclist also making a right hand turn? 5. Was the motorist stopped when the cyclist passed?
The wording of the question and the way she describes the bicycle leads one to believe that there was a conflict or words exchange and she’s looking to justify her argument.