Bicycle on Private Property
Question
Theresa asked: Do cycles need to stop before making right lane turn. On private property that has a stop sign. When a car is at the stop sign and cycles comes up on the car who has right way?
Answer
Bicycles are vehicles and their operators must follow all traffic laws just as other drivers.
s. 316.003 – Definitions
(3) Bicycle – Every vehicle propelled solely by human power ….
s. 316.2065 – Bicycle Regulations
(1) Every person propelling a vehicle by human power has all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle ….
There are a few differences that are discussed in other posts on this site.
If on private property, the enforcement of the laws is up to the owners of the property. In some cases, local law enforcement agencies enforce the laws on that property. See this post.
in my opinion, a cyclist must give way to the vehicle, especially, if the vehicle is already in the intersection, because, at that point, private property or not, the two would most likely be on city, county or state property, so many feet from the road way. a cyclist, making a right turn, is obligated to stop first, then, proceed, just as any car or truck must do, according to road laws. a light, a stop sign, even private property without a stop sign, the road rules generally apply. it’s in your local drivers handbook, bicycles and vehicles. it used to be stated, even on a red light with a green arrow, you are supposed to come to a complete stop before proceeding. now, it is yield the right of way to vehicles and pedestrians. i think most of the issues with cyclists and vehicles is, the cyclists tend to want to be considered more like pedestrians on their own part. vehicle drivers recognize cycles as vehicles on the road, but, cyclists tend to take advantage of them being cyclists or to sort of be thought of as a pedestrian, as pedestrians in most cases, have more right of way and all vehicles are supposed to watch for them, including cyclists. this is my own experience with cyclists on the road. i have nothing against them, but, they do exert road rage when it was clearly their own fault for a close call. i once had a cyclist on a sidewalk that i didn’t notice right at first, coming from my right. i was trying to turn right on to a busy road into 45 mph traffic from a side street. there was a large evergreen tree down a way to my left that stuck out somewhat at the base and made it difficult to see far enough down the road to judge the speed of the oncoming traffic, so, everyone would tend to pull up as far as possible to see, meaning, having to block the imaginary pedestrian walk way, not one, at the intersection. my focus was to my left to pull out. the cyclist must have been far enough down the walkway, riding against traffic, that i would not have paid that much attention in order to pull out of the difficult intersection. i was blocking the path. well, at the moment the traffic cleared, i began to pull out, at the same time, the cyclist proceeded to go around the front of me, into the oncoming lane and i saw the cyclist just in time as i began to move forward and bumped the cyclist not very hard and stopped, the cyclist stopped upright, looked at me as i exclaimed ” oh, crap!!!”, but, not so nicely put, then, the cyclist pushed off of my hood and fell into the street lane. i did all the right things, asked if they were ok and i would call the police, long time ago, no cell phones then, ran to a house to call and went back and waited. the police showed up, gave me a ration of crap and tests, including if i was wearing my contacts as it is marked on my license for corrective lenses, if i had been drinking or on drugs or medication, the cyclists wasn’t even bruised. the cyclist was female. they were going to ream me if i had not asked one question about the law i knew about in that little town in michigan. isn’t it against the law to ride bicycles on the sidewalk, much less, against traffic? the officer then immediately went to the cyclist, briefly talked to her, came back to me and said i was free to go. ever since then, i have respect for cyclists on the road, but, i will never trust them to be honest and forthcoming if in a cyclist and vehicle incident. some cyclists are liars, mean and think they are all that and more than better. i’ve seen those in the st. pete area coast roads, they are disrespectful. if the bike lane is in bad repair, take it up with the local dot and other government agencies to fix them, but, don’t make issues in the travel lane, just because you are a cyclist. you are not a pedestrian when on a bicycle. i’ve seen cyclists out in pasco county on country roads with 55 mph speed limits, holding up traffic, because they claim they have the use of the whole road when this is not true. they are not even close to any kind of an intersection or drive way entrance. cyclists tend to be arrogant and this is what frustrates vehicle drivers, thus, the road rage from both parties. i mention this on a fast road, because, really, if there is a double yellow line, can you pass a cyclist or not, when they are so much slower than normal traffic flow, it’s the same with trying to pass a farmer on a tractor. what exactly are the rules of the road when the flow of traffic is impeded in a situation like that? it has been stated on this forum that cyclist are supposed to ride in single file and to the right when on these types of roadways, but, they don’t and some drivers know about the passing to the left so many feet, but, when the cyclist makes it difficult for a driver to do so…..