Missouri lawyer: Misconceptions about Missouri Bicycle Law

Lawyer Michelle Funkenbusch posted an interesting summary of misconceptions about Missouri bicycle law on her blog:

#1  Under the law, bikes are too slow to be on the road.

ANSWER: FALSE. 
 Under Section 307.191, Missouri state law says that you CAN operate your bike at LOWER than the posted speed or slower than the flow of traffic on a street or highway, or you may operate on the shoulder.  This allows but does not require bikes to ride on the shoulder.  In other words, those who suggest bikes cannot be on the road because they can’t maintain a minimum speed limit are flat out wrong.  Bikes cannot however be on the INTERSTATE in Missouri.
Comment:  The reason you cannot bicycle in interstate highways in Missouri is because Missouri has a minimum speed limit on interstate highways--but not on any other type of road or highway.  There is no specific law banning bicycles or other non-motorized means of transportation on interstate highways, because the minimum speed limit effectively does the same thing.
However, there is another consideration:  The minimum speed surely does not apply to shoulders, and bicyclists are allowed to ride on the shoulder of roads in Missouri. MoDOT's Practical Design Manual summarizes the situation well: "By state law, bicycles are allowed to operate on all state highways, except travel lanes of interstates or where specifically prohibited."  A Columbia Tribune article summarizes the issue-include why there are occasions when bicyclists want or need to cycle on the shoulders of the interstates. 
#2  Cyclists break the law when they ride side by side on the road. 
ANSWER: FALSE, UNLESS “IMPEDING TRAFFIC”
Under Section 307.190, bicyclists may ride abreast (side by side) only when not impeding traffic., i.e. they must ride single file if impeding traffic.  They must also ride as far to the right as is safe.  The problem is that motorists then think they can squeeze by in the same lane and barely miss hitting cyclists.  If the lane is too narrow to safely share between a bicycle and a motor vehicle, the bicycle may move towards the center of the lane so as to discourage motor vehicles from dangerously squeezing past in the same narrow lane.   If you see a bicyclist riding in the middle of the lane in this way, be patient and view the road from the perspective of the cyclist as he or she may be following the law.  Slow and wait behind the bicyclist until it is safe to move into the next lane to pass.  Often there is debris in the shoulder of the road or a bike lane ends where there is no shoulder, requiring the cyclist to enter the lane of traffic.
 
#3  Cyclists should ride on sidewalks instead of roads when they are in a business district with nice wide sidewalks.
ANSWER: FALSE
Under Section 300.347 of the Missouri State statutes, it is against the law to ride your bike on a sidewalk in a business district.  Cyclists are required to share the road with cars and allow pedestrians to use the sidewalks.
 
 #4  Cyclists don’t have to follow any rules on the road as they are not motor vehicles.
 ANSWER: FALSE
Under 307.188, cyclists have all the rights and DUTIES applicable to motor vehicles. This means cyclists are required to obey traffic control devices.
 
#5  Missouri drivers must use the “highest degree of care” while driving and cyclists must only use “reasonable care”:
 ANSWER: TRUE
The standard of care to operate a motor vehicle is greater than is required of a cyclist.  If a driver of a motor vehicle hits a cyclist, the driver can have both criminal charges and a civil case against him or her.  In the civil case for money damages, the driver’s attorney will have to show the driver used the HIGHEST degree of care in operating his or her vehicle. This means you must take more care in driving than is required of a brain surgeon operating on your head, an engineer building a bridge or a daycare worker watching your child. You must take more care in driving than doing anything else in life. Slowing down on known cycling routes is MANDATORY to use the highest degree of care.  You cannot drive the speed limit if you cannot see around corners and over hills to avoid slow moving vehicles, like cyclists.
Think today when you are driving.. Am I using the highest degree of care?  Safety, not speed, is the highest consideration in traffic law.
 
Funkenbusch's site has several other interesting bicycle-related articles:

Have you been in a collision on your bicycle?  We maintain a list of Missouri lawyers willing to take on bicycle-related cases.

 

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