The other day while cycling home from class down 15th Avenue, a safe distance from the line of parked cars on my right, I was honked at, given the finger and told that I belong on the sidewalk by a thoughtless and woefully misinformed University car commuter. So, for the benefit of the University community I offer the following clarification from the Oregon statutes pertaining to bicycles and pedestrians:
“ORS 814.400 Application of vehicle laws to bicycles.
“(1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a public way is subject to the provisions applicable to and has the same rights and duties as the driver of any other vehicle concerning operating on highways, vehicle equipment and abandoned vehicles, except: (a) Those provisions which by their very nature can have no application. (b) When otherwise specifically provided under the vehicle code.
“(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section: (a) A bicycle is a vehicle for purposes of the vehicle code; and (b) When the term ‘vehicle’ is used the term shall be deemed to be applicable to bicycles.
“(3) The provisions of the vehicle code relating to the operation of bicycles do not relieve a bicyclist or motorist from the duty to exercise due care.”
It appears that bicycles do not, in fact, belong on the sidewalk. According to another relevant statute, ORS 814.430, a cyclist is required to ride “as close as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway” except “when reasonably necessary to avoid hazardous conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles (…) or to avoid unsafe operation in a lane on the roadway that is too narrow for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side.”
(For the record, I realize that the behavior of many cyclists on campus and elsewhere is entirely unlawful and often idiotic; however, this does not give drivers the right to scapegoat anyone on a bike.)
Here in Eugene, there is no shortage of “parked or moving vehicles” and no shortage of narrow roadways; hence, there is no shortage of lawful reasons why a cyclist may choose to take up more of the road than a hurried driver might prefer. So, a word to the wise: Before you harass a bike commuter simply for using the road, make sure you’re on the right side of the law.