Dear Readers,
A couple of weeks ago, we had a question from J.C., who asked what the law requires when a club is riding through an intersection and the light changes (see "One single group (ride), or a collection of individuals?"). This week, I thought I’d share some reader responses to that column.

---

Dear Bob,
Ha ha, that's a really funny question that only a bunch a racing cyclists would ask. They must have been thinking "a peloton gets the same time as the first rider to cross the finish, therefore if one rider in a group enters the intersection then the whole group must be entitled to go through as well."

Of course from last year’s Paris-Roubaix, we know this to be faulty logic. Unfortunately the world doesn't subscribe to cycling logic!
Have a great Christmas!
Victor

Bob,
Thank you very much for the article on VeloNews.com regarding the short Stop light here in Phoenix. I believe JC belongs to my group. Sometimes a large group is stopped twice (split into three groups).

Short easy one: at a three-way intersection (with a stop light) with a designated bike lane, do we need to stop if the light is red (assuming we are going strait, not crossing any traffic nor the continuous white line)? My group always makes a single file line so no one crosses the white line. I always feel uncomfortable with this. What is your take?
E. W.
Phoenix, Arizona

Dear E.W.,
From a legal perspective, your group is required to stop when the light turns red. From a practical perspective, your group isn’t really violating anybody else’s right-of-way under the conditions you describe, so they might argue “no harm, no foul.” Would a cop or a judge listen to that “no harm, no foul” argument? Possibly, although they’d have to ignore the law to do so, and if they choose not to ignore the law, your group doesn’t really have a defense. Some people are comfortable with that level of risk, some aren’t.

And speaking of risk, there’s another risk to take into account. If your group rode through a red light and a driver then collided with members of your group, even though your group is staying to the right of the white line, the driver’s insurance company would argue that the negligence of the cyclists contributed to their own injuries; by running the red light, your group would make it significantly more difficult for the injured cyclists to be appropriately compensated for their injuries.
Bob

---

Dear Bob,
I agree with your comments on the red light issue. Would it make any difference if we changed the conditions from a traffic light to a 4 way stop sign intersection?
J. J.
Green Valley, Arizona

Dear J.J.,
Legally, uh, speaking, no. In Arizona, a cyclist is required to stop at both red lights and stop signs, and as with other drivers, the cyclist will have the same right-of-way rights and duties applicable to any other driver approaching a 4 way stop sign intersection.

Practically speaking, yes — the cyclists won’t have to worry about complaining to city hall about the short stop cycle at the stop signs.
Bob

---

Dear Bob,
In your last column, you stated that “by definition, a bicycle is not a vehicle in Arizona,” but “a person riding a bicycle on a roadway or on a shoulder adjoining a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."

What is the status, in Arizona, of a person riding a bicycle a sidewalk?
B.B.

Dear B.B.,
That’s a good question. But before we get to that, can you even ride your bike on the sidewalk in Arizona? The law doesn’t explicitly say you can. On the other hand, the law doesn’t explicitly say you can’t. When this question came before a New Jersey court in Gibson v. Arrowhead Conditioning Company, the court held that if the law doesn’t prohibit riding on the sidewalk, “then it is lawful to ride a bike on the sidewalk.” While that decision isn’t binding in Arizona, it’s right on the law, and therefore, I think it’s safe to say that Arizona courts would agree that you can ride your bike on the sidewalk, unless specifically prohibited by local ordinance.

Which brings us to your question: What is the status of a person riding a bicycle on a sidewalk? In general, except where sidewalk riding is illegal, cyclist’s riding on the sidewalk have the same rights and duties as pedestrians. In states where there is no statutory or case law specifying what those rights and duties are, the best source for understanding a cyclist’s rights and duties on the sidewalk is section 11-1210 of the Uniform Vehicle Code:

11-1210.Bicycles and human powered vehicles on sidewalks
(a) A person propelling a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall yield the right of way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.

(b) A person shall not ride a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, where such use of bicycles is prohibited by official traffic-control devices.

(c) A person propelling a vehicle by human power upon and along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances.

Now that’s not a legally binding statement of the rights and duties of a sidewalk-riding cyclist, because the Uniform Vehicle Code is only a “suggested” vehicle code that states are free to adopt, modify, or reject as they see fit. Nevertheless, in states where there is no statute or case law articulating the rights and duties of a cyclist riding on the sidewalk, the Uniform Vehicle Code is persuasive authority on what those rights and duties are.
Bob

---

On a final note, I'd like to thank all of my readers who have contacted me to request my appearance at their event on my upcoming speaking tour. I will be speaking extensively in 2008, and will make plans to appear before any club, bike shop, or other engagement that is interested in hosting me. If you would like me to appear to speak at your event or shop, or to your club or group, please drop me a line at bookbob2speak@gmail.com. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of my readers as possible. Look for announcements of my first 2008 speaking engagements in this column early next year. My best wishes to all my readers for a safe and happy new year.
Bob

(Research and drafting provided by Rick Bernardi, J.D.)

---

Now read the fine print:
Bob Mionske is a former competitive cyclist who represented
the U.S. at the 1988 Olympic games (where he finished fourth in the road
race), the 1992 Olympics, as well as winning the 1990 national championship
road race.

After retiring from racing in 1993, he coached the Saturn Professional Cycling team for one year before heading off to law school. Mionske's practice is now split between personal-injury work, representing professional athletes as an agent and other legal issues facing endurance athletes (traffic violations, contract, criminal charges, intellectual property, etc).

Mionske is also the author of Bicycling
and the Law, designed to be the primary resource for cyclists
to consult when faced with a legal question. It provides readers with the
knowledge to avoid many legal problems in the first place, and informs
them of their rights, their responsibilities, and what steps they can take
if they do encounter a legal problem.

If you have a cycling-related legal question, please send it to mionskelaw@hotmail.com
Bob will answer as many of these questions privately as he can. He will
also select a few questions each week to answer in this column. General
bicycle-accident advice can be found at www.bicyclelaw.com.

Important notice:
The information provided in the "Legally speaking"
column is not legal advice. The information provided on this public
web site is provided solely for the general interest of the visitors to
this web site. The information contained in the column applies to general
principles of American jurisprudence and may not reflect current legal
developments or statutory changes in the various jurisdictions and therefore
should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal advice. Understand that
reading the information contained in this column does not mean you
have established an attorney-client relationship with attorney Bob Mionske.
Readers of this column should not act upon any information contained in
the web site without first seeking the advice of legal counsel.