Wheeltalk: Why cyclists are taking a risky gamble when they slide up alongside a car
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Dear Wheeltalk: At what point does forward progress beside a car become illegal?
Dear Wheeltalk: What’s the law about filtering? At what point does forward progress beside a car become illegal?
— Slim Fit Bicyclist
Dear Slim: This question sent me into the musty caverns of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code and Philadelphia Code. They’re disquieting places, where one can pass the time by playing the “Spot the rule that’s not enforced” game.
Filtering refers to biking through stopped traffic, typically to reach an intersection. I’m no lawyer, but I could not find anything directly saying, “Bicycles shalt not filter.” Our laws regarding bicycles (or “pedalcycles” in the state code) are an incomplete patchwork. Many hinge on what is “practicable” to expect from a bicyclist.
But what concerns me is not the strictly legal, but the safe. I wince every time I see a bicycle squeezing up on the right of stopped cars. The driver at the front may be looking left, not signaling, preparing for a right turn. They’re not expecting a bicycle to pass them in that moment, and I’d argue it isn’t “practicable” to expect them to.
It’s foolish for cyclists to expect everyone else on the street to be the World’s Most Considerate Person. Ride where people expect you. Squeezing to the front of an intersection is inviting a spin of the Random-Crash Wheel. It’s cab-door city. Rocketing into the crosswalk, you hit a pedestrian. Looking for cars, a driver turns into you. You encounter a pothole and have no space to maneuver. The list goes on. (It’s a big wheel.)
I’d bet a handle of the good stuff that the legal ambiguity I found in the law might also manifest if you do get in a crash. Do you want to argue with a driver, and later a cop and an insurance company, that you had a right to squeeze to the front of the intersection? There are easier ways to ruin your week.
Bottom line: dubiously legal, risky and cocky. If that’s your Twitter bio, fine. But you’re not contributing to a safer, more predictable street, and that’s what bicyclists need more than any other group.
