#RoadRights Situation 16 – Bike Merging
Play along! Did you guess correctly?
ANSWER: Accommodate the cyclist as you would another driver.
Cyclists are allowed to leave a bike lane and move into another lane as long as they scan and safely merge, as in this instance where the cyclist is moving at the same speed as drivers and has adequate space to merge. Cyclists should use their signal to indicate to drivers they intend to merge.
Cyclists should not merge in front of cars when the cars are moving faster and there is not enough room to safely merge. Drivers need to be aware that cyclists may leave a bike lane for a number of reasons – if they intend to turn left, if the bike lane ends at the intersection, if there is debris in the bike lane that makes it unsafe, etc. Some drivers think that when there is a bike lane cyclists should always stay in that lane but this is not correct. Drivers need to be aware of the cyclist and watch their behavior just as they would any other vehicle.
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