Confused about bike laws?

Many people are confused about bike laws. That makes sense, because those laws vary in different countries, states, and even within the same state and county (e.g., http://bit.ly/SidewalkBike).

Check out the citation below, shared on Twitter by Laura Jane, acting executive director of HUB in Vancouver, British Columbia. The citation issued would not have applied to an adult in California, since only minors are required by CA law to wear a bicycle helmet.

(As mentioned in “It’s Not about Wearing a Helmet—The HER Helmet Thursdays Project,” California law—DMV VC Section 21212—states that minors are required to wear helmets when biking, and also when skateboarding, skating, or on a nonmotorized scooter.)

Learn what the laws are where you ride. Then be a good ambassador for bicycling by observing those laws.

Don’t agree with a law? Work to change it. Among those working for better legislation: the California Bicycle Coalition. Check out CalBike’s Legislative Watch.

California bike laws and Monterey County ordinances are highlighted in Bicycling Monterey’s “Riding Skills, Safety, and Bike Laws” section. Included there, e.g., are local ordinances on sidewalk riding and more for the cities of Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzales, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Sand City, Seaside, Soledad, and also for unincorporated Monterey County (e.g., Castroville).

In increasingly bike-friendly Monterey County, most law enforcement professionals agree: bicycling education is preferable to citation.

Help educate people who bike by sharing links to this site. Or share posters and mini fliers, including CA bike law summaries, in Spanish and English. Consider keeping some mini-fliers with you to share with people on the bikeways.

For more examples of confusion, see Carmel Confusion, and Sidewalk Biking in Downtown Monterey.

Be Cool, Be Safe – Bike Law Summary & Advocating for Biking

Leyes de ciclismo de CA – Laws for bicyclists in CA (Spanish, English) – Summary