Bike Lane Rules

With the installation of new bike lanes on University Avenue, Sewanee Police Chief Marie Eldridge offers the following information from the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) about the rules and regulations governing bicycles.

In Tennessee, a bicycle has the legal status of a vehicle. This means that bicyclists have full rights and responsibilities on the roadway and are subject to the regulations governing the operation of a motor vehicle. Tennessee traffic laws require bicyclists to: ride on the right-hand side of the road with the same direction as traffic; obey all traffic signs and signals; use hand signals to communicate intended movements; equip their bicycles with a front white light visible from 500 feet and either a red reflector or a lamp emitting a red light which shall be visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the rear.

In addition, the Tennessee Child Bicycle Safety Act requires that all bicycle operators under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle helmet on any highway, street or sidewalk, and all child passengers under 40 pounds or 40 inches must be seated and secured in a child restraining seat or a bicycle trailer.

Some key provisions of the TCA include:

Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except under any of the following situations: when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction; when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway; or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. 

Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. 

The operator of a motor vehicle, when overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on the roadway, shall leave a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle of not less than three feet and shall maintain the clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle.

No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle or article that prevents the driver from keeping at least one (1) hand upon the handlebars.

For the full list of laws that apply to bicycles go to <www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/bikelaws.htm>.