California Vehicle Code - Bicycle Relevant Sections

The California Vehicle Code is the set of traffic laws that governs the behavior of vehicle drivers in the state of California. CVC 21200 establishes that a bicyclist "has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division" ("this division" is Division 11, the "Rules of the Road"), but there are some sections of the code that address bicyclists specifically. This article identifies and describes the sections of the California vehicle code that are especially relevant to bicyclists, explaining the relevancy as appropriate.
Bicycle Relevant Divisions
The Vehicle Code is divided into eighteen whole-numbered divisions, and also has about a dozen "decimal divisions" (like 16.7). The divisions relevant to the operator of a bicycle are:
* - Rules of the Road - Per CVC 21200 bicyclists are subject to abiding by the rules that apply to drivers of vehicles in this division of the vehicle code. Specific sections particularly relevant to bicyclists are covered in detail below.
** Use on Freeways
** Helmets
* - Registration and Licensing of Bicycles
**
Bicyclists must follow rules of the road for drivers of vehicles, but not rules for drivers of motor vehicles
CVC 21200
CVC 21200 states that bicyclists (who are not police officers) riding on roadways have all the rights and responsibilities applicable to the driver of a vehicle by Division 11 of the California Vehicle Code, which are the Rules of the Road. Bicycling legal expert Alan Wachtel points out that a close reading of CVC 21200 reveals that provisions which apply specifically to drivers of specific types of vehicles (most notably drivers of motor vehicles) do not apply to bicyclists; only provisions which apply to general "drivers of vehicles" also apply to bicyclists . See CVC 21703 below for an example that clarifies this distinction.
Bicycles, like vehicles, must be on right half of road
CVC 21650
CVC 21650 requires all vehicles (not just motor vehicles) to be driven "upon the right half of the roadway". Because of CVC 21200, this section applies to bicyclists - so bicyclists must ride on the right half of the roadway (not on the edge of the left half opposing traffic the way pedestrians are required).
Racing and drafting bicycles is legal
CVC 21703
CVC 23109
The only rules prohibiting drivers from "following another vehicle too closely" (tailgating) and racing are CVC 21703 and CVC 23109 respectively, but they apply explicitly only to drivers of motor vehicles. Since bicyclists have the same responsibilities as drivers of vehicles per CVC 21200, but not as drivers of motor vehicles , it is perfectly legal for bicyclists to draft and race on open public roads in California.
==Definition of "roadway" does not include shoulder==
CVC 530
The section of the vehicle code, which defines "roadway", is relevant to bicyclists because the definition excludes shoulders (since shoulders are not "improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel"; vehicular travel on shoulders is prohibited), and bicyclists are required by CVC 21202 to only ride far right in the "roadway". This means bicyclists are never required to ride in the shoulder.
Cyclists required to keep right only when faster same direction traffic is present on long turn-free sections with wide lanes and no debris or other hazards
CVC 21202 (A)

Section 21202 (a) addresses the roadway position that a bicyclist moving slower than other traffic should use in the rare situations when none of the exceptions listed apply. Even then, the shall ride as close as practicable to the right wording is commonly misunderstood, even by law enforcement officers, to mean that a bicyclist must always travel as far as possible to the right-hand side of the road. Indeed the CVC synopsis carried by patrolmen in most of the Police Divisions of Los Angeles, California (where it is obtained from the uniform shop in Long Beach) actually carries incorrect wording, substituting possible for practicable. In fact, the phrase means the bicyclist is required to ride only "as far to the right as is safe". This wording allows for some degree of subjectivity on the part of the cyclist.
In addition, section 21202 is riddled with provisos and exceptions that limit when the requirement to keep right applies.
The combination of the actual legal meaning of the practicable wording in 21202(a), including the implied provisos, with the explicit proviso that it only applies when the bicyclist is moving slower than other same direction traffic and the exceptions listed in 21202(a)(1), (2), (3) and (4), provide ample justification for bicyclists to in most urban, suburban and rural traffic cycling situations, as recommended by the safe vehicular cycling practices taught in the Effective Cycling program.
Simply put, whenever a bicyclist in any of the following situations:
*there is no faster same-direction traffic on the road at that time
*bicyclist is traveling as fast as, or faster than, other traffic
*bicyclist is passing others
*bicyclist is preparing to turn left
*bicyclist is avoiding hazardous conditions near the edge of the road
*the lane is too narrow to be safely shared side-by-side with other vehicles, or
*bicyclist is merely approaching a place where right turns are authorized (including any driveway, mall entrance or alley, as well any cross street)
there is no legal or safety reason or obligation to "ride as close as practicable to the rght", as long as the cyclist safely merges left without violating anyone's right of way.
Lane sharing is not required when lane is less than fourteen feet wide
In general a lane must be at least fourteen feet wide for it to be considered wide enough to be safely shared side-by-side with other vehicles (per 21202(a)(3)). Since outside lanes are often more narrow than fourteen feet, this exception alone often alleviates a bicyclist from having to ride "as close as practicable to the right" in a lane sharing position .
Lane sharing is not required whenever approaching any place where right turns can be made.
Whenever a bicyclist is "approaching a place where a right turn is authorized", 21202 (a) (4) alleviates the bicyclist from having to ride "as close as practicable to the right", no matter how slow he or she is traveling. Considering moving at 15 mph through a residential neighborhood is encountering a driveway every 3-6 seconds (assuming lots 50-100 feet in length, and each lot has a driveway), such a bicyclist is arguably constantly "approaching a place where a right turn is authorized". Similar situations are frequently encountered in business districts. So this reason too often suffices alone in alleviating bicyclists from having to ride "as close as practicable to the right".
But even when traveling along a long block with a wide outside lane and without any driveway or alley junctions, as soon as the cyclist is within 100-200 feet of the end of the block, the cyclist is "approaching a place where a right turn is authorized" and he or she is no longer obligated to ride "as close as practicable to the right". There are important safety reasons to take advantage of this legal opportunity to safely merge left well out into the vehicular traffic lane .
Bicycling in single-file is not required
Nothing in CVC 21202 nor in any other California law requires bicyclists to ride single file, or prohibits them from riding two abreast . If the situation is such that a bicyclist riding solo would not be required to ride "as close as practicable to the right" (perhaps the lane is too narrow to safely share side-by-side with a vehicle, or there are frequent places "where a right turn is authorized", etc.), then there is no obligation for two cyclists to keep right in single file. Only in the rare situation where,
* faster same direction traffic is present,
* the lane is wide enough to be safely shared by a bicyclist and a vehicle (i.e, at least fourteen feet wide),
* no bike lane is present (two or more abreast may ride in a bike lane)
* the cyclists are not approaching a place where right turns are authorized,
* nor preparing to turn left, and
* no debris or other hazardous conditions prevent them from riding far to the right,
are all bicyclists required to temporarily (technically, only until any one one of those conditions no longer applies) ride as far right as practicable in order to allow the faster traffic to pass .
Further, if one cyclist is riding in the shoulder, and another is riding in an adjacent position "as close as practicable to the right" in the roadway, there can be no violation of CVC 21202 no matter what.
Bicyclists are never required to ride in door zones
CVC 22517
CVC 22517 clearly makes it the responsibility of anyone opening a vehicle door to make sure it is reasonably safe before opening the door. However, the potential of someone failing to do that is always there, and so traffic cycling experts agree door zones are hazards that are to be avoided, and that riding at least four feet from parked cars is a good practice. Because of the hazard always present in door zones, bicyclists are never required by CVC 21202 or any other law to ride so far right that they could be hit by, or forced to swerve into the adjacent lane, potentially in front of overtaking traffic, by a suddenly opened door of a vehicle.
Bicyclists required to use bike lane only when faster traffic is present on long turn-free sections with no hazards or debris
CVC 21208
On roads that have bike lanes, CVC 21208 generally restricts bicyclists to ride in the bike lane, except that it has virtually all of the same exceptions as does CVC 21202. That is, whenever any one of the following conditions apply, there is no legal restriction on the cyclist to ride in the bike lane:
*no faster same-direction traffic on the road at that time
*traveling as fast as, or faster than, other traffic
*passing others
*preparing to turn left
*avoiding debris or other hazardous conditions in the bike lane, or
*approaching a place where right turns are authorized (including driveways, mall entrances and alleys as well cross streets)
Just as for CVC 21202, since at least one of these "exception" conditions often applies in urban and suburban riding (bike lanes are rarely present in rural areas), practically speaking, the legal requirement to ride in bike lanes rarely applies.
Bicyclists are never required to use off-roadway bike lanes or paths
Since CVC 21208 applies only "whenever a bicycle lane has been established on a roadway", there is never a legal compulsion for a bicyclist to ride not in the roadway, but in a bike lane or path that is not on the roadway, or is physically separated from the roadway in any way (like a sidepath) .
Turning motorists are required to drive in bike lanes
CVC 21717
Motorists allowed to drive in bike lane within 200 feet of intersection
CVC 21209
Not only are motor vehicle drivers in California allowed by CVC 21209 to drive in bicycle lanes when within 200 feet of an intersection, they are required by CVC 21717 to drive in the adjacent bike lane prior to turning. The purpose of this rule is to reduce conflicts at intersections between turning motorists and bicyclists going straight.
This rule, combined with provision 21208(a)(4) which allows bicyclists to leave bike lanes when approaching "a place where a right turn is authorized", encourages smooth conflict-free transitions at intersections by requiring slowing right turning motorists to move right, while bicyclists going straight merge left out of the bike lane, which is the behavior prescribed for avoiding "right hooks" .
Bicyclists are allowed, but never required, to ride in the shoulder
CVC 21650.1
21650(g) clarifies that bicyclists, unlike drivers of vehicles, are generally not prohibited from riding in shoulders, and 21650.1 clearly states that bicyclists ridden in shoulders must ride in the same direction as vehicles in the adjacent lane. However, no section of the vehicle code requires bicyclists to ever ride in the shoulder. CVC 21202, even when none of the provisos and exceptions apply, merely requires cyclists to ride "as close as practicable to the right ... edge of the roadway", and roadway, per CVC 530, clearly does not include the shoulder.
Local government bans and limitations on bicyclists are generally prohibited
CVC 21
CVC 21100
While not referencing bicyclists specifically, Section 21 is critical to California bicyclists because it prohibits local authorities from enacting or enforcing laws that contradict statewide rules, which means there can be no local laws banning bicyclists from certain roads, prohibiting them from riding two or more abreast, etc.
Sidewalk cycling may be banned
CVC 21100 lists the matters on which "Local authorities may adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution". The only matter listed that affects bicyclists specifically is 21100 (h):
:"Local authorities may adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution regarding the following matters:
::...
::(h) Operation of bicycles ... on the public sidewalks."
So, local authorities may adopt rules and regulations that address bicycling on public sidewalks (indeed, many California cities have banned sidewalk bicycling in business districts), but may not adopt rules and regulations that specially regulate bicycling traffic on public roads.

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