Legal assistance needed

luv2ride said:

I was riding with a bunch of riders on our regular Tuesday night bike ride about a week ago. We were on a nice 4 lane road and there was not a lot of cars. The group had just crested a hill and we were about 2-3 abreast, taking up half of a lane. We had moved over into the left-hand turn lane when a policeman pulled up behind us and said through his loud speaker "Bikers! You must ride single file when riding on any road. This is a warning, don't do it again. Thank you." I have no idea what the law is, about this circumstance and was wondering does anyone know.

P.S. I live in NC

I did a quick search on Google (I used: NC bicycle law), as it varies by state.
According to a web site for the North Carolina DOT ncdot.orgbicycleOpen ↗

"There is no law that requires bicyclists to ride single file, nor is there a law that gives cyclists the right to ride two or more abreast. It is important to ride responsibly and courteously, so that cars may pass safely."

This looks like a good site to answer your questions on bicycle law in your state. I know in PA it explicitly says that we can ride no more than two abreast, but this is an element that varies by state, and it sounds like your state doesn't have a specific law on this point.

Without specific law you are in a gray area and would I assume have to dig into precedent, which is best done by a lawyer if needed. I would suggest the best approach is to have a friendly talk with the local police leadership to convince them in a friendly way that 2 or 3 abreast is reasonably safe.

I suppose it all depends on where you live. Here in UK you can legally ride two abreast.

dgregory57 said:

I did a quick search on Google (I used: NC bicycle law), as it varies by state.
According to a web site for the North Carolina DOT ncdot.orgbicycleOpen ↗

"There is no law that requires bicyclists to ride single file, nor is there a law that gives cyclists the right to ride two or more abreast. It is important to ride responsibly and courteously, so that cars may pass safely."

This looks like a good site to answer your questions on bicycle law in your state. I know in PA it explicitly says that we can ride no more than two abreast, but this is an element that varies by state, and it sounds like your state doesn't have a specific law on this point.

Without specific law you are in a gray area and would I assume have to dig into precedent, which is best done by a lawyer if needed. I would suggest the best approach is to have a friendly talk with the local police leadership to convince them in a friendly way that 2 or 3 abreast is reasonably safe.

all right, thanks guys

luv2ride said:

I was riding with a bunch of riders on our regular Tuesday night bike ride about a week ago. We were on a nice 4 lane road and there was not a lot of cars. The group had just crested a hill and we were about 2-3 abreast, taking up half of a lane. We had moved over into the left-hand turn lane when a policeman pulled up behind us and said through his loud speaker "Bikers! You must ride single file when riding on any road. This is a warning, don't do it again. Thank you." I have no idea what the law is, about this circumstance and was wondering does anyone know.

P.S. I live in NC

It is illegal to ride two abreast if you are possibly obstructing traffic, in Tennessee. You must ride to the far right as much as possible unless your are doing the speed limit.
It is also universally illegal in the US to disobey an officer. Many of the laws have some open intrerpretation such as "reckless manner".
I would aviod confromtation with the authorities if possible.

luv2ride said:

I was riding with a bunch of riders on our regular Tuesday night bike ride about a week ago. We were on a nice 4 lane road and there was not a lot of cars. The group had just crested a hill and we were about 2-3 abreast, taking up half of a lane. We had moved over into the left-hand turn lane when a policeman pulled up behind us and said through his loud speaker "Bikers! You must ride single file when riding on any road. This is a warning, don't do it again. Thank you." I have no idea what the law is, about this circumstance and was wondering does anyone know.

P.S. I live in NC

Were you about to make a left turn? In most states you can ride as many across as you want as long as you aren't obstructing traffic. If your group was in the left turning lane to make a left turn, then by definition you couldn't have been obstructing traffic because it would be illegal for a car to overtake you in that lane.

jhuskey said:

It is illegal to ride two abreast if you are possibly obstructing traffic, in Tennessee. You must ride to the far right as much as possible unless your are doing the speed limit.
It is also universally illegal in the US to disobey an officer. Many of the laws have some open intrerpretation such as "reckless manner".
I would aviod confromtation with the authorities if possible.

I just scanned the NC laws and find it similar to Tennessee. If you are doing less than the posted speed you are to ride as far to the right as reasonable.
Which would mean single file.
By interpretation you would be obstructing traffic unduly by riding two abreast below the speed limit.

dgregory57 said:

"There is no law that requires bicyclists to ride single file, nor is there a law that gives cyclists the right to ride two or more abreast. It is important to ride responsibly and courteously, so that cars may pass safely."

The law also states:

"Upon all highways any vehicle proceeding at less than the legal maximum speed limit shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for thru traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn."

I interpret that to mean that we're supposed to ride as far to the right as possible, since we're usually below the maximum speed limit.