Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Streetsblog California home
Log In
Advocacy

Bill to Clarify Bike Riders’ Right to Full Lane Withdrawn

Bikes parked in front of the California State Capitol building in Sacramento

The California Bicycle Coalition, faced with opposition from AAA and others, has decided to hold off on its efforts to clear up California Vehicle Code language about when bicycle riders are allowed to "take the lane."

The law, as currently written, exempts bike riders from hugging the right side of the road in lanes that are “too narrow to share,” among other specified exemptions. CalBike wanted to focus on that particular exemption, to clarify that people on bikes can move away from the right edge when the lane isn't wide enough to share. It's not really a change, per se, but it still ran into opposition.

No official legislative analysis of A.B. 697 was posted, but the auto club made clear it would not support the bill, and the head of the Assembly Transportation Committee, Chair Jim Frazier (D-Oakley), has little interest in the topic.

In a written statement, CalBike executive director Dave Snyder said that the bill would simply have "reflected changes adopted in several other states as recommended by the Rules of the Road committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices."

"The sense of entitlement people have when they get in their cars is well represented in Sacramento," he wrote.

Motorists’ lobbyists have made it clear that it’s more important that people on bikes think they have to be out of the way of cars than they understand their right to position themselves safely in the travel lane.

With the support of our author Assemblymember Phil Ting, we are working to educate policymakers and lobbyists about how dangerous that attitude is. Throughout 2019, we will hold meetings and conferences to gain support for clarification of the law. Ting wants to address this issue as part of a comprehensive review of Vehicle Code provisions as they relate to operation of bicycles and propose a slate of changes based on best practices from around the country.

We look forward to working with Assemblymember Ting and other policy makers as we work to update California’s Vehicle Code to best promote safety for all road users.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

SB 79 Passes Assembly, Still Needs Senate “Concurrence” Before the Governor’s Desk

It was a bi-partisan vote on both sides, but in the end the legislation passed 41-17.

September 11, 2025

Last Minute Bill Would Allow Thousands of New Oil Wells Annually in Kern County

Environmental groups declare this legislature the worst in recent memory

September 11, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines

Lots of uncertainty for Bay Area transit, the legislature moves on oil production and more...

September 11, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: This Boat is Doing Something Amazing for Transit!

Could a simple sale of old train cars inspire a new generation of transit fans down in Lima, Peru? It's all part of a very special edition of our podcast.

September 11, 2025

L.A. City Slow to Start Speed Camera Pilot

At the current levels of departmental inactivity and elected official disinterest, it looks like there will be no L.A. speed camera pilot until 2027. Or 2028. Or never.

September 10, 2025

New Leadership at Transform

Changes at one of the Bay Area's most formidable transit, safe-streets, and affordable housing advocacy groups.

September 10, 2025
See all posts