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Can We Ride Side by Side?
Author: Jason J. Knutson
Published: August 23, 2010
In Wisconsin, two bicyclists may ride side by side as long as they do not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. [1] What impeding traffic means is an open question. While the law may not tell us exactly what it means to impede traffic, we do know that no bicyclist has been issued a citation for riding side by side in the Madison area for years.
Although two bicyclists can legally ride side by side, more than two bicyclists can only ride side by side on a path, trail, lane or other way set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. [2]
From a practical standpoint, riding side by side has its advantages. First, it provides the best formation for bicyclists to communicate with one another during a ride. This is part of the reason why side by side bicyclists report a lower accident rate than riders in a single line.
Likewise, side by side riders are generally more visible to oncoming and overtaking vehicles. Some drivers may dutifully check near the road’s shoulder for bicyclists, but even inattentive drivers cannot avoid noticing bicycles riding two abreast when one is in the center of their lane of travel.
There can, of course, be risks to riding side by side. In Wisconsin, bicyclists riding side by side on a roadway traveling less than the normal speed of traffic must ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb. [3] Three exceptions apply to this rule:
- When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction
- When preparing for a left turn or U-turn at an intersection, private road, or driveway
- When reasonably necessary to avoid unsafe conditions, including fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to ride along the right-hand curb [4]
The third exception presents a common scenario. Bicyclists riding side by side as close as practicable to the right-hand curb often encounter unsafe conditions, which causes the pair of riders to move closer to the center of the lane of travel and potentially to oncoming traffic.
Riding side by side in Wisconsin is legal, and often times safer than riding single file. Importantly, being “in the right” legally while riding side by side will be a small consolation in the event of an accident with a vehicle. As always, the best riding strategy is to be aware of your surroundings, and to make room for vehicles on the roadway that either are not aware of your legal rights as a bicyclist or simply do not care to recognize them.
[1] See Wis. Stat. § 346.80(3)(a).
[2] See Wis. Stat. § 346.80(3)(b).
[3] See Wis. Stat. § 346.80(2)(a).
[4] See Wis. Stat. § 346.80(1)(a) 1-3.
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