A cyclist controlling the lane properly.
Photo by Richard Masoner
The oft-misunderstood right to "take" or "control the lane" (which we discussed a while back) has been successfully established in a Franklin County Municipal court case, thanks to local attorney Doug Morgan and Consider Biking.
Morgan provided his services pro bono to the cyclist, who was cited by an uneducated police officer for “not riding as far to the right as possible.” As experienced cyclists in Columbus know, this is not the law. Rather the law states the following:
“Every person operating a bicycle upon the roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable…." (2173.04).
The key word there is "practicable." Practicable means "as is capable of being put into practice." And Morgan used his time in front of Judge Dwight Maynard to show exactly how practicable it is to hug the curb as the police officer in question thought that the cyclist should be doing. I highly recommend that you read Morgan's discussion of how he showed the meaning of practicable.
The legal precedent that this sets is vitally important to the proper operation of bicycles on the city streets. Cyclists have always had the right to take the lane, but never has it been properly defended in court. With this precedent set, cyclists can no longer be harassed by police who don't understand the law or choose to interpret it in their own way.
Mr. Morgan and Consider Biking are to be commended for their great attention to this issue. More than any other cycling improvement in Columbus, this is going help cyclists set their place in traffic and ride safely and effectively.
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