[FredZarguna]

Most states have the following restrictions that most bicyclists and most motorists seem unaware of:

1. Bikes are vehicles. Except where specifically noted otherwise, they are obligated to obey the entire vehicle code. You may not use a crosswalk unless you dismount. You may not jump a curb, you may not use a sidewalk unless it's specifically designated. If you dismount, you become a pedestrian, and are governed by municipal statutes and not by the vehicle code.
2. In most states, cyclists are obligated by law to a) NOT ride the berm. Motorists think cyclists are supposed to be there; they aren't. The berm is for emergency and official uses and is not for moving vehicles, including bikes. Many states now spell this out explicitly in their learners' manuals.
   b) ride as far to the right of the travel lane as circumstances safely permit.
3. In most states, because of rule #2, cyclists are only permitted to ride more than single file when there is no following traffic within 300 feet. This is probably the single thing that idiot cyclists do that aggravates motor vehicle drivers most. Many cyclists do not know side-by-side riding is illegal when there is following traffic.
4. In most states, you may not pass a cyclist unless you have 3 feet (in some states 4 feet) of clearance from your right outside mirror and the leftmost handlebar of the cyclist. Passing is unlawful, and it is not the cyclists fault, when motorists lack clearance.
5. Cyclists may not pass motor vehicles in the same travel lane on the right. Cyclists who do this on city streets are asking for serious injury. A passenger just opening his door can kill you in this circumstance.

25 miles/hour doesn't seem fast in a car, but it's the rough equivalent of falling from the top of 3 story house. If you hit a utility pole or a wall or a stopped car head-on at that speed, you will be seriously injured. Consequently, best practice is to assume most drivers are idiots: as both a motor vehicle driver and a cyclist, I have lots of stories to back up that assumption.

[pigsmith]

I live in an area where the narrow two-lane blacktop has a wide shoulder and a minimum posted speed of 55, but disappears around curves and hills frequently. I have a large noisy diesel truck with big wide mirrors, and I have lost count how many times I have rounded a blind curve to find both oncoming traffic and yet another bike fool on the SHOULDER STRIPE, smurking over his shoulder at me, refusing to move onto the shoulder.

If they insist on hugging that paint stripe, that required three feet of clearance may have to come from them ducking as I go by.