All about the Bicycle Path sign

Cycling is not only a sport. Over the past 10-15 years, the bicycle has become a full-fledged mode of transport, allowing you to get to the other end of a metropolis jammed with traffic jams in an hour and a half. In those years, when cyclists first began to take to the streets, and traffic regulations were formed, oriented specifically for this category of citizens.

A cyclist is also a driver, but not of a car, but of his bicycle. He is a full-fledged road user. For cyclists, a dozen warning, prohibiting, and prescriptive signs on the roads have been highlighted, and among them is the Bicycle Path sign.

This sign indicates drivers of cars and motorcycles, pedestrians, that they cross or get to the start (or end) of the bike path.

1. When crossing a bicycle path, the driver of the car or motorcycle slows down. If the bike path is not visible (for example, due to trees, houses and buildings, a fence, etc.), the driver must slow down or reduce the movement of his vehicle to a very low speed. Quite often cyclists come across right under the wheels of passing cars.
2. A motorist does not have the right to ride a bicycle path, even when the entire area of ​​the road or site is allotted for it. He better get to the nearest intersection and go around this place. But according to the statistics of daily violators, there are dozens for one specific bike path.
3. A pedestrian is also not entitled to walk along a bicycle path if there is a sidewalk nearby.If there is no sidewalk, he must control the situation, risking to go along the bike or road. However, hundreds of pedestrians walking alongside the bike path walk along it every day, apparently taking the Bike Path sign for decorating the road.

So, a bike path is needed to reduce accidents when driving a bicycle. It is also a guarantee of safety for pedestrians and car drivers. In many Russian cities, especially in small ones, there are no bicycle paths at all. In European cities, a bike path is always located next to each highway, street or avenue. - several times more than ours, the number of citizens use a bicycle to solve everyday problems.

Russian cyclists are forced to risk their lives, constantly going to the avenues and crossing them. Their safety is partly ensured by traffic lights. With green light for its stream, in which a single cyclist moves, he begins to move simultaneously with everyone. Together with other participants in the same traffic, he stops, noticing that a red light will turn on (or have already turned on). Often, the cyclist follows the rules for drivers, turning at the intersection to the left with the participants in their lane. And wherein he does not give any signal that he wants to turn there. And this is already considered a violation of traffic rules.

The sign “Bicycle path” is a designation on the blue circle of the silhouette of a white bicycle (side view). The circle is surrounded by a white line around the circle. The same image, but crossed out with a red line, means "end of the bike path."

There are other signs:

1. "The movement of cyclists and pedestrians" - a warning sign, serving as a prescription for those and other groups of traffic, that only they can move here. The combined driving mode prescribes that pedestrians and cyclists must give way to each other.
2. "The movement of cyclists is prohibited" - means that there is no way for a cyclist to ride here, because it interferes with constant and active traffic. Many access roads can go onto this street or road. Driving a bike here can cause massive accidents.
3. “Intersection with the bike path” - reports on the priority of the car.

In recent years, traffic lights have also been converted for the needs of cyclists. For cyclists, a fourth green or three-color eye is placed, on the glass of which a stencil with the image of a bicycle sign will be applied. At the same time, traffic lights are understaffed with a separate microcontroller that controls the color of the glow of this eye, or reflash for direct work with it.

The sign "Bicycle path" is set:

• to the right of the allocated strip delimited from the road and sidewalk either by curbs or a lawn;
• immediately after each intersection with the road - when the bike path does not end after it;
• near the buffer zone of the road or on the other side of the parking spaces where there is a pedestrian-bicycle part;
• on the streets where traffic is closed for vehicles;
• on the promenades, where there are tracks suitable for cycling;
• in the zone of narrow streets and on bridges, where traffic is also provided for cyclists;

The last three options are of little use when there are obstacles in the form of:

• crowds of pedestrians scurrying back and forth;
• non-compliance with restrictions on the speed of cycling (near houses - up to 20 km / h, on bike paths - up to 30);
• a sharp narrowing of the zone, leading to frequent bumps of cyclists against each other (in oncoming traffic) and pedestrians.

Lane must be marked appropriate marker. The sign itself (and marking) often comes across in parks and squares.In megacities, a bicycle path is a frequent occurrence for the central part of the city, which creates comfort for all traffic participants. Often it is one-way - the direction of movement along it coincides with the neighboring traffic lane.

In Russia, such a phenomenon has not yet taken root.

A good sign if the bike path is fenced off from the roadway with a railing, reinforced concrete slab or fence, has drive edges smoothed from the road and is two-lane. The direction of movement of the lanes should also be marked. Exits on the road should be located so that it would be difficult for cars to enter the cycle path.

In Norway and Sweden, bike paths are often connected to sidewalks. If it were not for the marking and the “bicycle” stencil, you would not have paid any attention to the cycle path.

If you think that sitting on a bicycle, you will be anonymous and uncontrolled, arbitrarily going to the avenues and moving around places of crowding and resting people, while not respecting the interests and rights of others, immediately throw these thoughts out of your head.

Once on a bicycle, the cyclist assumes the need to perform the following actions in situations requiring it:

• when turning to the left, he raises his arm bent at the elbow - and points in that direction, similarly - to turn to the right;
• braking when leaving a general path on a bicycle path, he raises one of his hands up;
• when leaving a general road on a cycle path without the need to slow down, it indicates with outstretched hand the direction in which it will move;
• a cyclist can cross roads at intersections only when cars give way to him;
• if necessary, cross the road, the cyclist slows down and lets the cars pass, then goes on;
• if the path does not cross the road, but ends, with only a pedestrian crossing going further, the cyclist must get off the bicycle and cross the road on foot;
• if a cyclist moves on an electric bicycle (or a bicycle switched to a gas-engine traction), then his speed is limited to 60 km / h, as for motorists, he must not ride in house areas, parks and squares at a speed exceeding 20 km / h;
• children under the age of 14 do not have the right to drive on public roads on their own;
• cyclists can ride behind a continuous strip (roadside) of a track or avenue, moving in groups of 10 people;
• allowed to carry cargo on the trunk, which does not interfere with the management of the bike;
• a cyclist carrying a child whose age is less than 7 years old can ride in the pedestrian zone;
• the cyclist must sharply slow down if the car in front turns to the right, this is evidenced by the right turn signal, turned on by the driver of the car - wherever he turns
• having driven the bike path to the end and stumbled upon the appropriate sign, the cyclist is obliged to further get off the bike and drive it, holding the wheel;
• if there is still a bicycle path near the highway or the road of the street (avenue), the cyclist has no right to join the general traffic;
• it is necessary to turn on the rear red and front white lights in the dark, in fog and when moving along the tunnel;
• it is forbidden to tow bicycles by any means other than driving a bicycle trailer, which also has red parking lights.

In the absence of a two-lane cycle path, oncoming movement of cyclists can be difficult.

Although a cyclist must pass cars when crossing the road, in practice, drivers more often miss the cyclist. This is due to the fact that single cyclists come across more often than those who ride in groups.Many of them may not know traffic rules at all until they drive a car. In turn, drivers of an accident with all the consequences are also not needed: it’s easier to miss a cyclist than to repair a car and be responsible for other consequences of the accident before the law.

The action of the sign begins at the beginning of the path near which it is installed, and ends when there is a turn or intersection along the way, or the sign “End of the bike path”.

The authorities did not just introduce separate concepts for people whose vehicle is a bicycle, not a car. The traffic rules will undergo the following changes.

1. The number of reasons why the cyclist has the right to ride along the side of the track (beyond the extreme continuous lane) will increase. Some bicycles, for example, road bikes or electric bikes, can accelerate to speeds of 40 or more kilometers per hour.
2. At the intersection where there is no traffic light, the cyclist gives way to cars crossing the road on which he is traveling, or leaving the home areas of car drivers.
3. At the pedestrian crossing, the cyclist must not interfere with walking people.

Despite the fact that the fines for cyclists are several times lower than for similar violations among participants in traffic, a traffic policeman can write a corresponding fine to any cyclist who violates the rules.

However, penalties are provided for all participants in the movement:

• for car drivers - a race on a bike path or a pedestrian zone threatens a fine of 2000 rubles;
• car drivers who parked a car on a bike path or a pedestrian crossing are fined 2500 rubles;
• pedestrians walking along the carriageway or along the bicycle path - a fine of 1,000 rubles;
• cyclists irresponsibly related to traffic rules (for example, ignoring the prohibition sign) are fined 800 r .;
• drunk cyclists will pay from 1000 to 1500 p. - depending on the emergency situation.

See the video below for the Bike Lane sign.