Is the Crosswalk a Safe Way for a Bicycle Rider to Cross the Street?

Before becoming a bicycle safety instructor I did not have a clear understanding of what my rights were as a bicycle rider. Like most people, I learned to ride a bike as a kid and it was about balance, pedaling and steering. Then I took these new-found skills and rode wherever it seemed like a good place to ride, trying to stay out of harm's way.

Bicycle riders can get into trouble when they ride bikes as pedestrians. Most people are surprised to learn that once your feet leave the ground and push those pedals, cyclists have the same rules, rights and responsibilities as people driving cars. The California Vehicle Code views bicycles not as vehicles, but devices, and cyclists as drivers. Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle. This means when you ride your bike, you are considered a driver of a device.  

Hmmm. Okay. So what does this mean about riding in the crosswalk? Well, it means that you give up your rights as a pedestrian when you ride a bike in the crosswalk. When you pedal your bike across a crosswalk you do not have the right-of-way. That's just how the law is.

BUT, you can get the right-of-way if you hop off your bicycle and walk it across the crosswalk.  There is a very important added benefit to this.  Most people will cross at a slower speed walking than bike riding and this gives the drivers more time to see you and react to you and avoid hitting you.

The tricky part here is when this refers to youth. Cyclists fare best when they ride with traffic. This means if you have taken the California driver's test, you will know what’s expected of you when you drive a car. If you ride a bicycle in this same manner, your actions are more predictable to the traffic around you and crashes are much less likely. The problem is kids have not taken the California Drivers Test and are not familiar with the rules of traffic and usually ride bikes as if they are pedestrians. 

Making it even more tricky for children, riding on the sidewalk is legal in some places! In Alameda, the Municipal Code says that it is legal to ride on the sidewalk in certain areas. “Bicycles may be ridden on the sidewalk, except such sidewalks that pass directly in front of or adjacent to any stores, schools, or other buildings used for business purposes during the hours that such establishment is open for business.”

a. Whenever any person is riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk, such person shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.

b. It shall be unlawful for any person to ride a bicycle in any pedestrian crosswalk at a signal controlled intersection, adjacent to any school, or one which is under the control of the school crossing guard. At all other intersections the bicyclist shall exercise due caution before entering onto the roadway.” 

So, if a bicycle rider is riding on the sidewalk, as so many of us parents do with our kids, and we want to cross the street, the sidewalk directs us right into the crosswalk where we all have been taught is the safest way to cross and we believe we have the right of way and the law will protect us.   

The problem here is that kids don’t know traffic laws and many parents don’t know bicycle riders are not protected by the law in the crosswalk if they are not walking. 

But what you can do is model walking a bike in the crosswalk so other people who are not sure will observe and hopefully follow. The younger the age that you introduce this, the better.  When kids get older and ready to ride in bike lanes and with traffic, teach them the traffic rules and they can avoid the crosswalk altogether. That said, I am delightfully pleased to see the number of youth and some adults in town, who do currently walk their bikes in crosswalks. Let’s all do it!

Even when the law is written to side with the cyclist — for example, the car driver is at fault if a cyclist is hit by an opening car door — it’s still the cyclist who suffers the most.  Learning our rights as bicycle riders is very important but it does not preclude looking out for ourselves. 

For instance, even when I know I have the legal right of way to ride through an intersection, I do not proceed without eye contact and recognition from the driver who is stopped at the stop sign. This applies to pedestrians too.  Pedestrians DO have the right-of-way in crosswalks and can still be hit.  It’s not enough that laws are in place to protect us, we must all take responsibility of our own actions and be sure traffic will stop for us when we cross any intersection or street.  Pedestrians and cyclists are most vulnerable and staying alert to our surroundings is always important. 

BikeAlameda and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition have funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to offer free bicycle safety classes throughout Alameda County explaining these laws and so much more to make ensure your bicycle riding is a fun and safe activity. We can teach teens and adults how to avoid bike crashes no matter who has the right-of-way. Go to: www.ebbc.org/safety for a complete list of upcoming free classes for teens and adults.