Intersections
Right Turns
- When approaching a right turn, use the center of a right turn only lane or merge to the right hand side of a multi-destination lane.
Choose and hold a line through the turn – stay in the correct lane, and follow the cyclist in front of you.
Left Turns
- Merge to the appropriate left lane or left side of the lane when approaching left turns. Plan ahead, look back, and initiate the shift from the back of the group in order to close out overtaking traffic.
- Yielding to Traffic Ahead – call out “car up” and don’t push the timing of an arriving vehicle; stop and wait earlier than you would by yourself.
- Watch out for oncoming traffic that may be screened by a stopped vehicle; be cautious if an oncoming vehicle has stopped as a courtesy to let you turn, as other traffic may overtake it.
- Choose and hold a line through the turn – Aim for the correct half of road that you turn into, and follow the cyclist ahead.
Stop Signs
- Stopping – State law requires each bicyclist to stop and yield effectively like any other driver. There is no explicit requirement to put a foot down.
- The front cyclist(s) set the example for the rest of the group, for better or worse. If the leading cyclist blows through a stop sign, this puts pressure on the rest of the group to do the same just to keep up, and can encourage dangerous behavior.
- Stop two abreast (or wider where safe and legal) to control the travel lane and increase throughput.
- Yielding – Wait until a traffic gap is large enough for all or most of group to proceed.
- Calling Out Traffic – Always alert others to approaching vehicles. Their vision may be obstructed by other cyclists, or they may be focused on cyclists in front of them.
Traffic Signals
- Positioning for Detection – Most demand-actuated traffic signals use inductive loop sensors buried in the pavement. These metal-detecting sensors can detect aluminum or steel rims, non-metallic wheels with metal braking strips, and carbon fiber wheels with a conductive loop of copper wire installed under the rim tape. Line up the wheels of multiple bikes in the most sensitive areas over the loop as shown in (a), (b) or (c) below depending on its shape.
- If Detection Fails – Wait for a large enough gap, get a volunteer to press a pedestrian detector button, or wave a following car to move up and over the sensor loop.
Traffic Queues
- Where traffic is stopped in your lane, always get in line with that traffic.
- Do not filter forward by passing stopped traffic on the right in the same lane or on the shoulder. This unexpected movement is unlawful in North Carolina, increases the risk of a right-hook crash, and is frustrating to motorists who may end up passing the same bicyclists repeatedly.
Regrouping after Fragmentation
- When trying to regroup after an intersection fragments the group, pull off the road to wait for other cyclists to catch up. See Stopping to Rest or Regroup.
