Orange County NC Website
Attachment 2 Formatted: Centered <br />urban and rural locations, but in rural locations they tend to be much more serious, and a large <br />proportion of bicyclist fatalities are the result of these types of crashes. <br /> <br />The driver of a motor vehicle wishing to overtake a person or persons on a bicycle has a responsibility <br />to slow down and wait for a safe opportunity to do so. In 2016, legislative changes included in a new <br />lawHouse Bill 959 went into effect that allows motorists to cross a solid yellow line when passing <br />bicyclists. The law (GS 20-150(e) s, states that the motorist must either give a space of four feet when <br />passing bicycles, or they must go completely into the opposite (left) lane. <br /> <br />By increasing understanding between motorists and bicyclists of their shared responsibility for safe <br />roads, Orange County hopes to reduce the occurrence of these dangerous and potentially fatal <br />encounters. <br /> <br />RIDE SAFELY <br />For bicyclists,G.S. 20-4.01(49), the law that deems defines bicycles vas vehicles in North Carolina, <br />with a right to use the road also mandates that they people riding bicycles follow the same laws as cars. <br />This means that they must travel in the same direction as motor vehicles, stop for stop signs and red <br />lightsobey all traffic control devices such as stop signs and signals, signal when turning, do notrefrain <br />from passing on the right, and use lights when riding at night. Furthermore, statute G.S. 20-146 <br />provides thatpage 84 of the NCDOT driver's manual states that bicyclists may use the full lane. <br /> <br />Beyond these legal requirements, bicyclists also have the responsibility to share the public roads and <br />engage with other users in taking measures to ensure that all road users will be safe.safely and <br />prudently. <br /> <br />What is the Drive Safely Ride Safely Campaign? <br /> <br />The Drive Safely Ride Safely Campaign is an effort to educate Orange County residents and visitors <br />on NC laws pertaining to bicyclists and motorists, while promoting friendly and respectful sharing of <br />our public roads. <br /> <br />We have put together resources here that we hope both drivers and riders will find useful. If you have <br />other resources that you would like to share, please send a note through the contact button on the <br />website. <br />Comment [HP5]: we could say like this <br />instead of with a link. <br />Comment [WA6]: link to law <br />Formatted: Default Paragraph Font <br />Comment [HP7]: I don't think we can cite a <br />law that vague as a source for the argument <br />that bicyclists may use full lane. <br />Comment [WA8]: I feel like we don’t need <br />this here. We could include a contact widget <br />somewhere with the same note. <br />16