Cyclist Passing on the Right

Your recent bicycle column stirred me to ask a question about a cyclist passing on the right. I was in Kelowna, travelling north on Harvey Avenue and wanted to turn right into a strip mall. Harvey Avenue is three lanes wide here and the curb lane is an HOV lane.

I was in the HOV lane, and had to wait while 3 pedestrians on the sidewalk slowly crossed in front of my path. When they were clear I made my turn and heard a number of expletives from a cyclist passing on the right and had to stop quickly for me.

I Didn't See the Cyclist Passing

I recall him saying “don’t I ever look behind me for bicycles”. I likely would, if I had just overtaken a bicycle, and would realize I might cause some grief if I suddenly cut him off. However, I had been waiting and was unaware of the cyclist passing by.

No Marked Cycling Lane

There is no cycling path marked in this area and I understand Harvey Avenue is not a bicycle route. Do bicycles have free rein to pass on the right at will? If a bike lane was painted, would this change their rights to pass on the right? As cars do not have the right to pass on the right, do cyclists not have to follow the rules of the road as well? Bottom line-was I at fault here?

You Must Always Look Before Turning

The first comment that I am going to make is that on a driver's test, if you don't check your right side mirror and make a right shoulder check before you moved once the pedestrians were clear, you would have been marked for it by the examiner.

This is a must do to determine if something is going to come up on your right and pass, such as this cyclist, a motorcycle or the driver of a smaller vehicle.

Cycling on the Right

Our cyclist is forced to ride on the right here and is allowed to use the HOV lane:

183 (2) A person operating a cycle

(c) must, subject to paragraph (a), ride as near as practicable to the right side of the highway,

Cyclist Passing on the Right

When you were sitting there waiting to turn right, the cyclist would be passing you on the right. This is governed by:

158 (1) The driver of a vehicle must not cause or permit the vehicle to overtake and pass on the right of another vehicle, except

(a) when the vehicle overtaken is making a left turn or its driver has signalled his or her intention to make a left turn,

(b) when on a laned roadway there is one or more than one unobstructed lane on the side of the roadway on which the driver is permitted to drive, or

(c) on a one way street or a highway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement, where the roadway is free from obstructions and is of sufficient width for 2 or more lanes of moving vehicles.

(2) Despite subsection (1), a driver of a vehicle must not cause the vehicle to overtake and pass another vehicle on the right

(a) when the movement cannot be made safely, or

(b) by driving the vehicle off the roadway.

The cyclist must not pass on the right here. With you sitting there showing a right turn signal the cyclist clearly ignored an obvious threat to their safety even if they had the right of way.

Finally, I would contemplate charging you for making an unsafe start:

169 A person must not move a vehicle that is stopped, standing or parked unless the movement can be made with reasonable safety and the person first gives the appropriate signal under section 171 or 172.

You Both Need to Exercise Due Care

So, in this situation, it really comes down to both of you making sure that it was safe to proceed, not one over the other.

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