By Steven R. Lasco
As many of you know, May is National Bike Month. Here in Carson City, several events and rides were held, capped by Bike To Work Week from May 16-20 and the celebration on the 20th outside the Firkin & Fox. As reported, about 150 people came by to visit, enjoy others’ bikes, and get a chance to win a raffle prize. The Nevada Legislature passed two bills in its current session that benefit cyclists (see sidebar below).

The benefits of cycling — improved health and fitness, quality family time, reduced fuel consumption and air pollution, attractive tourism draw — are well documented. At a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Mayor Bob Crowell spoke eloquently about the high value that quality of life holds when attempting to attract businesses to Nevada’s capital city. Cycling and other outdoor recreation activities are key components of that quality of life. And, by developing and improving bicycle and pedestrian trails and adding hundreds of acres of open space to its network of public lands, Carson City has ridden and walked its talk regarding cycling’s role in a healthy, attractive city, one that tourists want to visit and to which businesses seek to move.

So what’s the difficulty?

The fact is that, while Carson City has officially embraced cycling, many Nevada motorists have not. I’m on my bicycle in and around Carson City six or seven days a week, and I encounter distracted, careless, even openly hostile motorists just about every day. From people rolling through stop signs to not looking both ways before entering an intersection to driving with a phone in one hand and a drink, sandwich, or dog in the other to not using turn signals to screaming obscenities and throwing things at me, I can tell you that it’s highly dangerous out there all too often.

I realize that everyone is busy and has a lot on their mind. And I realize that not everyone rides a bike, and that too many cyclists run stop signs, go the wrong way in traffic, or otherwise violate the rules of the road.

But cyclists have rights, both to use roads and trails and to simply exist. We are not “the mosquitoes of the road,” as a letter to the Appeal stated some years ago. We are fellow Nevadans, trying to get from point A to point B without being injured or killed by a motorist driving too fast or paying too little attention.

Anyone (myself included) is capable of inattentive driving. Even a state Assemblyman.

A couple of weeks ago, I became acquainted with Assemblyman Paul Aizley (D-Las Vegas) at the intersection of Fifth and Roop streets. I was riding in the narrow bike lane on Fifth. Using my arm, I signaled my intent to turn to the vehicles in traffic alongside me. Three or four cars had proceeded east on Fifth when I began my turn.

Suddenly, the car on my left also turned right, into the bike lane. I braked hard but came much too close to smashing directly into the car, which a less experienced cyclist almost certainly would have done. Startled, I roared a bellow of surprise. The auto passenger rolled down her window and the driver and I exchanged words, none of them obscene. He apologized for his not seeing me as he began to execute his turn. I accepted his apology and we went our separate ways. That driver was the Assemblyman.

Because I had had a similar close call on College Parkway at Emerson Drive the previous day, I was extremely shaken. In that first incident, a pickup truck careened past me, forcing me to swerve, then immediately slammed on its brakes to look for cross-traffic, which forced me to swerve again. Then the driver rolled down his window and unleashed a torrent of obscenities for my hubris at riding a bicycle in full compliance with Nevada law. I reported the incident to the Carson City Sheriff’s Department and a deputy took my statement along with that of an eyewitness. We provided the vehicle make and model and a license plate number and driver description. However, I have not yet been given the opportunity to have this rage-filled motorist cited for his unsafe driving. That man didn’t kill me that day, but he might kill you or your child today.

Assemblyman Aizley was gracious enough to invite me onto the Assembly floor last week to share my message of cyclist safety and motorist awareness. What had begun as a near-miss car-bike collision was transformed into mutual respect with handshakes and a positive outcome. That’s why he agreed to support my message by co-authoring this article with me.

And so I urge all Nevadans to follow the Assemblyman’s example by paying more attention, driving at posted speed limits, following traffic laws, and recognizing cyclists’ right to ride. I don’t believe that respect and coexistence is too great a burden to expect. Neither does Assemblyman Aizley, Mayor Crowell, or Sheriff Kenny Furlong.

Steven R. Lasco is 40-year cycling survivor and the current Chairperson of the Carson City Parks &
Recreation Commission.

Paul Aizley (D-Las Vegas) is a retired UNLV mathematics professor and a two-term Nevada State
Assemblyman.

SIDEBAR on CYCLING & MOTORIST LAWS & RULES

By Steven R. Lasco

In conjunction with my first-person article on cyclist-motorist interactions, I thought it would be useful and appropriate to discuss the Nevada “rules of the road” as they apply to cyclists and motorists’ interactions with cyclists. The following details are paraphrased from NRS 484 as presented on the Bicycle Nevada Web site (www.bicyclenevada.com).

Two bills regarding bicycles and motorists were presented during the current Nevada Legislature session. Senate Bill 248, which requires that motorists provide a three-foot buffer zone between their vehicle and any bicycles, was passed by the Assembly and the Senate and voted into law by Governor Sandoval. Assembly Bill 328, which would make accidents caused by motorists against bicycles be categorized and punished as reckless driving, was passed unanimously by the Assembly and the Senate and delivered today (Friday, June 3rd) to Governor Sandoval.

Here are some general “rules of the road”:

NRS does not mandate or require that cyclists of any age wear a safety helmet. However, I would not be alive to write this article if I did not wear a helmet; I have personally experienced two collisions (one with a vehicle, the other in which a vehicle ran me off the road into a street sign) in which my helmet was destroyed instead of my head. According to existing laws in Nevada, it’s your brain to protect or to expose to hazards as you see fit.

Bicycles shall ride with traffic, not against, road traffic, to as far to the right as is safely possible. Motorists should realize that the right side of many roads include manholes, broken glass, and other debris that inhibit safety and compel cyclists to ride in the roadway.

When sidewalks are not present and pedestrians must walk on a road or road shoulder, they shall walk against traffic, not with traffic.

Parents are responsible for their children’s cycling behavior, including the laws regarding headlights and taillights. (See relevant NRS below.)

The Nevada driver’s license manual states that “The driver of a motor vehicle may only overtake and pass a bicyclist if he can safely do so without endangering the person riding the bicycle,” along with the following bullet points:
­ “When turning at an intersection or driveway, check both ways for cyclists.
­ Never speed up to pass a cyclist just before you make a turn.
­ When parked on the street, check to your rear for cyclists before you open your car door.
­ When you pass a cyclist, allow at least 3 to 4 feet of clearance. If possible, change lanes before you pass.
­ Check both ways for cyclists when backing out of a driveway or parking lot.”

The following are quoted from NRS. I applied the bold text for emphasis.

Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle except as otherwise provided in NRS 484.504 to 484.513, inclusive, and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.

The driver of a motor vehicle shall not:
(a) Intentionally interfere with the movement of a person lawfully riding a bicycle; or
(b) Overtake and pass a person riding a bicycle unless he can do so safely without endangering the person riding the bicycle.
The driver of a motor vehicle shall yield the right of way to any person riding a bicycle on the pathway or lane. The driver of a motor vehicle shall not enter, stop, stand, park or drive within a pathway or lane provided for bicycles except:
(a) When entering or exiting an alley or driveway;
(b) When operating or parking a disabled vehicle;
(c) To avoid conflict with other traffic;
(d) In the performance of official duties;
(e) In compliance with the directions of a police officer; or
(f) In an emergency.

A person propelling a bicycle shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto.

No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped. (You can’t sit on the handlebars and have someone else pedal.)

Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall, except:
(a) When traveling at a lawful rate of speed commensurate with the speed of any nearby traffic;
(b) When preparing to turn left; or
(c) When doing so would not be safe, ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.

Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.

Every bicycle when in use at night must be equipped with:
(a) A lamp on the front which emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front;
(b) A red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the department which must be visible from 50 feet to 300 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle; and
(c) Reflective material of a sufficient size and reflectivity to be visible from both sides of the bicycle for 600 feet when directly in front of the lawful lower beams of the head lamps of a motor vehicle, or in lieu of such material, a lighted lamp visible from both sides from a distance of at least 500 feet.

Every bicycle must be equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make the wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement.

The parent of any child and the guardian of any ward shall not authorize or knowingly permit any such child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this chapter.