Increased number of bike riders over the summer months
Thursday, 8th December 2016
Increased awareness of cyclists over the summer months is paramount.
Below are some road rules for the summer cyclists who need a refresher before they get back in the seat.
Where can I ride?
You can ride on the road unless there are signs saying otherwise, for example a ‘No Bicycles’ sign or similar.
One lane of traffic
If there is only one lane heading where you want to go, you must ride as near as you can to the far left side of the road.
Two or more lanes of traffic
When there are two or more lanes heading where you want to go (a multilane road), you can ride on the left or down the centre of a lane and use the right-hand lane to do a right turn.
Freeways
You can’t ride on urban freeways, but you can ride on the shoulders of some rural freeways, including the Western Freeway, the Calder Freeway, the Hume Freeway and parts of the Princes Freeway to Traralgon. The shoulder is an area to the left side of the road, which can be sealed or unsealed.
To find out what rural freeways you can ride on, visit the VicRoads website and download the ‘Cycling on freeways’ map.
You cannot have more than two riders next to each other except when overtaking. When you are riding next to someone you must not ride more than 1.5 metres apart from them.
When can I overtake?
When you are riding on the road, you can overtake a vehicle on the left or right as long as:
- you can clearly see any approaching traffic and
- can overtake the vehicle safely.
You must not overtake a vehicle:
- on the left if it is turning left and indicating left
- on the right if it is turning right and indicating right
- on the right if it is doing a U-turn from the centre of the road and indicating right.
Source: Victoria Law Foundation
