{"id":795182,"date":"2026-05-14T06:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795182\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T06:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:06:18","slug":"do-cyclists-have-the-right-of-way-what-to-know-about-sharing-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795182\/","title":{"rendered":"Do cyclists have the right of way? What to know about sharing the road"},"content":{"rendered":"

With National Bike Month<\/a> in full swing and some North Texans participating in Bike to Work Day on Friday, The city of Dallas is preparing to host\u00a0several<\/a> bicycle-related events. However, this means drivers could see a rise in two-wheeled transportation on the roads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

City and transportation officials remind motorists the importance of sharing the road. In order for\u00a0the streets to stay safe, both drivers and cyclists must follow the rules of the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Texas Department of Transportation estimated<\/a> there were almost 3,000 traffic<\/a> crashes involving cyclists<\/a> in 2024, with 80 resulting in death. The transportation authority said the most common causes of accidents were driver inattention, failure to yield and high speeds. Last May, the Dallas City Council unanimously\u00a0adopted a plan <\/a>featuring bike-friendly updates for the first time since 2011. The proposal included more than 500 miles of bicycling improvements \u2014 179 miles of neighborhood bikeways, 118 miles of visually separated bike lanes, 108 miles of physically separated bike lanes and 139 miles of trails.<\/p>\n

Here are a few reminders on how to share the road and how to keep all travelers safe.<\/p>\n

Check your car\u2019s blind spots<\/p>\n

Bicyclists are required to follow the flow of traffic and encouraged to ride on the far right side, closest to the curb, if the road allows. Drivers should regularly check their blind spots while on the road, but especially before making any turns to avoid a collision.\u00a0Drivers must yield the right of way to cyclists when turning, per the Lisa Torry Smith Act passed in 2021. To\u00a0stay visible to drivers, cyclists should\u00a0stay out of blind spots and wear reflective gear.<\/p>\n

Slow down<\/p>\n

One main cause of cyclist collisions is high speeds, by both drivers and cyclist. Cyclists must follow all traffic laws, including stopping at stop signs and red lights. When turning, a cyclist must indicate the direction by using hand signals. Drivers must slow down and be patient with cyclists. Avoid honking because it may startle cyclists, causing them to lose their balance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cyclists are allowed to use full lanes when riding; however, drivers are not required to stay behind them. Drivers overtaking cyclists should give them at least three feet of clearance, according to the TxDOT, and commercial vehicles are urged to give at least six feet. Passing cyclist at a safe distance gives them enough room to ride and time to adjust.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With National Bike Month in full swing and some North Texans participating in Bike to Work Day on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":795183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,51149,1596,324474,358,324475,324473,522,3187,8320,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-795182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-bicycle","tag-dallas","tag-news-transportation","tag-texas","tag-tp-traffic","tag-tp-transportation","tag-transportation","tag-tx","tag-txdot","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116571432054527813","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/795183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}