Bicycles May Use Full Lane: It’s the message that matters (not the color)
As Maryland's new Drivers
Manual points out, "often the safest place for a cyclist to ride is in the center of the
lane." Unfortunately most drivers do not understand this,
and they assume that a cyclist in the lane is being selfish (or
worse). Since 2009, the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
has had a sign that would go a long way toward educating drivers. The
sign says "Bicycles May Use Full Lane." (R4-11) But two years later,
Maryland still has not approved the use of that sign.
In fact, the State Highway Administration (SHA) initially decided that these signs would never be posted on Maryland Roads. Fortunately for us, SHA employees were very open about their thinking, and sent the Glenn Dale Citizens Association (Prince Georges County) a letter saying that they had decided to not use the sign. In late June, one of the members of that association (Jim Titus) also on the board of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association , drafted an alert asking WABA members to write the Governor and the Secretary of Transportation to reverse that decision; 700 people wrote letters; and MDOT reversed the decision as the letter writers had suggested. About a week later, an activist with Potomac Pedalers suggested to SHA's Bob Herstein that the words "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" should be placed on the typical big yellow diamond warning sign; so SHA created such a sign, and emailed it to Jim Titus, who sent it around to all the activists who were closely following the issue. We all told Jim that the sign would be fine. (For the complete details of this saga see some of the articles by Jim Titus on the Washcycle blog.)
For some background: White rectangular signs are "regulatory signs" which means that they can change the rules of the road, while yellow signs are just giving you advice or a warning. We were not especially concerned about whether the sign is a white rectangle or a yellow diamond, because it does not matter in Maryland, you already have the right to use the full lane if the lane is too narrow to share side-by-side with a motor vehicle. In some states the color of R4-11 could make a difference (to change the legal requirement on where to ride) but not in Maryland: We need a sign that clarifies to drivers where we are legally allowed to ride... and that's all and we would like this in as many places as possible.
A few weeks later, we heard that SHA might actually approve both signs. MDOT's Michael Jackson, a longtime proponent of the R4-11 sign, rejected SHA's proposal to approve the yellow sign instead of the official R4-11 regulatory sign. But the staff of SHA's Office of Traffic and Safety had become quite enthusiastic about the yellow sign. So SHA staff collectively decided that the best thing to do would be to compromise with Mr. Jackson, and approve both his preferred white sign and their preferred yellow sign.
This struck me as the best possible outcome. Up to that point, I had always assumed that the white R4-11 sign should be placed on major urban bike routes, while "Share the Road" signs would still be useful on rural roads and some highways with few cyclists. But the ambiguity of "Share the Road" is very problematic, since many drivers think that it means that bicycles are supposed to ride the edge, and get out of the way of the cars (See NHTSA says "Share The Road Sign" sends mixed messages.) A traffic control sign that means the opposite of what many people think can be worse than no sign at all. So it would be far better to gradually replace "Share the Road" signs with the yellow diamond "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" signs, while using the official R4-11 sign along major bike routes (which will some times also need sharrows).
The head of the Montgomery County Bicycle Advocates and the City Engineer of Laurel have provided additional reasons for why approving both signs would be better than just one of the signs. The most important point they make, is that some localities will not use the white regulatory sign on some roads but they would use the yellow sign. They have alot of different reasons but the bottom line is that alot of roads that need the message "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" are only going to have that message if SHA approves the yellow sign. The City of Baltimore has already been using the white R4-11 sign, and my hunch is that they will keep using that sign. But the counties have alot of roads with only an occasional cyclist. I would not be surprised to see them resist the R4-11 sign on most of their roads. The yellow sign would give them another option.
So we have that rare case where bureaucratic competition is giving us a better product. Mr. Jackson and SHA staff each would have liked to give us just one sign but the other would not agree to it. So the only way forward is approve both signs and that is better than what either of them wanted.
So what's the holdup? People who attended the last meeting of Maryland's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee say that Michael Jackson is now trying to block the compromise. SHA's Herstein came to the meeting ready to show the MBPAC members both signs, but Mr. Jackson prevented Mr. Herstein from talking about the yellow sign. I have to admit, that does sound like the Michael Jackson I know. He is dedicated, sincere, and persistent. In this case, his persistence brought SHA to the point where it is willing to approve the official R4-11 sign, which is a good thing. But once he makes up his mind, he sometimes refuses to listen and gets too involved in fighting for the details, irregardless if they are a benefit for cyclists or a hindrance... it's like "it's the principle of the thing that maters." even though the premise of that principle is questionable.
At this point, I think that advocates need to ask Michael Jackson to stand down. He won. It's time to stop arguing with SHA, and instead get them to start posting these signs before they change their mind!
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