When I go to make a right turn, cyclists pass me on the right. Is that legal?

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If bicycles are vehicles under the law, why is it okay for them to pass a car to the right at a green light after the car has signalled its intention to turn right? Do drivers turning right really have to yield to cyclists going straight through the intersection on the driver’s right? Shouldn’t cyclists be required to yield to right-turning drivers who may be making a right turn across their path? I wouldn’t care so much except for the likelihood that the driver would probably be considered at fault in the event of an accident. I presume the aggressive cyclist’s mother might also care – but for different reasons. - Karen, Toronto

When there’s no bike lane, the law says it’s wrong for cyclists to pass right-turning vehicles on the right. But when there is a bike lane, it can get complicated, a legal expert said.

“It depends on the infrastructure design,” Patrick Brown, a Toronto-based lawyer who specializes in cycling-related cases, said in an email. “This issue has been at times confusing to both cyclists and drivers and can have extremely dangerous consequences for the cyclist.

Let’s back up and look at what’s supposed to happen when there is no bike lane.

In that case, the car turning right should – after shoulder checking to the right to make sure it’s clear – get as close to the curb as possible, said Constable Sean Shapiro with the traffic services division of the Toronto Police Service.

“[Cyclists] are not supposed to pass you on the right at that point, but you should be as close to the curb as possible to prevent that from happening,” Shapiro said. “And they should be passing you on the left if they need to pass you, or they can also wait behind you.”

If you’re close to the curb, the cyclist won’t have enough room to get past you. If they try to squeeze past, they could face careless driving charges, Shapiro said.

Toronto police didn’t immediately respond to questions about the number of cyclists who have been charged with this.

Similarly, if they were to ride their bike on the sidewalk to get around you and ride across in the crosswalk – in Toronto and many other cities – that’s also illegal.

‘Confusing for all parties’

When there is a bike lane, a cyclist may or may not have priority over right-turning vehicles. It mainly depends on the type of bike lane and the lines on the pavement, Shapiro said.

“They’re all very different. The only thing that you can guarantee is that there are no two intersections that are perfectly the same,” Shapiro said. “So it’s very confusing for all parties – for cyclists and motorists – when they’re approaching these intersections.”

Let’s try to make some sense of it.

In Toronto, there are two main types of bike lanes: painted bike lanes and protected bike lanes (also known as cycle tracks). Painted bike lanes are exactly what they sound like – there’s a painted line instead of a physical barrier. Protected bike lanes have a physical barrier between cyclists and traffic – these can include planters, plastic bollards and cement walls.

In painted bike lanes, the solid white line – which indicates that cars are not supposed to cross it – usually changes to a dotted line before an intersection. That dotted line means that cars are allowed to cross into the bike lane to turn right.

When there’s a dotted line, a driver wanting to make a right turn should make sure there are no bikes coming from behind them on their right. Then they should signal and move into the bike lane until they are a metre from the curb, said Angelo DiCicco, general manager with the Ontario Safety League, a Mississauga-based non-profit focusing on driver education.

“Many people would be surprised that I’m saying to move [to within] a metre from the curb and take that space away from the cyclist,” DiCicco said. “Well yeah, because you’re making a right-hand turn and that’s actually the proper positioning for a right-hand turn.”

When you move over far enough, the cyclist will need to pass you on your left or wait behind you for you to finish your turn, DiCicco said.

If you’re signalling and moving into that lane, cyclists behind you shouldn’t be speeding up to pass you before you make your move, Toronto police’s Shapiro said.

“If you’re going to be making a right turn across a live lane, which is what a bicycle lane is, you have to make efforts to be careful and yield to that traffic,” Shapiro said. “But cyclists also have a responsibility to adjust their speed. If they need to pass the vehicle, they can do so to the left or they can stop and wait. If you [as a driver] can clearly and safely make your right turn, then you should.”

While some protected bike lanes have that dotted line, others have a solid painted line right up to the intersection. If there’s a solid line, then the driver must stay out of it and cyclists can pass you on the right in their designated lane, Shapiro said.

Who’s at fault?

Generally, if a driver turning right hits a cyclist going straight, the driver is usually considered at fault because they made an unsafe right turn, Shapiro said.

“It is complex because the vehicle turning is going to be responsible, but there has to be a level of responsibility and reasonableness from all people involved,” Shapiro said.

Brown said there are cases where cyclists have died because drivers crossed a solid line into a bike lane to make a right turn.

“Although the cyclist had the legal right of way, they lost their life,” Brown said, adding that cities need to educate drivers on how to deal with bike lanes. “Cyclists who ride in the city are generally on guard for those who disobey the rules. Right and left hooks happen regularly and [cyclists] need to be on constant guard in certain areas.”

Have a driving question? Send it to globedrive@globeandmail.com and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.

Have a driving question? Send it to globedrive@globeandmail.com and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.