Bicyclists — Colorado Permit Test

People on bikes have many of the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as motorists and are generally required to follow the same rules of the road.

Treating a rider as traffic makes both of you predictable to each other. Treating them as an obstacle is what produces the sudden move.

People on bikes have many of the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as motorists

When passing bicyclists, including those in a bike lane, motorists must give a minimum of three feet from the outermost part of their vehicle or any attachments.

Three feet is the room a rider needs to swerve round a grate or a pothole without meeting your mirror. Mirrors and trailers count as part of the car.

When passing bicyclists, including those in a bike lane, motorists are required to give a minimum of three feet from the outermost part of their vehicle or any attachments.

It is legal to cross a double yellow line with no oncoming traffic if necessary to provide a minimum of three feet of passing distance to a bicyclist.

Colorado would rather you cross the line briefly than squeeze past. The condition is that the oncoming lane is genuinely empty.

It is legal to cross a double yellow line with no oncoming traffic if necessary to provide a minimum of three feet of passing distance

If you are unable to give a bicyclist three feet, slow down and remain behind them until it is safe to pass.

Waiting behind a rider costs you a handful of seconds. Passing too close is the maneuver that puts them in the hospital.

If you are unable to give three feet, slow down and remain behind the bicyclist until it is safe to pass

Bicyclists should ride as far to the right as judged safe, but may ride in the center of the travel lane to increase their visibility and safety, on narrow roads, or to avoid obstacles such as the door zone of parked cars, broken glass or drainage grates.

A rider in the middle of the lane is usually avoiding something you cannot see from behind. It is a choice about survival, not about holding you up.

Bicyclists may choose to ride in the center of the travel lane on narrow roads or to avoid obstacles such as the door zone of parked cars, broken glass or drainage grates.

Bicyclists may ride side-by-side if they are not impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, which can help them be more visible and shortens the time it takes to pass a group.

Two riders abreast take half the length of two in single file, so passing them is one shorter move rather than two long ones.

Bicyclists may ride side-by-side if they are not impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic

People on bikes have the right-of-way in a bike lane, and bike lanes continue through intersections whether or not the paint extends through.

The paint stops where cars cross. The lane does not, and neither does the rider going straight on through it.

People on bikes have the right-of-way in a bike lane, and bike lanes continue through intersections, regardless of whether or not paint extends through the intersection

You may cross a bike lane when turning, entering or leaving another road, driveway or alley.

Crossing it briefly is unavoidable and allowed. Sitting in it forces riders out into the traffic lane, which is the thing the lane exists to prevent.

You may cross a bike lane when turning, entering or leaving another road

Since a law passed in 2022, when an intersection is clear and a bicyclist already has the right-of-way, bicyclists aged 15 and older may treat stop signs as yield signs and stop lights as stop signs.

It surprises drivers who expect a rider to stop dead at a stop sign. Knowing the rule stops it being read as somebody running a light.

A new law was passed in 2022 which states when an intersection is clear and a bicyclist already has the right-of-way, bicyclists ages 15 and older may now treat stop signs as yield signs and treat stop lights as stop signs.

On a multi-lane one-way street a bicyclist can ride on the right or the left side of the roadway.

On a one-way street there is no oncoming traffic, so the left edge is as legitimate as the right. Drivers rarely look for a rider there.

On a multi-lane, one-way street, know that a bicyclist can ride on the right or left side of the roadway

Make right turns from close to the curb and from a conflict zone where one is present, which helps prevent crashes with bicyclists approaching from behind.

A gap between your car and the curb is an invitation a rider will take. Closing it is what stops them being caught by your turn.

Make right turns from close to the curb and from a Conflict Zone when one is present

When parked on the street, check to the sides and rear for bicyclists before opening your door, using the hand closest to the center of the vehicle, a behavior known as the Dutch Reach.

Reaching across with the far hand turns your body toward the window, so you look down the street before the door moves.

Use your hand closest to the center of the vehicle to open your door

Do not turn sharply, slow down or stop abruptly in front of a bicyclist, because a motor vehicle’s brakes are more powerful than a bicycle’s and you could cause a crash.

A rider cannot shed speed the way you can and has nowhere to swerve. Your quick stop becomes their collision with your trunk.

A motor vehicle’s brakes are more powerful than a bicycle’s and you could cause a crash

Be particularly careful around bicyclists when the roadway is wet or covered with debris, because these conditions affect people on bicycles much more than people in vehicles.

Two narrow tires on a wet metal grate have almost nothing to hold on to. A rider will move suddenly to avoid what you would drive over.

These conditions affect people on bicycles much more than people in vehicles

Avoid sounding your horn close to bicyclists unless there is an immediate risk of a crash, because the horn may startle a rider and cause them to crash.

A horn a few feet behind somebody balanced on two wheels does not warn them, it frightens them. They swerve toward the thing you were warning them about.

Avoid sounding your horn close to bicyclists unless there is an immediate risk of a crash.

Before turning right at a red light where it is legal, come to a complete stop and look for bicyclists behind or next to your vehicle.

A rider who was beside your rear wheel a second ago is now in the space your car is about to occupy.

Look for bicyclists behind or next to your vehicle, making a left turn from the opposite side of the street or traveling in the lane with which you plan to merge

Bicyclists are required to use hand signals when turning and stopping, but may be unable to signal if their skill level or the road or traffic conditions require both hands on the handlebars.

No signal does not mean no turn. Watching for a rider turning their head is often the only clue you get.

Look for other clues of a bicyclist’s intent, such as turning their head or looking over their shoulder before changing lane position

For a right turn a bicyclist extends the right arm straight out or the left arm upward at a right angle, for a left turn extends the left arm directly out, and for slowing or stopping drops the left arm down at the elbow.

The signals are made with whichever arm is free, so a right turn can be signaled two ways. Knowing both stops you reading one as a left.

If slowing or stopping, drop the left arm down at the elbow

Although bicyclists are required to ride in the same direction as motor vehicles, look for them riding anywhere on the roadway.

The rule says one thing and the street does another. Looking only where they are supposed to be is how a driver misses one.

Although bicyclists are required to ride in the same direction as motor vehicles, look for them riding anywhere on the roadway

How does Colorado treat people riding bicycles on the road?

As road users with rights and duties like drivers. Treating a rider as traffic makes both of you predictable to each other. Treating them as an obstacle is what produces the sudden move. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.22: “People on bikes have many of the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as motorists”