Bicycle rules of the road — Minnesota Permit Test

A bicycle rider must ride in the same direction as the flow of traffic, not against it.

Riding against traffic doubles the closing speed and puts the rider where no driver is looking.

Ride in the same direction as the flow of traffic, not against it.

A bicycle rider at a stop sign must slow to a speed that lets them stop before the intersection, and may go on without stopping where no vehicle is near.

The rule keeps the rider in control while acknowledging a bicycle can stop in its own length.

At stop signs, slow to a speed that allows stopping before entering the intersection or crosswalk.

A bicycle rider travels just to the right of faster traffic, moving toward the center of the lane for hazards, passing or a left turn.

Hugging the curb puts a rider in the glass and the grates. Taking the lane is sometimes the safe choice.

Travel just to the right of faster-moving traffic but move toward the center of the lane if there are hazards, when passing another vehicle or when making a left turn.

A bicycle rider signals a left turn by holding the left arm straight out, and a right turn with the left arm bent upward or the right arm straight out.

The rider has no lamps to flash, so the arm is the whole signal.

Signal a right turn by holding your left arm out and bending it upward.

Two bicycle riders may ride next to each other as long as they do not impede traffic and stay within a single lane.

Two abreast in one lane is one obstacle to pass instead of two, as long as the lane is not overflowing.

Two people may ride next to each other as long as you do not impede traffic and stay within a single lane.

A bicycle ridden at night must use legal lights and reflectors, and may have a flashing white front lamp or a flashing red rear lamp.

A bicycle at night is invisible without them, and a flashing lamp is what a driver’s eye catches first.

A bicycle may have a front lamp with a white flashing signal or a rear lamp with a red flashing signal or both.

A bicycle rider on a sidewalk must yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing them.

On a sidewalk the rider is the fast one, so the duty to warn belongs to them.

Yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing them.

A bicycle may not be ridden on a sidewalk in a business district unless local authorities allow it.

Sidewalks in a business district are crowded with people stepping out of doorways.

Do not ride a bicycle on a sidewalk within a business district unless allowed by local authorities.

Which way does a bicycle ride on a Minnesota road?

With the flow of traffic. Riding against traffic doubles the closing speed and puts the rider where no driver is looking. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.48: “Ride in the same direction as the flow of traffic, not against it.”