General: what are the bike laws in san francisco? if any

i am trying to get some info about the bike aws and restrictions if any that are in sanfrancisco. thanks

California Department of Motor Vehicles:

2009 California Vehicle Code

Index: Bicycles, Bicycle Lanes, Bicycle Paths

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition: Resources

Posted By: tyler215the bike aws and restrictions if any that are in sanfrancisco

At the risk of being bitchy about expressions which you probably didn't think through as you were typing:

Yes, sonnyboy, there are laws and restrictions regulating the operation of bicycles on the public highways of the City and County of San Francisco. There are laws and restrictions regulating the operation of bicycles on every public highway in America, and on every public highway on earth. This is because public highways don't belong exclusively to you, or even to all cyclists collectively; they belong to everyone. As such, the states that construct, maintain and improve the highways are charged by the citizenry with the duty to regulate the behavior of vehicles on those highways, in order to ensure the safe movement of persons and goods.

As a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, and as a person who regularly operates a bicycle on the public highways of the City and County of San Francisco, I am glad you have chosen to inform yourself regarding the laws regulating the operation of a vehicle on our city streets. However, I think you might also do well to inform yourself regarding the laws regulating the operation of vehicles in the City and County of Philadelphia, PA, as that is where you currently reside. Your request implies a belief in a land where cyclists roam free, behaving according to impulse with no outside control; no such place exists, and if you believe San Francisco is such a place, you may be equally ignorant of the laws and restrictions in your own community.

A hint: In the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, bicycles are called "pedalcycles".

ok, got you, i understand the laws about philadelphia, i no longer live there and was just curious about the way things ran in sf as far as riding a track bike in the city and if there were penaltys for doing so. thanks for the info i should probly of been more clear.

Posted By: SkidMarkCalifornia Vehicle Code.

My very first link, guy.

OP: The relevant section regarding equipment (the only specific point where track bikes as such are likely to run into equipment issues) is contained in CVC Division 1, Chapter 1, Article 4, Section 21201:

Equipment Requirements

21201. (a) No person shall operate a bicycle on a roadway unless it is equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make one braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
(b) No person shall operate on the highway a bicycle equipped with handlebars so raised that the operator must elevate his hands above the level of his shoulders in order to grasp the normal steering grip area.

(c) No person shall operate upon a highway a bicycle that is of a size that prevents the operator from safely stopping the bicycle, supporting it in an upright position with at least one foot on the ground, and restarting it in a safe manner.

(d) A bicycle operated during darkness upon a highway, a sidewalk where bicycle operation is not prohibited by the local jurisdiction, or a bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, shall be equipped with all of the following:

(1) A lamp emitting a white light that, while the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway, sidewalk, or bikeway in front of the bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle.

(2) A red reflector on the rear that shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle.

(3) A white or yellow reflector on each pedal, shoe, or ankle visible from the front and rear of the bicycle from a distance of 200 feet.

(4) A white or yellow reflector on each side forward of the center of the bicycle, and a white or red reflector on each side to the rear of the center of the bicycle, except that bicycles that are equipped with reflectorized tires on the front and the rear need not be equipped with these side reflectors.

(e) A lamp or lamp combination, emitting a white light, attached to the operator and visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle, may be used in lieu of the lamp required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).

Amended Ch. 723, Stats. 1979. Effective January 1, 1980.
Amended Sec. 1, Ch. 232, Stats. 2007. Effective January 1, 2008.

As near as I can see from other sections of the Code, there is no process for demonstrating that a bicycle can satisfy the requirements of Sec. 21201(a) in the absence of a hand-operated brake. To the best of my knowledge, no state agency is running skid-tests for handbrakeless fixed gear bikes. However, the California law is more lax that many others (OR, WA, MA, IL), in that it does not specify a maximum skidding distance, nor a minimum speed. If you really wanted to be pissy about it, I suppose you could demonstrate skidding at 3 MPH to a cop, and satisfy the letter of the law. I hope you won't try stunts like that.

Having said that, the streets of San Francisco are lousy with track bikes. Whatever their interpretation of the law, the SFPD doesn't seem to think that compelling cyclists to adhere to the law is a high priority unless someone's yelling at them to do so. I hope you will be a law-abiding citizen, and won't trigger such yelling.

If you want to be a member of Team HTO (Habitual Traffic Offender) there is only one rule to follow:

Before you break a traffic law, look for Police!

The law in Oregon used to be worded like the CVC one above, but now it is worded "“A bicycle must be equipped with a brake that enables the operator of the bicycle to stop the bicycle within 15 feet from a speed of 10 miles per hour on dry, level, clean pavement", which doesn't change shit. I can do that on my track bike without the assistance of a handbrake, and finish in a fucking trackstand. The whole bike messenger harassment program they had going in downtown Portland has died down, as the fixed gear fad has died down. The new thing here is portuer and cargo bikes, they have brakes even if they are fixed, most of the time.

I see California still has their "ape-hanger" law, and that tall-bikes are technically illegal, although it doesn't say anything about having to be straddling the bike while you are at a complete stop, holding the bike upright.

speaking of the bay area, i'm from el cerrito, over the summer they put up a mandatory law that all bikers must wear a helmet, first in the country. they were handing out a bunch of tickets down on the bart path one week.

Personally I don’t have a problem with laws if they are reasonable & unbiased. I feel that if I’m playing by the rules, then I should have nothing to worry about.

That said there are a great many things in the world that I just don’t understand with some laws. For instance;

If someone can sue me if they slip on the ice on the public sidewalk in front of my house, why is it that if I skid on ice in the street in my car & crash I can be charged with not driving for conditions?

OR

If I am charged with a moving violation & I decide to take it to court & I lose, I can get stuck paying a fine AND court costs AND have points put on my license.
-But if I win & the court finds that the citation is unfounded, why am I not paid for the cost of my time to deal with the legal matter? Further more, why is the issuing officer not fined for making an unfounded citation AND stuck paying the court costs AS WELL AS having points put on his policing permit?

I know that life isn’t fair, that “the powers that be” have the deck stacked in there favor. I just would like to see equal treatment when it comes to authority matters including bicycle usage. I’d like nothing better than to sell my car, buy a Bakfiets (http://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/_product_77092/Bakfiets_Cargobike_2009) & give “The Man” the finger...