Bike passengers, an update on the rules
You read in “Passenger is the new cargo” about how carrying a passenger is the hot new bike accessory.
Someone in Portland received a citation (back in 2007) for carrying a passenger. And he retained a lawyer to fight it.
The Oregon Revised Statute (814.460) seems more detailed than the Chicago Municipal Code (9-52-090), but carrying a passenger is a-okay.
Sort of: according to the defendant’s lawyer, it will be easiest to win a case if the bicycle was advertised as being able to carry a passenger (like Yuba Mundo, XtraCycle, JoeBike, Madsen, and pretty much every Dutch bike).
Read the full story on BikePortland.org.
Check out the Illinois Compiled Statute on the matter (11-15-1503):
(a) A person propelling a bicycle shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto. (b) No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped, except that an adult rider may carry a child securely attached to his person in a back pack or sling [emphasis added].
I wonder what the motivation was behind adding the language in bold.
Not busy? Check out Marc’s 700+ photos of passengers on bikes in the Netherlands.
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2472/4023419515_0b72e3d5ba_m.jpg "WIth the extreme number of people I witnessed tresspassing on the tracks here, several coming within seconds of getting hit by a train I fail to understand why this is a "quiet zone" with no whistles required from passing trains!")
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4168218540_522ef85b96_m.jpg "I'm stopped. I don't know which direction the bus will turn, either right or go straight. I sort of know when the light is going to change, but what if I don't make it to a position ahead of the bus before the light changes?
Best solution: Yield.
This is an example of how bicyclists can and sometimes do put themselves in dangerous positions. See more situations like this in Chicago's educational video "<a href=\"http://chicagobikes.org/video/?loadVideo=buses_and_bicycles\" rel=\"nofollow\">Share the Road - Buses and Bicycles</a>."")
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4168217628_5598d1a6b3_m.jpg "I followed behind this bicyclist because I believed they would present me an opportunity to photograph a dangerous behavior or action.
This bicyclist stopped ahead of the stop bar and the crosswalk. A bus drove through the intersection. I don't remember if the bus honked, or if the bicyclist had to back up, but one of the two happened - fortunately, no collision occurred. Bicyclists are required to follow the same rules of the road as everyone else - staying behind the stop bar is the legal position.
This is an example of how bicyclists put themselves in dangerous positions. See more situations like this in Chicago's educational video "<a href=\"http://chicagobikes.org/video/?loadVideo=buses_and_bicycles\" rel=\"nofollow\">Share the Road - Buses and Bicycles</a>."
<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/4488966558/in/set-72157622833407483/\">See a similar situation</a>.")
