The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled this week that bicyclers riding on state highways are not always required to pull off the road to get out of the way of faster traffic.

According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website, Pennsylvania’s Vehicle Code considers “pedalcycles” as vehicles and “provides that every person riding a pedalcycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and responsibilities applicable to a driver of a vehicle, with certain exceptions.”

The law requires slow-going motor vehicles to pull off the road but cyclists’ obligations are dependent on circumstances, including the road and shoulder conditions, traffic situation, posted speed limits, time of day and other factors.

According to Justice Kevin Dougherty, cyclists can use their judgment to make “reasonable efforts” to avoid impeding the flow of traffic.

“In some cases, the circumstances might require a pedalcyclist to temporarily but completely exit the roadway to allow traffic to pass. In others, it may not be safe or reasonable to expect a pedalcyclist to do so, or at least not right away. And in others still, a pedalcyclist may only need to move to the right side of the lane to comply with (the traffic code),” Dougherty wrote for the majority in the 5-2 decision.

The case centered around Brendan Linton of Butler County, who fought a $25 ticket he received in July 2021 after a state trooper was unable to pass him and pulled him over as a result. The trooper charged Linton with disorderly conduct for creating a hazardous condition.

Linton appealed the charges to Butler County Common Pleas Court, then to Superior Court, then to the state Supreme Court which sent the case back to Superior Court for the judges to determine whether Linton was “unreasonable” for not moving off the road, according to the Pittsburgh Union Progress.

“On the one hand, it grants pedalcyclists a right to operate on any highway at a safe and reasonable speed for the pedalcycle,” Dougherty wrote. “On the other, it imposes a duty on pedalcycle operators to use reasonable efforts so as not to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. We hold this duty may, under certain circumstances, require the pedalcycle operator to leave the roadway to allow faster moving vehicles to pass. However, it does not mandate a pedalcycle must always and immediately vacate the roadway for other vehicles.”

“A ruling in favor of upholding the ticket would have had broad unintended consequences and would have affected bicycling across the state, as well as the work that BikePGH does,” BikePGH said in a statement on its website. “Changing the long-established position would have set a dangerous precedent for Pennsylvania bicyclists.”

The decision can be found below:

Photo: pawilds.com