squirtdad

much safer IMHO to go to the left of the lane..... if there is room to let cars by. otherwise it is legal. just like a car in the lane going forward is legal to block the car behind them that wants to make a right on red.

the dashed strips indicate when it is ok for a car to move into the bike lane to make right hand turn....but don't designate bikes get out of the way

squirtdad

repeat this is unsafe if any thing get to the left side of the lane if you want to let cars by to do the right turn. otherwise you setting yourself up for a right hook

a bike lane is not a right hand turn lane, it is lane that where dotted cars may use to make a right hand turn, if a cyclist is not in the lane waiting to move forward.

it is courtesy to move to left and even wave cars on that it is safe to go, but not a requirement

DiabloScott

Yeah, the better option is to quote the code that shows you're NOT doing something illegal.

CliffordK

Motorcycle in the bike lane?

I was almost hit by one a few months ago trying to sneak down a bike lane while I was pulling in. Fortunately, everyone survived.

FBinNY 

FWIW (probably not much) I think you're too invested in the single option.

I agree that a simple option is to do nothing until the light changes,or move left as per the diagram.

But I can see situations based on the exact shape of the intersection, traffic volume, light timing, or whatever, where one may scootch right a bit (back from the corner) to let a single car through, then retake the (bike) lane.

I try not to limit my options based on rules, but rather look at everything as a situation, and react accordingly.

calamarichris

Nearing an intersection, even a little before the dashed line? You bet. When conditions permit me to do it without endangering or inconveniencing anyone? Absolutely. But nobody thinks it's okay for a motorcyclist to pretend he's a cyclist in the bike lane. Saw one pulled over for doing so last year; let out a Nelson-Muntz "HA-HAA!" when I rode past.

Sorry you had a one negative experience with one of our motorized brethren, but we have a lot more in common with them than we do with automobilists. (Sadly, one of those things is we also have some in our midst who don't take advantage of their superior mobility and smaller profile to make life easier on everyone, and instead choose to abide by the letter of the law in a manner which inconveniences those behind them.)

jimincalif

What @calamarichris posted. Best to get out into the rightmost thru lane and to the left of right turning cars. Avoids right hooks, facilitates traffic flow and keeps drivers from getting mad at cyclists in general.

Easy enough to move left and forward at a stoplight to clear the right turn. Calif vehicle code specifically identifies the right turn as an exception to AFRAP.

CliffordK

I looked back at the Google map. Whew, the stoplights look small in the photo.

But, I see no indications that the white and black cars are in a valid driving lane.

No Turn-Only markings on the pavement.
No Turn-Only Stop Lights
No Turn-Only sign hanging on the stoplight bar.
No Sharrows.

To get fully out of the left traffic lane, the cars have to fully occupy the bike lane, plus also cross the solid white line of the parking lane.

The city could easily have widened the road by about 2 feet, and made a full turn lane to the right side of the bike lane. But, they chose to put in a bus shelter instead. Does it ever rain down there?

Bostic

That's Arguello and Geary in the inner Richmond district, my old stomping grounds growing up. Very busy intersection especially during commute hours. What I always do at a light is just scoot over to the left some (the third orange stripe of the crosswalk from the right in that google street view link) to allow any cars that want to turn right on a red light to do so. If it's a bus or large truck I'll move over a bit more. I always look the driver in the eye and give a friendly wave. Often they will say thank you as they make their turn. This is of course after looking behind me to see who is in that lane. As soon as the light turns green I make my way back into the bike lane. Unless the car waiting behind me is in some mad rush to go 0-60mph in 2 seconds, it's not an issue for them either.

bikingshearer 

I looked at the Google street view and back it away from the intersection a bit. At that point, the street has, from left to right: (1) a left turn lane; (2) a single auto lane for going straight or turning right; (3) a bike lane; and (4) a bus stop. In that situation, I try to keep an eye out (via my glasses mirror - yeah, I'm one of those ) for any car behind that is trying to turn right. If space and safety permit, I will skootch my bike and me to the left to give them room to go to my right to complete their right turn. A minor effort on my part to spread a little good karma and good publicity for the tribe.

If there isn't the space or it is otherwise not safe, I hold my ground. And someone is being a jerk (i.e., honking) I probably would be a little more conservative in my determination of whether it is safe to skootch over.

I also do this if there are two lanes in my direction for going straight.

As for the cop, I call 100% undiluted shenanigans. There is a marked bike lane at that intersection. How can it possibly be improper for a bicyclist to be in a - wait for it - a bike lane? The Vehicle Code section DiabloScott quoted (than you for that, Scott) adds more weight to my conclusion that the cop was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Doesn't mean one should argue with such a cop, though. As one deputy sheriff told a friend, no one ever talked their way out of being taken to jail, but plenty of people talked their way into being taken to jail. Same theory applies here.

bikingshearer 

Wrong year to ask that.

blt

This is all correct.

What makes this intersection confusing, however, is the parking lane combined with the bike lane. Once the bike lane becomes broken, which appears to be well back of the intersection, a car can, and should, come into the lane to turn right. Technically, it probably shouldn't go into the parking lane, but this lane goes all the way to the intersection even if the curb is red at least a little way before the intersection.

A car turning right where there is a broken line bike land should not pass a bike in the broken part of the lane in order to turn right. If a bike going straight gets stopped at the light with a car behind it, the car will have to wait. In that situation, a courteous, friendly, competent cyclist will skootch over to the left if space and safety permit, but if not, the car has to live with it. The cyclist is in the right to stay in the bike lane to go straight.

I have had many times in my life when driving where a CAR at a light stayed towards the middle or even sometimes slightly towards the right side of the lane, preventing me from turning right on red. I can think the driver is being a jerk, but it isn't illegal, and I just have to be patient. A car isn't required to stay as far to the left in its lane as practicable to allow for right turns on red. Courtesy would dictate doing so, but courtesy isn't required by law.

Similarly, courtesy would dictate skootching to the left if space and safety allow, but the law does not require that. The OP was absolutely in the right, and the cop was wrong.

CB HI

Cop is either ignorant or just flat out lied. You were legal. Had you done something else, the cop may have ticketed you.

MrGhrelin

I know that intersection well. Both the cop and the driver were wrong. Having said that, it's not much fun proving your point in court, or being dead right. There a lot of tourists in that area that are unfamiliar with the rules of the road when it comes to bike lanes, and driving etiquette. If that were a right turn lane I would try to stay to the left to give drivers a chance to make a turn. Some will turn, but many won't.

Some cops in San Francisco do have a bias against cyclists (Even though they may not recognize they have a bias).
What gets my goat is how SF cops constantly park their patrol cars in the bike lanes of busy streets forcing all the cyclist into adjacent traffic lanes while they sip their morning coffees (or whatever). Cops, UPS trucks, and the Uber drivers do that allot, and it is dangerous for cyclists.

One last thing, Never assume that a San Francisco driver is actually going to use their turn signal! Ride cautiously when beside a car, keep and eye on their front wheel, and yell LOUD if they transgress. That way if they hit you, you're more likely to have witnesses.

Be careful, have fun, don't get hurt.

Rider51

I know this thread is a little old, but I wanted to comment, as I've been in similar situations elsewhere and two things were not mentioned.

First, now that this has at least somewhat been resolved, that you did nothing illegal, I would suggest you contact the office of Dennis Herrera, who is the San Francisco city attorney, mentioning the incident. Make it short, and factual, nothing more. That you were told this was illegal by a police officer, and upon research, you strongly believe what you were doing is not, and hope the city can help law enforcement be understanding of such laws as they pertain to cyclist's safety. A quick Google search from someone who lives 2,800 miles away (but lived in the Bay Area 30 years ago) showed me that bike safety has been on Herrera's radar in the past.

I would also contact whomever the district supervisor is for the area in question. There are 11 in the city, I'm not sure which one is that area, but I'll bet it can be found quickly. Again, do not make the note long, phone lecture, or confrontational. Just factual. Even a 2 minute phone call can make a difference. We cyclists like to keep each other informed (or complain to each other!), but this is how things get changed among anti-bike bias in law enforcement.

Next, I had an attorney tell me this: The law may be on your side in many car-bike incidents, but you have to know in the front of your mind at all times it's not going to do you a lot of good having the law on your side if you're lying in a mangled heap on the side of the road because of a collision with a car whose driver thought they had the right of way. Ride defensively, and protect yourself at all times. You may be very agile, but you are small, vulnerable and fragile compared to a 2 ton chunk of rolling steel.

fat biker

You did nothing wrong.

We expect that police know the law.
Some do.
Some do not.

Also, Many in law enforcement are professional and courteous.
Some are not.
Some of the ones that are not peg the Jerk-O-Meter off the scale.

Jeff, still fat