Originally Posted by
daihard
Sharrows can give people on bike a false sene of safety, though. I know quite a few people, including my own wife, who were led to believe they are legally allowed to ride on roads marked with sharrows and not on roads without, which, at least in WA, is untrue.
A serious question: where might this come from? I don't know of any reputable source of information that supports this viewpoint. Knowing why people might think this could be useful in addressing (mis)understanding of this and other traffic control devices.
This being said, I know that devices such as markings and signs can be misunderstood, even by people in positions of authority. For example, in 1998 the city of Phoenix installed non-standard white on green "share the road" signs depicting a motor vehicle and bicycle side by side. Over a decade later, I was stopped by a police officer who said I was riding illegally in the lane because an official sign (not even on that road) showed I was required to ride at the far right at all times. Fortunately, after a brief discussion of ARS 28-815.A.4 (far right exceptions) and 28-735 (passing offset) he saw the law was different, and even waved when he'd see me in the lane in future encounters. And the city stopped installing the problematic signs two decades ago, but alas several are still in place.