Of course the rules of the road, including the duty to use due care, apply to the operators of bicycles. Some Baltimore personal injury lawyers will tell you that is has come as a surprise to some of their clients that a bicyclist has all the rights of a motorist. [Note: bicyclist cannot operate on as highway with a speed limit of greater than 50 mph, and, if there is a separate bike lane, the bicyclist must use it]. There are some exceptions to that general rule. A bicyclist traveling at less than the speed of traffic must stay as far to the right as possible, unless passing or making a left turn, the street is one-way, the right lane is a turn only lane or too narrow for two vehicles, or the lane is otherwise blocked. Experienced Baltimorepersonal injury lawyers know that at least one case has determined that a bicyclist failing to stay to the right, who is injured by a motorist, has no claim on contributory negligence principles. Longie v. Exline, 659 F.Supp. 177 (D. Md., 1987).
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