Signs, signals and pavement markings
You see a shared roadway bicycle marking painted in your travel lane. What does it tell you?
- Bicyclists can occupy the lane, so expect to share it with them. Correct answer
- The lane is for bicyclists only, and cars must stay out of it.
- Bicyclists must keep to the right edge so that cars can pass.
Why
Shared roadway bicycle markings go on streets where bicycles and cars use the same lane. They do two jobs: they warn drivers that a bicyclist may take up the lane, and they help bicyclists hold a safe position within it. Nothing in the marking tells riders to squeeze against the edge; its message is closer to the opposite. A lane reserved for bicyclists is a bicycle lane, a separate space that runs alongside traffic, typically marked with a single solid white line and signs and sometimes painted bright green. Bike routes use the same shared markings, together with route signs, to point bicyclists to a preferred street they still share with vehicles. When you pass a bicyclist, keep at least three feet between your car and the rider.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Bicyclists can occupy the lane, so expect to share it with them.
The rule behind this one
California road signs, signals and pavement markings goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on signs, signals and pavement markings
- Looking only at the pavement, how can you recognize a carpool (HOV) lane?
- In the middle of a two-way street, a lane is bordered on each side by a broken line on the inside and a solid line on the outside. What may you use it for?
- A green arrow lets you make a protected turn. What makes the turn protected?
- A pedestrian signal at a crosswalk shows a number that keeps going down. What do the numbers mean?