One of the potential pitfalls for observers trying to interpret the operation of bikeways (or segregated cycle facilities) is that the same legal assumptions do not apply in all environments. For instance, in contrast to most English speaking countries, some European countries, including Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands have defined liability legislation.[1] Thus there is a legal assumption that motorists are automatically considered liable in law for any injuries that occur if they collide with a cyclist.[2] This may hold regardless of any fault on the part of the cyclist and may significantly affect the behaviour of motorists when they encounter cyclists.[3] [4]
Cyclists in some countries are also given separate rules and light phases at traffic signals and cyclist-specific traffic lights. For instance, in Germany and elsewhere at junctions with segregated facilities all the traffic in a given direction (motorists, pedestrians and cyclists) may get a green signal at the same time.[5] Turning motor traffic is obliged to wait for cyclists and pedestrians to clear the junction before proceeding. In this situation all the transport modes get equal green time. In contrast, UK and Irish practice restricts pedestrians to a dedicated signal phase, separate from and usually much shorter than the green phase for motorists (e.g. 6–12 seconds, vs. signal cycle times of up to 120 seconds).[6] [7] If cyclists were to be segregated and treated in a similar manner this would imply a significant reduction in green time for cycle traffic at every junction. In the English city of Cambridge the use of cyclist-specific traffic signals is reported to have resulted in increased delays for cyclists, leading some to ignore the cycle-facilities and stay on the road.[8] A similar example occurred in a Parisian bikepath scheme in 1999. Cyclists faced twice the number of traffic signals as motorised traffic and were expected to wait over one minute to get seven seconds of green time.[9] Conversely, in Copenhagen cyclist-specific traffic signals on a major arterial bike lane have been linked to provide "green waves" for rush hour cycle-traffic, which time the lights so cyclists going an average speed are much more likely to encounter green lights on their trip.[10]
| Marked and reserved | Marked limit, but not reserved | Shared cycle facilities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Motorists are typically excluded from driving or parking, and cyclists might be obligated to use if available. | Motorists allowed to drive or park, cyclists not obligated to use. | No lane marked, typically a painted symbol or sign with legal access for cyclists and motorists | |||
| Austria[11] | Radfahrstreifen ("cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "obligatory cycleway" | Mehrzweckstreifen ("multi-purpose lane", similar to shoulder) | ||||
| Belgium[12] [13] | fietspad (Flemish) = piste cyclable (French), no distinction from cycletrack in Belgian legal terminology, marked by dashed lines on both sides | fietssuggestiestrook= bande cyclable suggérée (suggested cycle lane), coloured ground (but never in red) with pictograms | sharrows on a shared lane | |||
| Canada[14] | The use of bikelanes is not obligatory for cyclists in any Provinces.[15] [16] | shared lanes, car lanes with shared lane markings ("sharrows"). | ||||
| Czech Republic[17] | vyhrazený (cyklistický) jízdní pruh or "reserved (cycle-) lane", limited by a continuous line, signed "cycletrack" | cyklistický jízdní pruh = "cycle lane", limited by a dashed line, simple bicycle pictograms | files of shared lane markings are called piktogramový koridor or cyklopiktokoridor, they have sharrows and no marked border | |||
| France[18] | bande cyclable obligatoire ("obligatory cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "obligatory cycleway". bande cyclable conseillée et réservée (recommended & reserved cycle lane), non-oblligatory, dashed line, sign "facultative cycleway", pictograms like on shared lanes | voies partagées (shared lanes) with shared lane markings. | ||||
| Germany[19] [20] | Radfahrstreifen ("cycle lane"), continuous line, traffic sign "(obligatory) cycleway" | Schutzstreifen ("protective lane"), dashed line and simple bicycle pictograms: Normally cars have to keep left, cyclists right of the border, but for certain reasons it may be traversed, mutually. | The traffic laws provide shared use only in bus lanes, but do not forbid shared lane markings in ordinary lanes;[21] simple bike pictograms | |||
| Italy[22] | corsia ciclabile (cycle path) | |||||
| Netherlands[23] [24] | fietsstrook met doorgetrokken streep, "bicycle lane with continuous line". Fietsstrook met onderbroken streep, "bicycle lane with dashed line", also obligagtory for cyclists but shared by motorists | fietssuggestiestrook ("suggested cycle lane"), no obligation nor reservation, no bicycle pictograms, red ground (and mostly a dashed line) or distinctive texture | ||||
| Poland[25] [26] | pas rowerowy | |||||
| Switzerland[27] | Radstreifen, colloquially Velostreifen (both mean "cycle lane"), limited by yellow continuous lines (only exceptional) | Radstreifen, colloquially Velostreifen (both mean "cycle lane"), limited by yellow dashed lines | rare use because disapproved by federal law | |||
| United Kingdom[28] [29] [30] | mandatory cycle lane, reserved but not obligatory, limited by a continuous line | Advisory cycle lane, not reserved, limited by a dashed line | ||||
| United States[31] | In all states the use of bikelanes is not obligatory for cyclists. | Dashed cycle lanes still only have an "experimental" status. In contrast to shared lanes, the equality of rights for cyclists here is limited to a lane-in-lane.[32] | shared lanes, car lanes with shared lane markings ("sharrows") |
Cycle tracks typically exclude all motorized vehicles for most countries. Some exceptions are made, such as in the Netherlands, for light motorbikes. Some jurisdictions require cyclists to use cycle tracks if present (obligatory cycle tracks) or allow cyclists to either use the cycle track or a parallel roadway (facilitative cycle tracks).
A number of European countries, including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, apply a strict liability towards cyclists, protecting them.[45] For example, in the Netherlands, the law assumes the stronger participant (e.g. a car driver) is liable in the case of an accident with a weaker participant (e.g. a cyclist) unless it can be proved that the cyclist's behavior could not have been expected.