Cyclist Rights Defended; Critic Referred to Driver Handbook

In response to “Cyclists Seek Rights Yet Ignore Laws” (Letters, Feb. 2), there is no law in the California Vehicle Code about bicyclists riding single file on a public street. What the California Vehicle Code does say is that “a bicycle is a vehicle and must obey all vehicle laws” and that “a bicycle must be ridden as close to the right-hand side of the road as practical.”

Exceptions to riding as close to the right-hand side of the road as practical are: avoiding road hazards (such as broken glass, gravel, holes, pieces of wood and other debris), parked cars, passing a slower bicyclist.

A bicycle has just as much of a right to be on a public road as a motor vehicle does. What we need are more police patrols to keep inconsiderate, ignorant people off the road until they can learn to share it with law-abiding bicyclists.

S.G. DAVIS, Santa Ana