A 3-minute lesson from the Delaware course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Cyclists may legally use every Delaware road except limited access highways, and the Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act gives them specific protections. Many car-bike crashes happen because the driver never saw the cyclist.
The Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act:
Drivers must change lanes to pass a bicycle when the lane is too narrow to share—even across a double yellow
Drivers must give bicyclists at least three feet when passing
Drivers may not honk at bicyclists unless there's imminent danger
Bicyclists should ride to the right as far as their safety allows
Bicyclists may yield at stop signs (instead of stopping) after carefully looking for traffic
In an unusually wide lane with room for both side by side, you may pass without changing lanes—but you must slow down and keep at least three feet of clearance.
After passing, leave plenty of room before moving back right—the cyclist may be faster than you think. Never pass a cyclist only to turn right in front of them. When in doubt, wait.
Take hazards one at a time: if a car is coming toward you while you're overtaking a bicycle, slow down and let the car pass first so you can give the bicycle extra room.
At higher speeds, the air pressure from a vehicle passing too closely—especially a truck or bus—can cause a cyclist to crash. Bicycles are also harder to see at night.
A marked area at the head of a traffic lane at intersections where cyclists wait ahead of traffic—more visible, fewer 'right-hook' conflicts with turning cars, less crosswalk encroachment.
A shared lane marking helps cyclists position themselves, encourages safe passing, reduces wrong-way riding, and reminds everyone the lane is legally shared.
On a narrow two-lane road you come up behind a cyclist. There's a double yellow line but no oncoming traffic. Delaware law lets—and requires—you to move fully into the other lane to pass, then leave plenty of room before returning.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Under the Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act, motorists passing a cyclist must leave a minimum clearance of
1 foot
3 feet
2 feet
5 feet
Answer: 3 feet
Motorists must give bicyclists at least three feet of clearance when passing.