After an incident with a motorist this morning, I reviewed the Nebraska bike laws and thought I would share....
Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,317
Revised Statutes » Chapter 60 » 60-6,317 Print Friendly 60-6,317. Bicycles on roadways and bicycle paths; general rules; regulation by local authority.
(1) Any person who operates a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under conditions then existing shall ride as near to the right-hand curb or right-hand edge of the roadway as practicable except when:
(a) Overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction;
(b) Preparing for a left turn onto a private road or driveway or at an intersection;
(c) Reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or right-hand edge of the roadway, including fixed or moving objects, stopped or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, or surface hazards;
(d) Riding upon a lane of substandard width which is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane; or
(e) Lawfully operating a bicycle on the paved shoulders of a highway included in the state highway system as provided in section 60-6,142.
Any person who operates a bicycle upon a roadway with a posted speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement and which has two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near to the left-hand curb or left-hand edge of the roadway as practicable. Whenever a person operating a bicycle leaves the roadway to ride on the paved shoulder or leaves the paved shoulder to enter the roadway, the person shall clearly signal his or her intention and yield the right-of-way to all other vehicles.
(2) Any person who operates a bicycle upon a highway shall not ride more than single file except on paths or parts of highways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
(3) Except as provided in section 60-6,142, whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a highway, a person operating a bicycle shall use such path and shall not use such highway.
(4) A local authority may by ordinance further regulate the operation of bicycles and may provide for the registration and inspection of bicycles.Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,318
Revised Statutes » Chapter 60 » 60-6,318 Print Friendly 60-6,318. Equipment on bicycles; lights; brakes.
(1) When in use at nighttime, a bicycle shall be equipped with a light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front on a clear night and with a red reflector on the rear of a type which is approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles or a local authority and which is visible on a clear night from all distances between one hundred feet and six hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlights on a motor vehicle. A red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear may be used in addition to such red reflector.
(2) Any bicycle used on a highway shall be equipped with a brake or brakes which will enable the operator to stop the bicycle within twenty-five feet of the point of braking when moving at a speed of ten miles per hour on dry, level, clean pavement.
Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,319
Revised Statutes » Chapter 60 » 60-6,319 Print Friendly 60-6,319. Bicycles; reflective device or material; retail sale; requirements; violation; penalty.
No commercial dealer shall sell or offer to sell at retail any bicycle unless such bicycle is equipped with pedals which display a white or amber reflective device or material on both the front and rear surfaces of the pedal and such reflective surface is visible during the hours of darkness from four hundred feet when viewed from the front or rear under low beam headlights of a motor vehicle under normal atmospheric conditions.
All bicycles shall also be equipped with tires bearing a white or silver retroreflective material on each side or a wide-angle reflector mounted on the spokes of each wheel. Such retroreflective material shall be at least three-sixteenths of an inch wide, shall be affixed as an integral part of the tire or wheel, and shall remain effective for the life of the tire or wheel. The spoke-mounted, wide-angle reflector devices shall have a reflective surface of at least two square inches and shall be clear, amber, or red in color. Both the retroreflective tires and wide-angle spoke reflectors shall be visible during the hours of darkness from four hundred feet when viewed under low beam headlights of a motor vehicle under normal atmospheric conditions when the bicycle is traveling at a ninety degree right angle to the direction of travel of the motor vehicle and is directly in front of such motor vehicle. Such reflective devices shall remain visible when the bicycle is turned forty degrees in either direction from such angle and crosses directly in front of such motor vehicle at a distance of four hundred feet.
No commercial dealer shall sell or offer to sell at retail any bicycle which does not comply with this section. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.
