Bicycle Advocacy
"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles" - John Forester
NMTS Policy on Obeying Traffic Laws
The NMTS Board of Directors has promulgated this policy in November 2001
The New Mexico Touring Society encourages and expects its members to obey all state and
municipal traffic laws. The State of New Mexico and the Coty of Albuquerque require bicyclists to
obey all traffic laws that apply to motor vehicles. Also NTS is a member of the League of American
Bicyclists, which advocates that bicyclists obey traffic laws. The Albuquerque Traffic Code Subsection
16.5 states the traffic regulations that apply to persons riding bicycles:A. Operators of bicycles have the same rights a operators of automobiles in the use of streets,
highways, and roadways within the City of Albuquerque, except as otherwise specifically
provided herein.
B. Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be subject to all duties applicable to the
drivers of motor vehicles, except otherwise expressly provided in this article and except which
by their nature can have no applications of this article to which a motorist is subject.
Albuquerque Traffic Ordinances - (City Ordinances Website) - Requires motorists give bicycles 5 ft. clearance (8-3-3-11), ... Arizona Bike Laws - (Arizona State Website)
Arizona and Tucson Bike LawsColorado Bike Laws (2009) - (Colorado State Statutes Website) 2009: Three feet passing law.
Farmington, NM Bike Laws - See the Velo de Animas website. Los Alamos County Ordinances (Ch 38-541) - Requires motorists give cyclists a five foot overtaking clearance (38-545). Helmets required for children (<18). Similar to the state ordinances but more detailed. New Mexico Statutes Covering Bicycles Extracted - (New Mexico State Statutes)
Child Helmet Safety Act (2007)Rio Rancho - Article 8: Operation of Bicycles - Modified 12/2000 to make it more in line with state laws. Contact the City Clerk in Rio Rancho for a copy of the regulations. Utah Bicycle Laws Summary - (Search "State Laws" at the Utah State Search Engine) Universal Vehicle Code, Chapter 11: Part 3 (Bicycles) - Updated 2000. Bicycle Laws in the rest of the U.S - MassBike.
Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico - A new non-profit bicycle advocacy group in NM. BikeABQ - An advocacy group for bicycle commuters and bicyclists of all kinds in Albuquerque. Formerly the Greater Albuquerque Spokes People (GASP) Friends of Otero (FOO) - IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) and MTBAccess affiliated advocacy group started as a result of the battle to keep the Otero Canyon Trail System open and negotiate an alternative fence location with Kirtland AFB. FooMTB developed from the grassroots organization, Friends of Otero. FooMTB's mission is to proactively promote the development of new mountain biking trails, sustain non-motorized use of existing single track trails, and advocate the sport of mountain biking in general. Mesilla Valley Bicycle Coalition - An advocacy group in Las Cruces/Mesilla dedicated to making the Mesilla Valley more Bicycle Friendly thru Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation. Member of the League of American Bicyclists and Charter member of the Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico. Trail Partners - Central NM affiliate of IMBA ( International Mountain Bicycling Association ) that works with local land agencies (US Forest Service, City of Albq., NPS etc.) to preserve and expand NM's trail network for mountain bikers. They host monthly trail projects from March through October each season. Everyone is welcome. If you've been riding in the foothills or east Mountain Area you've riding on trails build and maintained by Trail Partners. They are working with the US Forest Service to design and build replacement trails for those lost in the Otero Canyon area due to DOD boundary fence.
Information available at Two Wheel Drive Bicycle shop, 1706 Central SE Alb. NM 87106 or 243-8443,
e-mail: bicycles@twowheeldrive.com
America Bikes - (Appears defunct) A new national coalition of cylists to mobilize cyclists to contact legislators. Bikes Belong Coalition - Founded by bicycle industry leaders with the mission of "putting more people on bikes more often." Bicycle Colorado*** - Colorado bicycling advocacy in Denver. A major source. BicycleLaw.com - Bicyclelaw.com is a web site that offers bicycling accident advice for cyclists including those injured by motorists, unsafe conditions and defective cycling products. Injured cyclists will find information about what to do after an accident to best protect their rights. Contact information and cycling links of interest are also provided.I You may find informative and sometimes entertaining articles of interest to cyclists. BicyclingInfo.org - A clearinghouse for information about health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement and access and mobility. (Chicago) Bicycle Transportation Alliance - A non-profit bicycle advocacy organization based in Portland, OR. BikeDFW - Bicycle Advocacy in North Texas Chainguard Online *** - A major Bicycle Advocacy Site
Chainguard's List of Advocacy SitesChicago Bicycle Federation Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists - A nonprofit organization devoted to advancing bicycling as a sport and mode of transportation through cooperation with local and state governments. Fantasy Island Conservation Alliance - Alliance to address threats to the proposed Fantasy Island trail system and proposed park located on Arizona State Trust and City of Tucson land. John Allen's Bicycling Research and Information.
Text of the 1974 Kaplan study and other bicycle research. Smart Streets Online. John Forester - Effective Cycling and Highway Issues.
"The Effects of Bikelane System Design on Cyclists' Traffic Errors".League of American Bicyclists (LAB) *** - Bicycle advocacy, events, training, online tips, links to LAB affiliates, news, ...
Bicycle Friendy Community LAB Advocacy and Education "Legally Speaking with Bob Mionske"*** - A weekly legal question / answer article in VeloNews. Scroll down in News to the "Legally Speaking" articles, usually on Thursdays. Interesting opinions on a wide variety of bicycling questions that effect us all by a cycling lawyer. Bob runs BicycleLaw.com. Marin County Bicycle Coalition Ohio Bicycle Federation - Involved in UVC updates.
Updated UVC Steve Selz's conviction for "impeding traffic" and his subsequent victory in an appeal. Safe Routes to Schools Surface Transportation Policy Project - A non-profit organization working to ensure a diversified transportation system emphasizing the needs of people, rather than vehicles. Texas Bicycle Coalition - Led the effort to stop a state law to ban bicycles from rural Texas highways in 2001. Thunderhead Alliance - National Coalition of state and local bicycle advocacy organizations.