WPI 70.09 Bicyclists—Statutory Rights and Duties
6 WAPRAC WPI 70.09Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
6 Wash. Prac., Wash. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. WPI 70.09 (7th ed.)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
April 2022 Update
Part VIII. Motor Vehicles
Chapter 70. Motor Vehicles
WPI 70.09 Bicyclists—Statutory Rights and Duties
A person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all the rights of a driver of a motor vehicle and must obey all statutes governing the operation of vehicles except for those statutes that, by their nature, can have no application.
NOTE ON USE
Use with WPI 60.03 (Violation of Statute, Ordinance, Administrative Rule, or Internal Governmental Policy—Evidence of Negligence) when the violation of a statute, ordinance, or administrative rule by a bicyclist is introduced as evidence of the bicyclist's negligence or contributory negligence. Under most circumstances, the question of whether a statute has application to bicyclists will be decided by the court as a matter of law.
Care should be taken with regard to the incident date. See Comment below.
COMMENT
RCW 46.61.755(1) was amended by Laws of 2020, Chapter 66, § 4.
For incidents occurring before October 1, 2020, the statute provides:
- (1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except as to special regulations in RCW 46.61.750 through 46.61.780 and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.
- (2) Every person riding a bicycle upon a sidewalk or crosswalk must be granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to a pedestrian by this chapter.
Effective October 1, 2020, section one (1) of RCW 46.61.755 was amended to add clear reference to another statute, RCW 46.61.100:
- (1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except as to special regulations in RCW 46.61.750 through 46.61.780, except as provided in RCW 46.61.190, and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.
RCW 46.61.755(1).
The reference to RCW 46.61.190 in RCW 46.61.755(1) (italicized above) seems to refer to the following language from RCW 46.61.190(2)(b)(ii) and (iii):
Bicyclists on a roadway are subject to the general traffic laws as well as to additional requirements that are set out in RCW 46.61.750 to.780. Absent a statutory exclusion, RCW 46.61.750 to.780 apply “whenever a bicycle is operated upon any highway or upon any bicycle path.” RCW 46.61.750(2). In Pudmaroff v. Allen, 138 Wn.2d 55, 63, 977 P.2d 574 (1999), the court raised, but did not decide, the question of whether the phrase “bicycle path” as used in RCW 46.61.750(2) refers to bicycle lanes on a roadway or to a bicycle path that is separated from roadways or to multi-use trails.
A minor operating a bicycle is subject to the general traffic regulations. However, a motorist “must exercise a higher degree of care for the safety of a minor using the highway, when the motorist observes the minor in a position of peril.” Johnson v. N. Pac. Ry. Co., 66 Wn.2d 614, 618, 404 P.2d 444 (1965).
A bicyclist in a crosswalk is not subject to general traffic rules and is entitled to the protections of a pedestrian. RCW 46.61.755(2); Pudmaroff, 138 Wn.2d at 60–66; Crawford v. Miller, 18 Wn.App. 151, 566 P.2d 1264 (1977).
[Current as of February 2021.]
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