Road Rules for Kelly Country Classic Cyclists

The Golden Rule: Courtesy and Safety Always. When driving any vehicle whether car, truck, or bicycle the golden rule is to treat other road users with respect and courtesy. All road users should drive or ride safely and obey the traffic rules at all times.

The Basic Rules

Bicycles are vehicles, and are therefore required to comply with the same traffic laws as motorists.

The road rules apply to roads and road-related areas such as shared paths.

Cyclists must:

Obey all traffic signals and signs
Ride as near as practicable to the far left side of the road. Bicycle Victoria suggests riding a metre out from kerbside obstructions such as parked cars or the kerb itself.
Have at least one effective brake and a warning device such as a bell on their bikes.
Ride the bike facing forward with at least one hand on the handlebars
Wear an approved bicycle helmet securely fitted.
Have lights and reflectors for riding at night or in low-visibility conditions. Rear lights must be red and front lights white. Both lights must be visible for at least 200m and can be flashing or steady. Bikes must also have a rear reflector visible at 50m.
Use a hand signal when turning right.
Not ride more than two abreast on a road unless overtaking other riders. When riding two abreast riders must be no more than 1.5m apart.
Not ride within 2m of the rear of a moving vehicle for more than 200m or hold onto a moving vehicle.

Other Rules

Other rules that relate to cyclists include:

Overtaking to the left. Unlike other vehicles, cyclists may pass to the left of a vehicle unless it is turning left and signalling left.
Hook turns. Cyclists may make a hook turn at any intersection unless signs specifically prohibit it
Riding in emergency stopping lanes. Cyclists may ride in emergency stopping lanes unless signs specifically prohibit it.
Riding on freeways. Cyclists may ride on a freeway unless signs specifically prohibit it.
Edge lines. Cyclists may ride to the left of a continuous white edge line.
Roundabouts. Cyclists may make a right turn at a multi-lane roundabout from either the left lane or the right lane. If choosing to make the turn from the left lane, cyclists must give way to vehicles crossing their path to leave the roundabout.
Towing children in bicycle trailers. Cyclists 16 or older may tow someone in a proper bike trailer provided the person is under 10 and wearing a helmet.

Drinking and Riding

There is an offence in the Summary Offences Act, 1966, of being drunk in charge of a carriage, and the definition of carriage can be extended to include bicycle.

Please Note: The above rules are extracted from the Bicycle Victoria website and are mainly applicable to the KCC Ride