On a Bicycle
R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-15-18 — passing at a distance that prevents contact if the rider falls, and helmets through age fifteen
A safe distance. A driver passes a cyclist only to the left at a safe distance, meaning far enough that there would be no contact if the cyclist fell into the driver's lane, and returns to the lane once clear.
That distance rule does not apply in a lane beside a marked bike lane, at fifteen miles per hour or less, or when passing on the right of a cyclist turning left.
A cyclist on a roadway rides as near the right side as practicable, unless signs or markings direct otherwise.
Anyone fifteen years of age or younger on a bicycle, skateboard, scooter or skates on a public way, path, park or school property wears a fitted, strapped helmet. Not wearing one is never evidence of negligence in a civil case.
A particular crash is a question for a licensed Rhode Island attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-15-18 — Unsafe passing of a person operating a bicycle; penalty
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-19-6 — Bicycles to right of road
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-19-2.1 — Helmets required on bicycle operators, bicycle passengers, skateboarders, rollerskaters, inline skaters, and scooter riders ages fifteen (15) and younger
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Rhode Island attorney.