On a whim, I decided to flip through the Missouri Driver's Manual today and was surprised to find a contradiction between the instructions given to drivers and the instructions given to cyclists.
Page 61 (conveniently located right on the center staples of the physical version of the book) tells motorists, "When you are passing, give bicycles and mopeds a full lane width. Do not squeeze past these road users." Further down the page, the instructions given to cyclists are "When operating at less than the posted speed of traffic flow, generally ride as near to the right of the roadway as safe." It goes on to say, "You may have to move more toward the middle or left lane or roadway as appropriate: when the lane is too narrow to share with another vehicle."
Now, I have to ask myself, "Why are cyclists supposed to ride to the right of the lane if motorists aren't going to be passing us in that same lane? And what's this business about being appropriate to ride to the left if the lane is too narrow to share with another vehicle when that's precisely what other vehicles are supposed to avoid?
It's no wonder that Columbia can't figure out how to build a decent bike lane. The state guidelines on road usage that the city planners are building from are rather confused themselves.
