[*BCM*] Special rights?

[Schimek, Paul]

Actually the one chapter of Mass. General Laws solely about traffic
rules is Ch. 89, The Law of the Road. You won't see the word "bicycle"
in this section -- but you won't see the words "motor vehicle" either,
because the chapter was originally written in the 19th century. It talks
about "vehicle," which, as the annotated version (with court decisions)
makes clear, includes carriages, bicycles, and, eventually, motor
vehicles. There are some older traffic rules stuck in Ch. 85, Ways and
Bridges, which is also where bicycles can be found. Ch. 90, Motor
Vehicles & Aircraft, includes mostly rules specific to motor vehicles
(and aircraft) but also, confusingly, some general rules of the road
(such as turns and signaling).
See http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/gl-89-toc.htm


Also, "CMR" is "Code of Massachusetts Regulations," -- all the
regulations issued by the various agencies of the state. Some but not
all of it is available on the web:
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/cmr.html

The relevant ones (720 Highways & 350 MDC/DCR) are NOT on the web. I
hope to put them on the new MassBike website soon.

Paul Schimek