Nevada’s New Traffic Law Affects Litigation Involving Personal Injury Lawyers and Vehicles Using Right Turn Lane
Starting July 1, 2009, Nevada has defined the rule of the road pertaining to using the right turn travel lane, aka the storage lane/bike lane; The new law as promoted by the las vegas metropolitan police department. The new law requires that the solid white line be respected and not crossed during travel. Moreover, the distance you are allowed to travel in the bike lane is no more than 200 feet before a turn is made. For more details please see: Traffic Law Concerning the Crossing of Solid White Lines.
The goal of this law is to clarify the discrepancies involved in the current state of motorcycle lane cases in Nevada. Thousands of accidents occur in Nevada and the Courts are confused in how to adjudicate because the old law was confusing. Due to the congestion of traffic, cars are often allowed to cross lines of traffic, and are given the right of way. This yielding allows the vehicle to travel across lanes of traffic when the traffic is stopped. Problems arise when the cycle lane is used as a passing lane and an accident occurs when the crossing car impacts the bike lane vehicle. Police look to see whether the motor bike lane vehicle was using the the bike lane as a passing lane, or whether they were actually traveling within 200 feet of a right turn. This new law now affects the crossing traffic–you are not allowed to cross the white line. The good thing about this law, is that it will simplify the litigation surrounding the bike lane cases currently congesting our court system.
