Right-Turn-Only Lane, Solid White Line, and a Closing Cyclist
It is 4:45 p.m. on a weekday and you are northbound on a six-lane arterial in Omaha approaching a signalized intersection. You are in the right lane, which for the last 200 feet has been marked with a white right-turn arrow and the word ONLY; a solid white line separates it from the through lane on your left. A bike lane runs along the right curb and continues through the intersection. You had intended to go straight. Traffic is heavy, a car is close behind you, a cyclist about 40 feet back in the bike lane is closing on you, the signal is red, no NO TURN ON RED sign is posted for your direction, and the crosswalk is empty.
1. You wanted to go straight. Can you cross the solid white line and move into the through lane at this point?
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No. Two separate markings make that maneuver wrong. The white right-turn arrow with the ONLY legend is regulatory: from that lane the only permitted movement is a right turn. The solid white line is the other half of the message - solid white at an intersection approach marks a boundary you should not cross, because that is exactly where drivers are sorting into turn and through lanes and a late swerve is least expected.
So the situation has already resolved itself: you are committed to the right turn. Make the turn legally and then reroute - a right turn followed by a right turn into a parking lot or side street, or a programmed U-turn further along, costs a minute. Forcing a lane change across the solid line into heavy through traffic costs far more if the car behind you or the car beside you is already there.
The general principle is that lane assignment at an intersection is decided hundreds of feet upstream; the markings near the light are the enforcement of a decision you were supposed to make earlier.
2. You decide to turn right on red. Walk through the sequence, including the cyclist.
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Right on red is permitted in Nebraska after a full stop unless a sign prohibits it, so the posted absence of NO TURN ON RED matters.
- Come to a complete stop at the stop bar. Do not roll into or over the crosswalk; a rolling stop is the most commonly cited version of this violation.
- Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to the cyclist. The cyclist traveling straight in the bike lane is through traffic and has the right of way over your turning path; a right turn across a bike lane is one of the classic collision patterns.
- Look left for cross traffic, then left again, and check your right mirror and blind spot once more for anyone coming up the bike lane as you begin to move.
- Turn into the nearest lane, keeping the turn tight, and do not swing wide.
If the cyclist's speed or line makes the gap uncertain, hold the stop. You lose a few seconds; he loses nothing.
3. Does the bike lane give you any claim as a turning vehicle, and how early should you position for the turn?
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No. A bike lane is a travel lane for bicycles; it gives a turning driver no priority and no reserved space. The turning vehicle yields to through traffic in the lane it is crossing, and that includes bicycles.
Positioning: signal well before the corner, check the right mirror and blind spot, and do not merge into the bike lane early to use it as a staging area. Move right only as you actually begin the turn, and only after confirming no cyclist is coming up your right side. Turning across a cyclist who is already alongside is the failure mode known as a right hook, and it happens because the driver checked once, thirty seconds ago, and then turned on that stale information.
Also do not use the bike lane to widen your turn or to get around a car waiting at the light; that is both a lane violation and a way to arrive in a cyclist's path with no warning.