Nice photo, Richard. Thanks for using the Creative Commons license!

As far as I know, the interpretation of substandard-width lanes to be 14 feet is specific to Florida. If California law is similar, which I think it is, then the safety reasons should still make it 14 feet. Cops do tend to be clueless on this issue, which is unfortunate. I had a cop in Gainesville, Florida’s most bike-friendly city, harass me about not keeping to the right because I was going around some rutted pavement (on 10 or 11 foot lanes). When I responded that we were allowed to ride around obstacles, she had the audacity to tell me I needed to get on the sidewalk!

It would be best for all parties if the law spelled out 14 feet. Cops and motorists may think it safe to share a narrower lane with bicyclists, but any bicyclist would disagree. For your 11-foot lanes, that doesn’t even meet the normal definition of a standard width lane, 12 feet. It should be straightforward to point out to cops or judges that the California DOT considers 12 feet to be a standard lane width. See the standard for the basic lane width in chapter 3 of their Highway Design Manual.

That police chief needs to be corrected of his misunderstanding of the law.

Even in enlightened California, where I live and cycle, police interpretation of the law often differs from that of cyclists. In Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago, the police chief told cyclists at a recent meeting that they would cite cyclists for impeding traffic if they take the lane on Mission Street, which has 11 foot lanes, and if the cyclist disagrees with that interpretation he invited them to take it to court for the judges to decide.

I don’t know how the system works in Florida, but in many areas traffic cases are heard by municipal judges who frankly don’t generally care about the nuances of roadway engineering and cyclist rights.

Like you, I encourage cyclists to take the lane for their own safety, but it will take some concerted effort to convince motorists and law enforcement that taking the lane is indeed legal.