You may drive a motor vehicle in a bike lane:
- If you drive more slowly than 15 mph.
- No more than 200 feet before making a right turn. ✓
- Whenever bicyclists are not present.
Answer: B. No more than 200 feet before making a right turn.
You may drive in a bike lane only for a limited distance before a right turn: no more than 200 feet before the turn.
Why this is the answer
The California Driver Handbook says bike lanes are for bicyclists only, with specific exceptions. One exception is turning: you may enter a bike lane no more than 200 feet before starting a turn. The right-turn instructions repeat that you can drive in a bike lane within 200 feet from the turn, while also telling you to check blind spots for bicyclists. That makes the 200-foot turning window the rule here, not your speed or whether a bicyclist happens to be visible.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. If you drive more slowly than 15 mph. — Driving slower than 15 mph is not one of the handbook's exceptions; bike lane use is tied to parking where permitted, entering or leaving the road, or turning within the stated distance.
- C. Whenever bicyclists are not present. — The absence of bicyclists does not make bike lane driving legal, because the handbook says bike lanes are for bicyclists only unless a listed exception applies.
Remember it
Remember the turn window: bike lane entry is allowed only in the last 200 feet before a turn, not as a travel lane.