Bike Law Pocket Guide - Statute Source Audit
Date: 2026-09-18
This report summarizes a full audit of the statute citations that back the state-by-state bicycle-law information in the Bike Law Pocket Guide app. Every citation in the app — 561 in total, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 11 legal topics — has a link to the text of the law, and each link was classified by who publishes it. Every link was checked with an automated check; some government sites block automated requests, so those particular links could not be confirmed that way. The 55 citations changed in this review, described below, were each opened individually and the cited section was confirmed to appear on the page. 498 of the 561 citations (88.8%) link directly to a government-published source; the remaining 63 (11.2%) link to a reputable free legal-publishing site because the state itself publishes no free, linkable text of the law in question. Of the 55 changed citations, 53 were moved from a non-government publisher to the state's own official source, and 2 were moved from an insecure to a secure connection on the same official page. The sections below describe the method, the standard used to judge a source, the resulting numbers, and a complete list of the citations that still point to a non-government source, with the reason for each.
Scope and method
The app covers all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and for each jurisdiction it makes claims about 11 bicycle-related legal topics: far-right riding position, riding two abreast, single-file requirements, safe passing distance, mandatory helmet use, mandatory bike lane use, sidewalk riding, whether general impeding-traffic laws apply to bicycles, whether a cyclist may treat a stop sign as a yield sign, electric-bicycle restrictions, and contributory or comparative negligence rules that apply after a crash. That is 51 jurisdictions times 11 topics, for 561 citations.
Every one of the 561 citations has a link to the underlying legal text, and every link was classified by who actually publishes the page it points to — the state government itself, or a third-party legal-publishing site. Links were checked with an automated check; some government sites block automated requests, and those particular links could not be confirmed that way. Where a citation was moved to a new source during this review, the new page was instead opened individually, and the specific section or case cited in the app was confirmed to actually appear on it, not just that the page loaded.
Source standard
A citation is counted as an official government source when it links to a .gov domain, or to a state government .us domain (for example, a state legislature's own statutes site). One additional site is treated as an official source even though its domain is .com: New Mexico's statutes are compiled and published by the New Mexico Compilation Commission, a state agency, at nmonesource.com, which is the only text New Mexico's own government produces.
Where a state provides no free, linkable official text for a given law — for example, because the state's code is published only through a paid commercial vendor — the citation instead links to a reputable free legal-publishing site, and the reason is documented for every such case (see "Remaining non-government links" below).
Results
- Citations missing a link entirely: 0 of 561. (Automated checks could not confirm every link — some government sites block automated requests — but every citation in the dataset carries a link.)
- Citations linked to an official government source: 498 of 561 (88.8%).
- Citations linked to a non-government publisher: 63 of 561 (11.2%), broken down by publisher below.
Non-government publishers
| Publisher | Citations |
|---|---|
| Justia (law.justia.com) | 52 |
| Public.Law (colorado.public.law) | 11 |
Citations by jurisdiction
Every jurisdiction has 11 citations, one per topic. The table below shows how many of each jurisdiction's 11 citations link to an official government source versus a non-government publisher.
| State | Official | Non-government |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 10 | 1 |
| Alaska | 11 | 0 |
| Arizona | 11 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 11 |
| California | 10 | 1 |
| Colorado | 0 | 11 |
| Connecticut | 11 | 0 |
| Delaware | 11 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 11 | 0 |
| Florida | 11 | 0 |
| Georgia | 0 | 11 |
| Hawaii | 11 | 0 |
| Idaho | 11 | 0 |
| Illinois | 11 | 0 |
| Indiana | 11 | 0 |
| Iowa | 11 | 0 |
| Kansas | 11 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 10 | 1 |
| Louisiana | 11 | 0 |
| Maine | 11 | 0 |
| Maryland | 11 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 11 | 0 |
| Michigan | 11 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 11 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 11 |
| Missouri | 10 | 1 |
| Montana | 11 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 11 | 0 |
| Nevada | 11 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 11 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 10 | 1 |
| New York | 11 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 10 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 11 | 0 |
| Ohio | 11 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 11 | 0 |
| Oregon | 11 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 11 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 11 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 10 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 11 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 11 |
| Texas | 11 | 0 |
| Utah | 11 | 0 |
| Vermont | 11 | 0 |
| Virginia | 10 | 1 |
| Washington | 11 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 11 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 11 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 11 | 0 |
Remaining non-government links
The 63 citations that still link to a non-government publisher fall into three groups, each with a distinct reason. The groups were checked against the underlying data directly; the counts below are exact, and one citation (Tennessee's court-decision citation, noted in group (c)) fits the reasoning of two groups at once, so it is counted once, in group (a), to keep the total from double-counting it.
(a) State code published only through a commercial vendor — 44 citations
Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee do not publish their own state codes online. Each state's official code is published exclusively by LexisNexis, a commercial legal-publishing company, under contract with the state; the state legislature's own website simply links out to LexisNexis's site rather than hosting any statutory text itself. Since there is no free government-hosted text to link to, these citations use a reputable free legal-publishing site (Justia) instead. All 11 topic citations in each of these four states fall into this group, including Tennessee's court-decision citation on contributory negligence, described further in group (c) below.
| State | Topic | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Far Right as Practicable | Ark. Code § 27-51-1802 (Rights and duties) and § 27-51-301 (Vehicles to be driven on right side of roadway — Exceptions) — no "far right as practicable" bicycle rule |
| Arkansas | Allows Two Abreast | Ark. Code §§ 27-51-1801–1804 (Bicycles subchapter) — no restriction on riding abreast |
| Arkansas | Requires Single File | Ark. Code §§ 27-51-1801–1804 (Bicycles subchapter) — no single-file requirement |
| Arkansas | Safe Passing Law | Ark. Code § 27-51-311 — Overtaking a bicycle |
| Arkansas | Requires Helmet Use | Ark. Code §§ 27-51-1801–1804 (Bicycles subchapter) — no general helmet requirement; Ark. Code § 27-51-1706(b) — Class 3 electric bicycle helmet rule |
| Arkansas | Requires Bike Lane Use | Ark. Code §§ 27-51-1801–1804 (Bicycles subchapter) — no mandatory-path-use provision for ordinary bicycles |
| Arkansas | Allows Sidewalk Use | No statewide bicycle-sidewalk statute found; Ark. Code § 27-51-1804 governs bicycle use of crosswalks specifically |
| Arkansas | Impeding Applies to Bikes | Ark. Code § 27-51-208 — Minimum speed regulation |
| Arkansas | Stop as Yield | Ark. Code § 27-51-1803(a) — Entering stop or yield intersection |
| Arkansas | e-bike Restrictions | Ark. Code §§ 27-51-1701–1706 — Electric Bicycle Act |
| Arkansas | Contributory Negligence | Ark. Code § 16-64-122 — Comparative fault |
| Georgia | Far Right as Practicable | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-294(b) |
| Georgia | Allows Two Abreast | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-294(c) |
| Georgia | Requires Single File | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-294(c) |
| Georgia | Safe Passing Law | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-56 |
| Georgia | Requires Helmet Use | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-296(d)(1) (bicycles, under age 16); § 40-6-303(b)–(c) (Class III electric assisted bicycles, all ages) |
| Georgia | Requires Bike Lane Use | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-294(d) |
| Georgia | Allows Sidewalk Use | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-144 |
| Georgia | Impeding Applies to Bikes | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-294(b) (far-right riding, with exceptions); note that Georgia's general anti-impeding statute, § 40-6-184(a), applies only to "motor vehicle[s]" and is not extended to bicyclists by § 40-6-291(a) |
| Georgia | Stop as Yield | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-291(a) (incorporation); § 40-6-72(b)–(c) (stop-sign and yield-sign compliance) |
| Georgia | e-bike Restrictions | O.C.G.A. § 40-6-300 (class definitions); § 40-6-303 (location, age, and helmet restrictions) |
| Georgia | Contributory Negligence | O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 |
| Mississippi | Far Right as Practicable | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1307(1) |
| Mississippi | Allows Two Abreast | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1307(3) |
| Mississippi | Requires Single File | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1307(3) |
| Mississippi | Safe Passing Law | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1309(1) |
| Mississippi | Requires Helmet Use | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-3-1301 to 63-3-1315 |
| Mississippi | Requires Bike Lane Use | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1305 |
| Mississippi | Allows Sidewalk Use | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1303(1) |
| Mississippi | Impeding Applies to Bikes | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-3-603(1)(e); 63-3-509 |
| Mississippi | Stop as Yield | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 63-3-1301 to 63-3-1315 |
| Mississippi | e-bike Restrictions | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-1315 |
| Mississippi | Contributory Negligence | Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15 |
| Tennessee | Far Right as Practicable | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-175(a)(1) |
| Tennessee | Allows Two Abreast | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-175(b)(1) |
| Tennessee | Requires Single File | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-175(b)(1) |
| Tennessee | Safe Passing Law | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-175(c) (the "Jeff Roth and Brian Brown Bicycle Protection Act of 2007") |
| Tennessee | Requires Helmet Use | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-52-105 (Child Bicycle Safety Act) |
| Tennessee | Requires Bike Lane Use | Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-8-171–178 (Title 55, Ch. 8, Part 1 bicycle provisions) — no mandatory bicycle-lane-use provision |
| Tennessee | Allows Sidewalk Use | no dedicated statute; Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-52-105 and § 55-8-136(b) each refer in passing to bicycles being ridden on sidewalks |
| Tennessee | Impeding Applies to Bikes | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-175(b)(1) |
| Tennessee | Stop as Yield | Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-8-171–178 (Title 55, Ch. 8, Part 1 bicycle provisions) — no stop-as-yield provision |
| Tennessee | e-bike Restrictions | Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-8-301, 55-8-306, 55-8-307 |
| Tennessee | Contributory Negligence | McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992) (judicial adoption of modified comparative fault; Tennessee has no comparative-negligence statute) |
(b) Official text published only as dated whole-title PDF editions — 11 citations
Colorado's legislature publishes its statutes for free, but only as large PDF files, one per title of the code, each covering hundreds of pages and labeled with an edition year. The most recent edition available is labeled 2024. Because these files are not continuously updated and are not addressable at the level of an individual section, Colorado's 11 citations instead link to a free legal-publishing site (Public.Law), which republishes the current Colorado code at the level of individual sections.
| State | Topic | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Far Right as Practicable | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(5)(a) |
| Colorado | Allows Two Abreast | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(6)(a) |
| Colorado | Requires Single File | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(6)(a)-(b) |
| Colorado | Safe Passing Law | C.R.S. § 42-4-1003(1)(b) |
| Colorado | Requires Helmet Use | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(15)(b) |
| Colorado | Requires Bike Lane Use | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412 |
| Colorado | Allows Sidewalk Use | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(10)(a)-(b) |
| Colorado | Impeding Applies to Bikes | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(5)(a), (6)(b) |
| Colorado | Stop as Yield | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412.5(2) |
| Colorado | e-bike Restrictions | C.R.S. § 42-4-1412(14)-(15) — Operation of bicycles, electric scooters, and other human-powered vehicles |
| Colorado | Contributory Negligence | C.R.S. § 13-21-111 |
(c) The rule comes from a court decision, not a published statute — 8 citations, plus Tennessee's (already counted in group (a))
In nine states — Alabama, California, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia — the contributory- or comparative-negligence rule the app describes was established by a court decision rather than by a statute the legislature passed. No official state government website hosting any of the nine court opinions could be found. Where a state's court opinion archive was checked (for example, Virginia's and Alabama's), it does not reach back to the decision's date. These citations therefore link to a free legal-publishing site that hosts the opinion text.
Eight of these states — Alabama, California, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Virginia — otherwise publish their state codes online and have all of their other 10 topic citations linked to an official government source; only the court-decision citation is on a non-government publisher, which is why the jurisdiction table above shows exactly one non-government citation for each of those states, and these 8 citations are new additions to the non-government total, not already counted elsewhere.
Tennessee's court-decision citation is the same kind of case, but it is already included in group (a)'s count above, not counted again here: Tennessee has no free official source for any of its 11 citations, for the broader reason described in group (a), so its court-decision citation does not add to the total separately.
| State | Topic | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Contributory Negligence | Golden v. McCurry, 392 So. 2d 815 (Ala. 1980) |
| California | Contributory Negligence | Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal. 3d 804 (1975) |
| Kentucky | Contributory Negligence | Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984) |
| Missouri | Contributory Negligence | Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983) |
| North Carolina | Contributory Negligence | Smith v. Fiber Controls Corp., 300 N.C. 669, 268 S.E.2d 504 (N.C. 1980) |
| New Mexico | Contributory Negligence | Scott v. Rizzo, 96 N.M. 682, 634 P.2d 1234 (N.M. 1981) |
| South Carolina | Contributory Negligence | Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (S.C. 1991) (judicial adoption of modified comparative negligence; no comparative-negligence statute exists in South Carolina) |
| Virginia | Contributory Negligence | Litchford v. Hancock, 232 Va. 496, 352 S.E.2d 335 (1987) (Supreme Court of Virginia) — judge-made common-law rule; no statute |
| Tennessee (already counted in group (a)) | Contributory Negligence | McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992) (judicial adoption of modified comparative fault; Tennessee has no comparative-negligence statute) |
Group totals: 44 (group a, including Tennessee's court-decision citation) + 11 (group b) + 8 (group c, not counting Tennessee again) = 63 of the 63 non-government citations.
Maintenance
Citations are intended to be rechecked when states publish new editions. Some official sources are not simple, stable web pages: a few states publish their code only as a PDF tied to a particular compilation year, or as a page within a large combined document where the link points to the page where the cited section begins. When a state republishes an updated edition, those links are and will be revisited and updated to match.