86 Chapter 6 — Sharing the Road Pass with Care Go with the Flow Be Visible NC Department of Transportation  Bicycle & Pedestrian Division  1552 Mail Service Center  Raleigh, NC 27699-1552  or call 919-707-2600  www.ncdot.gov/bikeped For more information about bicycle riding skills write to: A passenger weighing less than 40 pounds or less than 40 inches in height must  be seated in a bicycle restraining seat. All bicycle riders and passengers under age 16 must wear an approved protective  bicycle helmet and must be seated on a saddle seat. Bicyclists can be expected on all roads except where expressly prohibited.  Bicycles are narrow and typically operate at the right of the lane, so they may  be obscured and difficult to detect. Avoid the left cross, drive out and right  hook types of potential collisions shown below. Visibility is important during both daylight hours and at night. During the  daylight, avoid being obscured by other vehicles. At night, the law requires that  a bicycle be equipped with a light on the front visible for a distance of at least  300 feet and a red light or reflector on the rear visible for a distance of at least  200 feet.  It is especially important for bicyclists to go with the flow of traffic, NOT  against the flow. Ride right, with the traffic, NOT facing traffic. Motorists  often do not look in the direction of bicyclists riding the wrong way. A bicyclist staying to the right in their lane is accommodating following drivers  by making it easier to see when it is safe to pass, and easier to execute the pass.  Drivers wishing to pass a bicyclist may do so only when there is abundant  clearance and no oncoming traffic is in the opposing lane. The safest way to  pass a bicyclist is to change lanes. To pass a cyclist lawfully, a driver must follow  vehicle passing laws. Please see NCGS Sections 20-149 and 20-150.