A right turn across a bike lane is a yield situation before it is a steering situation. The cyclist going straight has the right of way, and the crash this rule prevents, the right hook, happens when a driver passes a rider and turns across their path in the same breath.
The sequence manuals teach: signal early, check the mirror and glance over your right shoulder, let any cyclist clear, and make the turn from as close to the curb as your state directs. Some states have you merge into the bike lane in the final stretch before the corner when it is clear; others have you cross it at the intersection. Either way, the turn is made from the rightmost lawful position, never from the second lane over.
The tested mistake is turning from beside the bike lane while a cyclist continues straight, or overtaking a rider just before the corner. If you cannot finish the turn without crossing a cyclist's path, the turn waits.
This situation appears in 3 questions across 3 of our state banks, on Driver License practice tests. Start with your state:
When may a driver enter a bicycle lane to prepare for a turn?
Why: A motor vehicle may enter a bicycle lane to turn only within 200 feet of the intersection, after checking blind spots and yielding as required. Therefore, the supported response is "Within 200 feet of the intersection".
Every practice test explains its answers this way. Pick your state and take one free; no sign-up.
Choose your stateThe cyclist going straight. A driver turning right must yield before crossing the lane, exactly as they would yield to a through car in the next lane.
A driver passes a cyclist and immediately turns right across their path. It is one of the most common car-bicycle crashes, and it is why manuals teach the shoulder check and the early yield.
In some states you are required to merge into it in the final stretch before the corner when it is clear; in others you cross it only at the intersection. Our state banks quote each state's own instruction.
Your right mirror and your right blind spot, with an actual head turn. A cyclist sits low and close to the curb, exactly where the mirror coverage is worst.
As scenario questions: who yields, when to signal, and where to position for the turn. The tested answer always protects the cyclist going straight.