Tempt me not.

I don't know the law specifically, but what nearest I can tell is they aren't allowed on controlled access highways (i.e. freeways and turnpikes, the things with concrete barriers that only allow you to enter/exit at prescribed points. ) In bike crazy towns like Austin and Portland I get the impression a lot of folks see regular highways as an excellent bike course; you can travel 50 miles or more on smooth flat pavement, up and down hills and around curves. Which would be fine with me (if still incredibly dangerous for them) if they were doing 50, 60 or 70 mph like everyone else, but most of the time they're lucky if they're doing 30. Highway 360 is the worst in Austin; it's a MAJOR highway and bicyclists routinely ride in packs occupying the entire right lane of a four lane road where the speed limit is never <50 mph. It seems like every month I hear a news story about a bicyclist killed there and the response is always the same: Motorists should be more considerate of bicyclists to prevent more such tragedies.

Hence my comment above: PEOPLE are often jerks; it's just that when a motorist does it to a bike it's unlikely to get them killed, unlike when a bicyclist does it to a motorist. But I don't think the solution is to simply make people drive from Houston to Dallas at 30 mph constantly glancing everywhere to make sure they don't run over a bicyclist. You may have to do that for deer, but I expect human beings to have more sense.