Southaven, MS Mobility & Curb Rules: Bike Lane Rules (2026)

The bicycle chapter of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Southaven, DeSoto County, Mississippi, Sections 9-196 through 9-206, treats a bicycle on a roadway like a vehicle. Section 9-197 gives every rider the rights and duties of a vehicle driver under state rules of the road and the city's traffic regulations, except where the chapter says otherwise. Section 9-198 requires riders to obey traffic-control signals, signs and devices, and a rider who dismounts to make a turn that is signed as prohibited then follows the pedestrian rules.

Section 9-200 is the lane rule. A rider on a roadway keeps as near to the right side as practicable and uses due care when passing a standing vehicle or one going the same way. Riders stay at two abreast at most, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. When a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, riders must use the path and cannot use the roadway.

Sidewalk and parking rules are in Sections 9-204 and 9-205. Riding on a sidewalk in a business district is prohibited, the traffic safety committee can post signs banning bicycles from any sidewalk or roadway, and a rider on a sidewalk yields the right-of-way to any pedestrian and gives an audible signal before overtaking. A bicycle is parked on a street only against the curb on the roadway, or on the sidewalk in a rack, against a building or at the curb, in the manner that affords the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic. Under Section 9-202, a rider emerging from an alley, driveway or building yields to pedestrians on the sidewalk and then to vehicles on the roadway.

Section 9-206 requires a nighttime lamp on the front that emits a white light visible from at least 500 feet and a red reflector or lamp on the rear visible from at least 100 feet, bans any siren or whistle, and requires a brake that lets the operator make the brake wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement. Riders sit astride a permanent and regular seat, carry no more people than the bicycle is designed and equipped for, keep at least one hand on the handlebars, and ride no faster than is reasonable and prudent.