State has a Far Right as Practicable Requirement

A cyclist moving slower than traffic must ride in a marked bicycle lane, or if none is marked, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge, except when passing, turning, or avoiding a hazard.

Allows Two Abreast Riding

Riders may travel up to two abreast on the roadway; riding more than two abreast is allowed only on a path or part of a roadway set aside exclusively for bicycles.

Single File is Required

West Virginia does not require single-file riding; riding two abreast is permitted on the roadway.

Has a Safe Passing Law

A motorist overtaking a bicycle must pass to the left at a distance of not less than 3 feet, at a careful and reduced speed, and may not return to the right side of the road until safely clear of the bicycle.

Helmets are required on the road

Riders and passengers under 15 years old must wear a properly fitted, securely fastened bicycle helmet; there is no statewide helmet requirement for riders 15 and older.

If Bike Lanes are present, they are required ( except when unsafe )

A cyclist traveling slower than traffic must ride in the lane marked for bicycle use where one exists, and may only ride near the right-hand curb instead if no bicycle lane is marked, subject to the same passing/turning/hazard exceptions as the far-right rule.

Riders may use the sidewalks

West Virginia's bicycle statute does not address sidewalk riding one way or the other. State law is silent; permission or restriction is left to municipal ordinance.

Does the Impeding Statute Apply to Bikes

West Virginia's minimum-speed / impeding-traffic statute applies only to a "motor vehicle," and the bicycle two-abreast statute contains no impeding-traffic condition, so no impeding statute reaches bicycles. Chapter 17C's definitions put a human-powered bicycle outside both "motor vehicle" and "vehicle" itself, and the statute that gives cyclists the duties of a vehicle driver extends only those that by their nature can apply to a bicycle.

Whether cyclists may treat stop signs as yield signs (the "Idaho stop").

Cyclists are granted the same rights and are subject to the same duties as any vehicle driver, including stopping at stop signs. West Virginia has no statute allowing bicyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield.

Restrictions exist on e-bikes and usage

Electric bicycles receive the rights and duties of regular bicycles and are exempt from motor vehicle registration, titling, licensing, and financial-responsibility requirements, but riders may not tamper with motor speed limits, Class 3 e-bikes may not be used on a bicycle or multiuse trail unless the trail authority expressly permits it, and riders/passengers under 15 must wear a helmet.

Allows the concept of Contributory Negligence that allows any contributory fault resuls in 'no fault'

West Virginia replaced its old contributory-negligence rule with a modified comparative-fault system (recodified in 2015 by HB 2002). A claimant's recovery is reduced in proportion to their percentage of fault and is barred entirely only if that fault exceeds the combined fault of all other responsible persons. The modified comparative fault standard itself is established by W. Va. Code § 55-7-13a.