Law · Kazakhstan

Cyclist
and the road rules

What Kazakhstan’s Rules require of a cyclist, and what drivers owe them. Every rule links to its clause — open the original source and check it.

In short Club Rules

In short

Five things to know before a ride

The rest is below, broken down by topic. The wording is simplified but not distorted: beside each rule you can open the verbatim quotation.

A cyclist is a driver

In the Rules a bicycle is a vehicle, and whoever rides it is a driver. So the Rules' prohibitions addressed to drivers apply to cyclists too.

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs 12), 13), 34)

Sidewalks are not prohibited

The bike path or bike lane first. If there are none — the right edge of the carriageway (single file), the shoulder, the sidewalk or the footpath, without endangering pedestrians.

Chapter 24, paragraph 166

On the carriageway — helmet on

A cyclist may not ride on the carriageway without a fastened helmet. The requirement has been in force since 5 April 2025.

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 8)

At a crosswalk — on foot

You may not cross the carriageway at a pedestrian crossing while on the bike. Step off and wheel it beside you, and you count as a pedestrian.

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 6)

Brake, bell, light

Working brakes, handlebars and bell; reflectors at the front, at the rear and on the sides. After dark the headlight or lamp must be switched on.

Basic provisions, paragraph 7; Chapter 19, paragraph 128

Who you are under the Rules

A cyclist is a driver — but not every kind

Which clauses apply to you depends on who the Rules take you to be. This is the foundation for everything else on this page.

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs 12), 13)

A bicycle is a vehicle; a cyclist is the person riding it

It follows that a cyclist is a driver: "a driver is a person operating a vehicle […]" (sub-paragraph 34)).

Verbatim

12) bicycle – a vehicle having two or more wheels and driven by the muscular power of people on it, including using an engine; 13) cyclist - a person driving a bicycle

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 49)

But a bicycle is not a mechanical vehicle

A mechanical vehicle is self-propelled and engine-driven; a bicycle moves by muscle power. So the duties of the driver of a mechanical vehicle (licence, documents, seat belts — chapter 2, paragraph 9) do not apply to a cyclist, while the prohibitions in chapter 2, paragraph 12 ("The driver is prohibited from…") do.

Verbatim

49) a mechanical vehicle is a self-propelled road vehicle powered by an engine, with the exception of electric scooters, small electric vehicles and rail vehicles.

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 19)

Wheel the bike beside you and you are a pedestrian

Once off the bike, a cyclist has the rights and duties of a pedestrian: they may, for example, cross the road at a pedestrian crossing.

Verbatim

19) pedestrian - a person who is outside the vehicle on the road and does not work on it. Individuals traveling in wheelchairs for people with disabilities, driving bicycles, electric scooters, small electric vehicles, mopeds, motorcycles, carrying sleds, trolleys, and baby strollers are considered pedestrians.

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs 14), 15)

A bike path and a bike lane are different things

A bike path is a separate road, or part of a road, structurally separated and marked with a sign. A bike lane is a lane of the carriageway itself, separated by markings and signs. The rules for them differ.

Verbatim

14) bicycle path - a separate road or part of the road intended for the movement of bicycles and marked with an appropriate sign […] 15) bicycle lane - a lane of the carriageway of the road intended for the movement of bicycles

Chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 24)

"Road" in the Rules is more than the carriageway

The concept of a road also covers sidewalks, shoulders, tram tracks and median strips. The distinction matters: the helmet and reflector requirements are tied to the carriageway, not to the road as a whole.

Verbatim

A road includes one or more carriageways, as well as tram tracks, sidewalks, shoulders and median strips, where present.

Where to ride

Bike path, bike lane, edge of the carriageway

The order of priority is set out directly in the Rules: cycling infrastructure first, then everything else.

Chapter 24, paragraph 166

Bike path and bike lane come first; if there are none — the right edge of the carriageway, the shoulder, the sidewalk or the footpath

Along the right edge of the carriageway and in the lane for fixed-route vehicles — single file. For sidewalks and footpaths there is one condition: do not endanger pedestrians. The current Rules contain no separate ban on riding on the road when there is a bike path alongside.

Verbatim

Bicycle drivers move along a bicycle path or a bicycle lane, or, in their absence, along the right edge of the carriageway, including the lane for fixed-route vehicles, in single file, or along the shoulder, sidewalk or footpath, without endangering the movement of pedestrians.

Chapter 24, paragraph 166, second paragraph

For a bicycle with an engine, the sidewalk and the footpath are off limits

Here the Rules themselves refer to the Law "On Road Traffic", and paragraph 6 of article 57 of that law states the ban outright: "It is prohibited to ride on a sidewalk and (or) footpath on bicycles with an engine."

Verbatim

Movement on sidewalks and/or footpaths on bicycles with an engine is carried out in accordance with paragraph 6 of Article 57 of the Law "On Road Traffic".

Chapter 24, paragraph 166, third paragraph

Under 14 — not on the carriageway and not on the shoulder

The Rules do not ban children from riding a bike as such. What is banned specifically is riding by cyclists under 14 along the right edge of the carriageway, in the lane for fixed-route vehicles and on the shoulder. Bike paths, bike lanes, sidewalks and footpaths are untouched by this paragraph. The official text contains a typo: "along the legal edge" instead of "the right edge".

Verbatim

Cyclists under fourteen years of age are not allowed to ride along the legal [sic] edge of the carriageway, the lane of fixed-route vehicles, or the shoulder.

Chapter 24, paragraph 170

A column is split into groups of ten cyclists, with 80–100 metres between groups

The spacing between groups is there so that cars can overtake the groups one at a time. The same rule covers horse-drawn carts and riding animals.

Verbatim

Columns of cyclists […] when moving along the carriageway must be divided into groups of ten cyclists, riding and pack animals, and five carts (sleds). To make overtaking easier, the distance between the groups must be eighty to one hundred metres.

Chapter 16, paragraph 118, sub-paragraph 1)

Cycling is prohibited on motorways.

The requirements of this chapter also apply to roads marked with sign 5.3 "Motor road" (paragraph 120).

Verbatim

1) the presence of pedestrians and domestic animals outside a vehicle, and the driving of bicycles, mopeds, tractors and self-propelled machines, as well as other vehicles whose speed by design or by their condition is less than 40 km/h;

Manoeuvres and signals

How to make yourself seen and share the road

A bicycle has no turn indicators, so all a driver sees is your arm and your line.

Chapter 8, paragraph 48

Turn and braking signals are given by hand

Left — the left arm extended to the side, or the right arm extended to the side and bent up at the elbow at a right angle. Right — mirrored. Braking — an arm raised up. The signal is given in advance and stops right after the manoeuvre (a hand signal may be ended just before it), and by itself it gives no priority.

Verbatim

The signal for a manoeuvre to the left is a switched-on left turn indicator, or the left arm extended to the side, or the right arm extended to the side and bent up at the elbow at a right angle. […] The braking signal is given by the brake light or by an arm raised up.

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 4)

Left turns and U-turns are prohibited on roads with tram traffic and where there is more than one lane in that direction.

The same rule covers bicycles and electric scooters.

The Rules do not say how to turn in such places. In practice what is left is to get off and cross on foot: someone wheeling a bicycle counts as a pedestrian (chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 19)), and crossing the carriageway at a crossing while on the bike is prohibited (chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 6)). This is a practical conclusion, not a separate requirement of the Rules.

Verbatim

4) turn left or turn around on roads with tram traffic and on roads with more than one lane for traffic in this direction;

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 6)

Crossing the carriageway at a pedestrian crossing without getting off the bike is prohibited

You may cross at a zebra crossing only on foot, wheeling the bike beside you.

Verbatim

6) cross the carriageway at pedestrian crossings while in a vehicle;

Chapter 14, paragraph 106

At an unregulated crossing, a cyclist gives way to pedestrians

The norm is addressed to the driver of the vehicle, and therefore to the cyclist.

Verbatim

The driver of the vehicle gives way to pedestrians crossing the carriageway of his direction of travel at an unregulated pedestrian crossing.

Chapter 24, paragraph 172

Where a bike path crosses a road away from a junction and the crossing is unregulated, the cyclist gives way

The norm is addressed directly to bicycle drivers.

Verbatim

At an unregulated crossing of a bicycle path with a road, located away from a junction, bicycle drivers must give way to vehicles travelling along that road.

Chapter 3, paragraph 13

Wheeling your bike along the edge of the carriageway — walk with the traffic, not against it

Counterintuitive: an ordinary pedestrian outside a built-up area walks facing the traffic, whereas someone wheeling a bicycle keeps to the right, with the flow of traffic.

Verbatim

Persons moving in non-motorised wheelchairs, and those wheeling a motorcycle, moped or bicycle along the edge of the carriageway, keep to the right side of the road, in the direction of vehicle traffic.

Prohibitions

What a cyclist may not do

The first six prohibitions come from paragraph 171, addressed to drivers of bicycles and electric scooters. The last two are addressed to the driver of any vehicle — the cyclist included.

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 8)

Riding on the carriageway without a fastened helmet

The requirement was introduced on 5 April 2025 and is repeated in the Law "On Road Traffic" (art. 57, paragraph 3). It is not tied to bike paths, sidewalks or footpaths — only to the carriageway.

Verbatim

8) when riding on the carriageway, to be without a fastened helmet.

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 7)

Riding on the carriageway after dark without a reflective item

This is a separate requirement, and a headlight or lamp does not replace it: the item must make the cyclist visible to drivers of other vehicles.

Verbatim

7) to move in the dark on the carriageway of the road without a reflective object that meets the requirements defined by the rules of the road, providing visibility to drivers of other vehicles;

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 2)

Carrying passengers — except on purpose-built attachments

A child bike seat and other devices designed to carry passengers are explicitly excluded from the ban. At the same time the Law "On Road Traffic" (art. 57, paragraph 6) prohibits carrying a passenger on the carriageway or the shoulder without fastened helmets.

Verbatim

2) to transport passengers, except for the transportation of passengers on bicycles with special devices for their transportation;

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 1)

Riding without holding the handlebars with at least one hand

The same rule covers bicycles and electric scooters.

Verbatim

1) ride without holding the handlebars with at least one hand;

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 3)

Carrying cargo — except on purpose-built attachments

Cargo that interferes with control is prohibited in any case. The fifty-centimetre clause cannot be paraphrased: in the official text it is worded with a negative ("which does not protrude"), which makes the sentence read contradictorily — so it is given here verbatim.

Verbatim

3) to carry cargo, except for the transportation of cargo on bicycles with special devices for their transportation, as well as cargo that does not protrude more than fifty centimeters in length or width beyond its dimensions, or cargo that interferes with control;

Chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 5)

Towing a bicycle, or towing with a bicycle

The exception is a trailer designed for use with a bicycle.

Verbatim

5) towing of electric scooters and bicycles, as well as electric scooters and bicycles, except for towing a trailer intended for use with a bicycle;

Chapter 2, paragraph 12, sub-paragraph 2)

Riding while intoxicated

The ban is addressed to the driver of any vehicle, and so to the cyclist. It also covers riding under the influence of medication that impairs reaction and attention, and in an unwell or fatigued state that endangers road safety.

Verbatim

2) drive a vehicle in a state of intoxication (alcohol, narcotic and (or) substance abuse); under the influence of medications that worsen reaction and attention; in a painful or tired state that endangers road safety;

Chapter 2, paragraph 12, sub-paragraph 8)

Using a phone while riding

The exception is using headphones or speakerphone.

Verbatim

8) when driving a vehicle, use a telephone or radio station, except for their use through the use of headphones or hands-free communication;

Bicycle

Roadworthiness and lights

The requirements for the bike itself sit outside the chapter on cyclists — they are in the Basic Provisions on admitting vehicles to operation.

Basic provisions, paragraph 7

Working brake, handlebars and bell; reflectors at the front, at the rear and on both sides

At the front — a reflector and a white lamp or headlight (for riding after dark and in poor visibility); at the rear — a reflector or a red lamp; on each side — an orange or red reflector.

Verbatim

The bicycle must have a working brake, handlebars and audible warning device; at the front it must be fitted with a reflector and a lamp or headlight (for riding after dark and in conditions of poor visibility) in white, at the rear with a reflector or a red lamp, and on each side with an orange or red reflector.

Chapter 19, paragraph 128, sub-paragraph 1)

After dark and in poor visibility, a bicycle's headlight or lamp must be switched on

Regardless of street lighting, and in tunnels too. The hours of darkness run from the end of evening twilight to the start of morning twilight (chapter 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 56)). Poor visibility is less than 300 metres because of fog, rain, dust or snowfall, and also twilight (sub-paragraph 21)).

Verbatim

After dark and in conditions of poor visibility, regardless of street lighting, and also in tunnels, the following lighting devices are switched on on a moving vehicle: […] on bicycles - headlights or lamps

Chapter 2, paragraph 12, sub-paragraph 9)

Riding with brakes or steering that do not work is prohibited

After dark on roads without street lighting and in poor visibility — also with headlights unlit or missing. Brakes or steering count as not working if they do not let you stop or complete a manoeuvre even at minimum speed.

Verbatim

9) drive a vehicle with an inoperative service braking system or steering […] and, after dark on roads without artificial lighting or in conditions of poor visibility - with headlights unlit (missing) and (or) rear position lamps

For motorists

What a driver owes a cyclist

These are worth knowing by heart: in a dispute on the road they are on your side.

Chapter 8, paragraph 49

When leaving the road, a driver gives way to the vehicles and pedestrians whose path they cross

Turning into a yard, a filling station, an adjoining area. In the 2024 version cyclists were removed from the text, but a bicycle is still a vehicle, so the rule continues to work in the cyclist's favour.

Verbatim

When entering a road from a secondary road, the driver gives way to vehicles and pedestrians travelling along it, and when leaving the road — to vehicles and pedestrians whose path he crosses.

Chapter 8, paragraph 50

When pulling in to stop or park, a driver gives way to cyclists at the edge of the carriageway and on the shoulder

This is the rule that protects a cyclist from a car pulling over to the shoulder.

Verbatim

When approaching a stopping or parking place, the driver gives way to pedestrians, drivers of bicycles, mopeds and horse-drawn carts, and drivers of riding and pack animals moving along the edge of the carriageway or the shoulder.

Chapter 13, paragraph 91

When turning right or left, the driver gives way to cyclists crossing the roadway on a bike path.

Alongside pedestrians crossing the carriageway he is turning into.

Verbatim

When turning right or left, the driver gives way to pedestrians crossing the carriageway he is turning into, and to cyclists crossing it on a bicycle path

Chapter 24, paragraph 166, paragraphs 4–5

Movement and stopping of other vehicles are prohibited on the bike lane.

This is about a lane marked with sign 4.5 together with plate 7.14. If such a lane is separated by a broken marking line, vehicles move into it in order to turn; it may also be entered when joining the road and to pick up or set down passengers at the right edge of the carriageway.

Verbatim

On roads with a bicycle lane marked with sign 4.5 […] with plate 7.14, no traffic moves and no other vehicles stop in that lane. If the lane marked with sign 4.5 […] with plate 7.14 is separated from the rest of the carriageway by a broken marking line, then vehicles move into it in order to turn. In such places it is also permitted to enter this lane when joining the road and to pick up and set down passengers at the right edge of the carriageway.

Helmet

On the carriageway — by law. In the club — everywhere

Since 5 April 2025 a cyclist may not ride on the carriageway without a fastened helmet (chapter 24, paragraph 171, sub-paragraph 8)); the same requirement is in article 57 of the Law "On Road Traffic". On a bike path, sidewalk or shoulder the law does not require a helmet. Sundaybike’s rule is stricter: no one is let onto the start of a group session without a helmet, no exceptions.

Club Rules

Practice

The law and a real ride

The Rules are written for a lone cyclist in the city. A group session on open roads works differently, and in a couple of places the letter of the rule and safe peloton practice part ways. It is more honest to say so plainly than to pretend there is no gap.

The Rules are a floor, not a ceiling. Where we can make things safer than the law requires, we do. Where the rule and group riding part ways, responsibility stays personal: the club issues no absolution and does not teach anyone to get around the law.

Where the club is stricter than the law

Helmet

From the first metre, not just on the carriageway

The law requires a fastened helmet when riding on the carriageway. On the velodrome, during the warm-up and on a bike path it is not compulsory — with us it is compulsory everywhere, no exceptions.

Light

A rear blinker light on every ride

The Rules tie lights to the hours of darkness. Morning rides start at dusk and finish in sunshine, and visibility in the shade of the gorge drops at any hour — so the light stays on for the whole ride.

Crossing

Across a crosswalk — always on foot

This is both a requirement of the Rules and something a coach watches separately: in a group the temptation to nip across "quickly" is stronger than when riding alone.

Condition

A bike check before the start and zero tolerance for alcohol

Brakes, handlebars, wheels, tyre pressure — a quick check before the ride. Under the Rules a cyclist is a driver, and the ban on riding while intoxicated applies to them in full.

Where the rule and group riding part ways

Single file

The rule was written for a lone cyclist, not for a peloton

In group riding worldwide a tight formation is considered more predictable: the paceline is half as long, and an overtaking car needs less time for the manoeuvre. Kazakhstan’s Rules make no such distinction and require single file on the carriageway. On a ride, the coach’s call of "single file" is not up for debate; anything outside that call each rider decides on their own responsibility.

Spacing

Groups of ten with 80–100 metres between them don't hold on rolling terrain

On a climb the group stretches out by itself, on a descent it bunches up — the gap has a life of its own. So we work not with a "gap" but with a format: the ride is split into groups by level in advance, each with its own coach and sweep rider, and the groups start separately.

The right edge

Moving left is dodging a pothole, not disregard

Keeping to the right edge is made hard by potholes, glass, storm-drain grates and parked cars. In the group such a move is called out by hand and voice in advance — so that it is predictable both for the riders and for the driver behind.

How we reduce the risk

Before the start

Briefing and splitting into groups

The route, the pinch points, the corners where the rotation happens. Beginners don't go out on the open road — they ride the velodrome in Gorky Park until their handling is solid.

On the move

Hand and voice signals, rotation, sweep rider

A pothole, a car behind, a turn, braking — in a group these are called out in advance. The sweep coach sees the whole paceline and does not let it stretch out unnoticed.

On long rides

Radios and a support car

On routes like Big Almaty Lake and Kaskelen, radios and a car remove the main risk — a rider who has dropped off the back or had a mechanical being left out on the road alone.

If stopped

Calm, and no arguing on the road

A cyclist does not need a driving licence. Liability under article 615 is personal — a coach or the club cannot take it on — and arguing at the roadside is pointless: that is not where the matter is decided.

Responsibility

What a violation costs

A cyclist's liability is set not by the Rules but by the Code of Administrative Offences — article 615.

Article 615, part 1

A cyclist breaking the Rules is an administrative offence: a fine of two MCI

A note to the article explicitly refers to people driving bicycles as "other road users." This article does not provide for warnings.

8 650 ₸

Article 615, parts 2 and 3

Ten MCI — if harm to health or material damage is caused, and also for a repeat offence within a year

Part two talks about harm to health, which has no signs of a criminal offense. A repeat is considered within one year after the imposition of an administrative penalty.

43 250 ₸

Article 615, part 4

Twenty MCI, community service or administrative arrest — for repeated violation with harm to health

The sanctions are listed as alternatives: a fine of twenty MCI, or community service for twelve hours, or administrative arrest for three days.

86 500 ₸

Amounts are calculated using the 2026 monthly calculation index — 4,325 ₸ (The Law "On the Republican Budget for 2026-2028"). The MCI is revised annually, and the penalty itself may change with the next revision of the code — for the current text see the Administrative Code of the RK on adilet.zan.kz, article 615.

Source

This page is based on the current text of the Road Traffic Rules — Order No. 534 of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 30 June 2023: adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V2300033003. Clauses and quotations have been checked against the version incorporating amendments up to 27 April 2026. Resolution No. 1196 of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 13 November 2014, under which the road rules used to be published, has been repealed — references to its sections and clauses no longer apply. Liability — Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offences No. 235-V of 5 July 2014, article 615.

This is a digest for cyclists, not legal advice. The Rules change: before citing anything, open the current version at the link above.