A cyclist was hit by a taxicab making a U-turn on Pennsylvania Avenue this morning in front of the Wilson Building.

Cyclists have repeatedly complained in recent months about drivers making U-turns through the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes, but there remains confusion as to whether the practice is actually illegal or not. To that end, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) is planning on introducing emergency legislation in December that would specify that the mid-block U-turns are indeed against the law and that D.C. police should ticket violators.

Last week Shane Farthing, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, wrote in an email that adjudicators at the DMV had ruled that the U-turns decried by cyclists using the lanes aren’t actually against the law:

Bottom line: It’s a problem with the law.

When an MPD officer writes a ticket, the person ticketed has the opportunity to challenge that ticket through adjudication. This process is handled by the DMV, not the police. And on this issue, the DMV adjudicator has interpreted the laws in a way that does not prohibit mid-block U-turns across the cycletrack. Thus, MPD is reluctant to ticket motorists when the agency adjudicating the tickets has deemed such a ticket invalid.

Part of the problem stems from apparent inconsistencies in D.C. law regarding when and where U-turns are permissible. Charles Allen, Wells’ chief of staff, said that the emergency legislation would clarify that the U-turns across he bike lanes are illegal.

“There is some ambiguity about whether it is illegal to make a U-turn mid-block. In our minds, there is no ambiguity that such a U-turn creates a dangerous situation. So we’re working with folks to craft legislation to make sure its 100% clear in the eyes of the law that a U-turn across dedicated bike lanes is illegal,” he said.

According to MPD data requested by Wells, of 14 reported bicycle crashes since the bike lanes were installed in 2010, 11 stemmed from drivers making U-turns. Last year, eight of 10 crashes in the lane were caused by cars making the turn.

Vanessa Newton, a spokeswoman for the DMV, would only say that the agency “currently reviewing this issue.” As if on cue, though, a cyclist was hit by a taxicab making a U-turn across the popular bike lanes this morning. (He’s fine.)

Beyond cracking down on drivers making the turns, Farthing is pushing the Commission on Fine Arts—which has control over changes made to the avenue—to add bollards along the length of the bike lanes.