Originally Posted by
Daves_Not_Here
I think the argument is that the most dangerous driver is the one most likely to hit you. That would be any driver that squeezes past you within inches, particularly at speed. And when you hug the curb on a narrow lane, you tend to invite and receive many more close passes than if you ride far enough to the left such that cars must at least partially enter the next lane in order to pass.
This only delays the passing driver when the next lane is occupied, which is not all of the time. So you have to weigh the risk -- frequent close passes versus occasionally delaying a driver.
Finally, you can "take the lane" without being a prick about it, by acknowledging drivers and pulling off when you can to allow queued up traffic to pass, just like you do when you tow a trailer up a mountain road. I'd surmise that for every BF'er that postures how they obstinately block angry honking drivers, not "letting" or "allowing" cars to pass, and "forcing" cars to change lanes, there are thousands of cyclists out there who ride in the lane courteously and without drama.
Oh sure. But the idea that you get closer passes, the closer to the curb you ride, seems to be a (popular) myth, and nothing else:
http://www.bhsi.org/walkerfigs.pdf
The most dangerous drivers, by the way, are those who are distracted one way or the other. Most of us try to navigate a car with caution, and yet make mistakes, and on very rare occasions these mistakes will be dangerous, but I honestly don't think that the majority of accidents are cause by the cautious-but-still-human drivers. It's the distracted asshats that are most likely to hit cyclists, and they're exactly the people who'll never notice you however much you take the lane.