Originally Posted by
genec
While that does happen, that slowing and the subsequent push pull of traffic as that slowing snakes down the line can cause accidents and tends to irritate motorists which doesn't do us cyclists any good over all.
I guess it depends on the situation - where I commute, that slowing of traffic means that the following cars also pass me at reduced speed, and it's also easier for me to negotiate a leftward merge in order to change lanes or avoid a pothole ahead.
I haven't heard of a cyclist in a WOL causing a slowing of traffic that resulted in a car-car collision. The speed reduction is usually not that sudden or drastic, compared to, say, slowing for a turn or red light. I have heard of a reckless motorist sideswiping another car where a cyclist was carefully using the center of a narrow lane while approaching a red light. The police officer who responded read the motorist the riot act. But this isn't related to WOLs versus bike lanes.
I think that where roads become more freeway-like, with far fewer junctions/driveways and signals, motorist speed reductions might have more pronounced negative effects than on typical surface streets.