Originally Posted by
Allister
You know what, Serge? I've never once had to justify leaving the bike lane to anyone. Ever. In practical terms, your 'problem' doesn't exist. In practical terms, 'practicable' is broad enough that there's no need to justify leaving the bike lane, as pretty much any reason is a valid justification.
Your fearmongering about bike lanes is getting pretty boring. Do pull your head in.
Fearmongering? Fear of what?
Anyway, you're speaking for yourself, and I can't blame you for that.
It is true that for cyclists with a strong familiarity with what the law actually states, and have a relatively assertive personality, the problem does not exist. For them.
But the problem does exist for the vast majority of cyclists (not to mention potential cyclists) who are either not that familiar with the law, or not that assertive. Many of them think their obligation to ride in the bike lane is much stronger than it actually is, and so they end up riding in bike lanes when they shouldn't. For practical implications of this, look no further than the recent
"Cyclist in Bike Lane" thread in this subforum for a very recent example of how this was arguably a factor in a tragic death. He was riding downhill at a high speed (30 mph is easy to achieve here), and yet in the bike lane, just a few few feet from the curb, going around a curve. At that speed, he obviously should have been way out in the traffic lane, to lengthen his sight lines if nothing else. But, it probably never occurred to him to ride anywhere else (laterally speaking). After all, he was in the bike lane, where he "belongs".