Originally Posted by
dogbreathpnw
I confirm your finding. First of all, as John Forester would put it, less succinctly, your concern about being overrun by motorists approaching from the rear is, statistically, not anywhere close to being a top concern. Being struck by motorists who misjudge their distance from you, either as they pass you or when they swing back over into your lane, is a much greater risk.
Unfortunately there seems to be a natural tendency for motorists to assume that if they can pass you without changing lanes, then it is preferable to do so. When you sit in the right hand tire track a motorist will automatically choose to change lanes instead of trying to squeeze by you.
Many cyclists seem to feel concerned that they are "holding up traffic", and I want to address this issue. First and foremost, a cyclist has a right to the road, and that means a right to progress along the road at a speed appropriate for his vehicle. Bob Mionske's book cites many legal precedents in this regard.
A "speed limit" is a maximum speed beyond which the operator of a vehicle is presumed to be progressing in an unsafe manner. The fact that you are operating a vehicle that is capable of exceeding that maximum speed gives you absolutely no rights or privileges. In particular, a "speed limit" is in no way any sort of suggestion about a reasonable or safe speed.
The only way that motorists will learn to decouple the notion of a "speed limit" from the notion of a reasonable and prudent speed of travel will be if they become accustomed to other roadway users who operate their vehicles at speeds markedly different to the maximum legal speed limit.
Finally, in spite of my diatribe, I do try to share the road, which means that when it is safe to do so, I will use a bike lane, shoulder, or other accommodation to allow faster vehicles to get around me. However, when no such accommodation exists, I have learned that it is in my own best interest to control the situation so that an inattentive motorist doesn't take my life into his hands.
I couldn't agree more. I'm in Boston, where bikes are everywhere. I feel like I'm the only one taking the lane ever. My friends who bike think i'm nuts for doing so and don't seem to understand that it really is safer to just take the lane. They're really afraid to hold up traffic and get honked at. One friend who was actually doored still doesn't take the lane because she told me if she were driving she would be pissed if someone took up her lane. Sadly, if I never started biking I would probably feel the same about bikers-they're an annoyance. Most drivers don't learn to share the road and as a result don't know how to react when bikes are on the streets.
I get honked at a lot, but it sure beats the hell out of getting doored or side-swiped. I dodge parked car doors almost every day when taking the lane which makes me feel safer than getting sandwiched in the side-swipe/door zone because it is. I also tend to take the left-center of the right lane, because i've had many instances where cars will still dangerously hover in the same lane when passing if I'm taking dead center.
So yes, not many people do take the lanes, but in many cases it's just so much safer.