Mountain Biking - DodgeCar

When me and my friend ride on the road we have a special tactic we do so we dont piss off drivers.. Cause I know how it is to be the person in the car.. When a car is coming behind us we move to the left lane and if one is in the left lane we go all the way on the grass dunno if this is such a good idea but it seems to work pretty well I just want to know how you guys handle cars

Making sudden bizarre movements with a car behind you is a great way to get killed. The driver is planning on moving left, and suddenly you are moving left at the same time, into oncoming traffic lanes... good idea.

Making sudden bizarre movements with a car behind you is a great way to get killed. The driver is planning on moving left, and suddenly you are moving left at the same time, into oncoming traffic lanes... good idea.

Definitely sounds dangerous to head to the left unless you drive on the left side of the road.

backwoods country roads not much traffic at all and its not like we run right into oncoming cars we do look before we go left and we go left when the car behind us is still a good little way off

Its still the stupidest thing I have ever heard of anyone doing on a public roadway... if you misjudge one car, or one driver panics/makes a mistake, you will be dead. You're doing something NO driver expects. I can't emphasize the vast importance of CONSISTENCY and LEGAL riding. I ride absolutely 100% within the law, and in 5+ years of commuting in high traffic areas, I have had ZERO accidents. Why? I do what the driver expects which is to stay in my lane, not make any sudden moves, and ride consistently. You legally have a right to the lane, by law you are required to stay in the right lane--any law applicable to a motor vehicle is also applicable to yourself.

Bikes, atleast they used to, are supposed to ride in the oncomming traffic side. This is so the driver can see you and you can see the car. That is for when your riding on the side of the road. In some places they let bikes ride in traffic.
I kinda take it as a situation by situation basis. Sometimes the oncomming side has a tiny shoulder, that is to small to ride, so i go with the flow. On side streets, if one side has parked cars i ride opposite them.
The one flaw in your method would be if you ride over blind hills, then your best bet is to stay with the flow, and as far to the right as possible.

k thanks imma stick to the right from now on

Whew... thank you for deciding to not ride on the wrong side of the road. I was beginning to think you were going to get yourself killed.

:eek: I hope you're not serious!

Stop doing that immediately! Educate yourself about how to ride on the road.

Start here: http://bicyclesafe.com/

You definitely want to stay in the right lane (in North America that is). It's where drivers will be expecting you to be and it gives both you and the driver more time to plan the pass if you're both moving the same direction than if you're heading toward each other. Also consider what would happen in you're in the left lane with a car passing you on your right and another car makes a right turn into your lane from an intersecting street. You'll have no where to go and there's a good chance the driver making the turn won't see you. The instinct when making a right turn is to watch for traffic coming from the left only.

You are fully within your rights riding in the right lane, with the flow of traffic, except when there is a marked bicycle path. You are under no obligation to move out of the way when a car approaches from behind. It is their responsibility to recognize you and wait for a safe opportunity to pass you as they would any other bike on the road. If you really feel like you should clear the lane (5+ vehicles are following you is the only legal reason you would need to), pull off onto the shoulder on the right side of the road. The only time I bother is when the traffic is moving really fast and not giving me much space. Then I tend to get a little nervous and would rather survive than try to force cars to obey the laws.

Bikes, atleast they used to, are supposed to ride in the oncomming traffic side. This is so the driver can see you and you can see the car. That is for when your riding on the side of the road.

Am I reading this right? Are you advocating riding against traffic? :eek:

at least, i hope, your wearing a helmet ;)

You definitely want to stay in the right lane (in North America that is). It's where drivers will be expecting you to be and it gives both you and the driver more time to plan the pass if you're both moving the same direction than if you're heading toward each other. Also consider what would happen in you're in the left lane with a car passing you on your right and another car makes a right turn into your lane from an intersecting street. You'll have no where to go and there's a good chance the driver making the turn won't see you. The instinct when making a right turn is to watch for traffic coming from the left only.

You are fully within your rights riding in the right lane, with the flow of traffic, except when there is a marked bicycle path. You are under no obligation to move out of the way when a car approaches from behind. It is their responsibility to recognize you and wait for a safe opportunity to pass you as they would any other bike on the road. If you really feel like you should clear the lane (5+ vehicles are following you is the only legal reason you would need to), pull off onto the shoulder on the right side of the road. The only time I bother is when the traffic is moving really fast and not giving me much space. Then I tend to get a little nervous and would rather survive than try to force cars to obey the laws.
Thanks, I was wondering about that. Sometimes if the sidewalks are really crowded then I'll ride on the right side of the right lane, but I always feel as if I'm a nuisance to drivers and considering it's hard to go as fast as them, well, I wasn't quite sure what to do. :)

The law around here is that you are to stay in the right lane as close to the right side as possible. It is legal to ride two abreast but not three abreast. It is also illegal to ride on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure this is the same law used for all 50 states.

Here is a link, but the important part is below in quotes. http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/wva.htm


§17C-11-5. Riding on roadways and bicycle paths.

(a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.

(b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.

(c) Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway

The law around here is that you are to stay in the right lane as close to the right side as possible. It is legal to ride two abreast but not three abreast. It is also illegal to ride on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure this is the same law used for all 50 states.

Here is a link, but the important part is below in quotes. http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/wva.htm
But these only apply to the USA right? Thanks anyway though.

Bikes, atleast they used to, are supposed to ride in the oncomming traffic side. This is so the driver can see you and you can see the car.

Perhaps you are confusing that trend with walking?

The law around here is that you are to stay in the right lane as close to the right side as possible. It is legal to ride two abreast but not three abreast. It is also illegal to ride on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure this is the same law used for all 50 states.

Here is a link, but the important part is below in quotes. http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/wva.htm

I've been told (I've never checked and I forget what states) that a bicycle is to be treated as occupying the whole lane. I've even heard some commuters advocate riding in the middle or toward the left edge of the lane to increase your visibility. Obviously that's not the case in your state, but I'd appreciate if anyone could shed some light on this from their own states.

Also, I'm pretty sure the local law forbids it, but I've noticed in north Portland that a lot of people do ride on the sidewalk and the cops don't seem to mind, as long as you take it easy.

Shouldn't this be in advocacy & safety (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=8)?

Probably. On the other hand, it seems a fair number of people are seeing it who might have otherwise missed it.

You are NEVER supposed to ride into traffic, always with it. Bikes are considered vehicles and must follow the same rules. You WALK into traffic, not ride.

:roflmao:
This thread is sooo funny. Here's your sign....

When me and my friend ride on the road we have a special tactic we do so we dont piss off drivers.. Cause I know how it is to be the person in the car.. When a car is coming behind us we move to the left lane and if one is in the left lane we go all the way on the grass dunno if this is such a good idea but it seems to work pretty well I just want to know how you guys handle cars


Because of certain rednecks, bicyclists get bed rep. Darwin was right after all, things like that solve themselves with enough time….

When me and my friend ride on the road we have a special tactic we do so we dont piss off drivers.. Cause I know how it is to be the person in the car.. When a car is coming behind us we move to the left lane and if one is in the left lane we go all the way on the grass dunno if this is such a good idea but it seems to work pretty well I just want to know how you guys handle cars
Dumbest damn thing I've ever heard of.

Bikes, atleast they used to, are supposed to ride in the oncomming traffic side. This is so the driver can see you and you can see the car. That is for when your riding on the side of the road. In some places they let bikes ride in traffic.

I was wrong. This is COMPLETELY incorrect.

It's against the law to ride against traffic. I'm not just talking about a state or provincial law either, it violates a sensible application of basic physics. Two objects moving towards each other the force of the impact will be equal to the combined speeds of both objects. (example Car A is moving at 30 mph towards Bicycle B whivh is moving in the opposite direction at 20 mph. The impact speed would be equal to getting hit at a stand still by an object travelling at 50 mph. Conversely if the bicycle was moving in the same direction the impact speed would be lessened to that of 10 mph.) I realize that this is extremely simplified and that the masses of a vehicle and a bicycle do play a role in the forces involved but if it were me I would prefer the 10 mph hit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_laws_of_motion
A bicycle is a vehicle and has to play by the same rules as a car. Where drivers get pissed at us is when we try to have it both ways, when we decide what laws we want to follow. You aren't allowed to go the wrong way on a one way street in a car "because it's more convenient" so don't expect the law to back you while on a bike. I'm not trying to "talk down" to a newbie but this is a common sense issue here and I have to be firm on this. You were in the wrong; period. Learn from this and you'll be a better cyclist.
http://img160.exs.cx/img160/4783/Ridewithtraffic1.jpg

k thanks imma stick to the right from now on

Ok thanks. I'm going to stick to the right from now on
Try typing like you passed English this year and you'll have it made

A bicycle is a vehicle and has to play by the same rules as a car. Where drivers get pissed at us is when we try to have it both ways, when we decide what laws we want to follow. You aren't allowed to go the wrong way on a one way street in a car "because it's more convenient" so don't expect the law to back you while on a bike.
Yes bikes are vehicles with applicable laws.
Yes the reason some drivers get pissed is the having both ways thing. The rest of the drivers are just dumb(uneducated, unintelligent, or whatever) and respond to "Bicycles are legal vehicles with the same right to the road as motorized transport." with, quote unquote, "What? Thats stupid, no way. They're supposed to be on the sidewalk going against the flow."


Oh and I'm not clear on this(probably varies a lot anyway) but I beleive that the same slow vehicle laws apply to bikes that apply to tractors and whatnot: basically if you can't go within 10MPH of the speed limit you must travel as far right as possible. I'm not sure how this appies to half assed passing AKA passing partly in the same lane(like a partial headon collision?). I know if you are right if the white side line then you are not in the lane, and no "passing" at all is required.