Southern California - Acceptable for cyclists to pass others on right?

I am trying to figure out if it is acceptable for cyclists to pass other cyclists on the right.


My wife and I were on our tandem northbound on PCH near Huntington Beach this past weekend. We were accelerating from a light and were about 100 ft or so from the light when a small group of about 8 cyclists start to pass on the left. We were in the middle-right of the "bike" lane and we began to move more to the right to allow the riders more room when a couple riders of this group passed us on the right, at the same time we were being passed on the left. The group didn't pass us with any great speed either, I was able to get a good look of disbelief at the riders passing on the right while holding my line. I wanted to yell at these riders due to what I believed was discourteous and unsafe conduct.

But now I want to know if I was in the wrong or is it acceptable to ever pass other cyclists on the right?

I would say not acceptable. You pass on the left so you don't spook the rider in front of you and they swerve into traffic. A cyclist coming upon another cyclist can see if there is room to move to left to pass the person ahead of them. It really doesn't work the other way around and not really cool for you to be boxed in like that.

If people pass you on the right it's because you left a big hole there, and probably looked like you were going to force them over if they passed on the left.

And never try to get out of the way-- if they're behind you they can see you better than you can see them. Ride a straight line at constant speed and they'll get around.

We always pass each other on the right here in OZ.(he he)

We always pass each other on the right here in OZ.(he he)
Do you pedal in the reverse direction down there?

They shouldn't have passed on the right, IMHO...gap or no gap. I move toward the right when a group passes me as well and it's only been a problem once (also happened in HB) nearly causing an accident for me and a couple members of the group.

I'm an expert at passing, I get passed all the time, but I think it's just wrong to pass on the Right in most circumstances, someone could easily turn into you because they don't expect you to be there...

A group passing on both the left and right at the same time is a bad thing. A group once did that to me at speed. I held my line and was OK, but would have been easy for a noob in my place to be spooked and crash.

someone could easily turn into you because they don't expect you to be there...

People should look around more, too...

Regardless of whether it is acceptable or not, you should check behind you before moving to the right.

If someone in the group said "on your left", as they should have, then the person being would be expected to possibly move right as a courtesy. The people passing on the right would have been totally in the wrong had there been a collision. At least that's my .02 As a cyclist, why would you put yourself in danger, you don't the skill of the cyclist you're passing. They may just be a squid and swerve right into you...

Passing as a group to a person's left and right is a no-no imo.

However, I've passed people on the right a few times and I said "on your right" on those occasions. Most people will move towards the right when they have people coming up behind them, but not everyone does that and it's not always safe to pass on the left if they're riding near the left edge of the bike lane.

Only if the intent is signalled and acknowledged well in advance. Generally you should only pass, for safety reasons, on the left. But I have had on occasions an opening on the right. I will call out "OK to pass right?!" and if I get back an "OK" or a wave, then I will. All must be done with safety in mind.

I understand the concern but I have had the same problem, especailly on busy streets with riders hugging the traffic line making it unsafe for me to go out into traffic to pass. Riders who do that (and I tend to do that as I like to ride away from the curb where there is debris) should expect people to pass on the right. It's not fair to make riders go out around into traffic.

I was passed a couple of times on the right and the resulting accident potential was/is enormous (PCH ride, riders came out of nowhere and startled me on two separate occasions)!
My opinion (based on common sense) is that between cyclists NO passing on the right should occur outside of a "bailout" situation.
Anyone passing on the right side, regardless of the rationalized justification, that results is an accident/incident is at fault and should be held responsible outside of the "bailout" scenario. It's a selfish UNSAFE move.......

:p

If you're riding in a straight line and paying attention it shouldn't matter what side someone passes on. Really.

If you're wiggling all over I'm going to wait until you zig one way and then pass on the other side, probably unannounced, because people tend to go in the direction one calls out, and wiggle more when they hear something than they were already.

If you're making it really difficult I'll pull up behind you and say "Hi" then clearly state in a full sentence which side I'm going to pass on.

In races there's no rule about passing on the right or left. Some people are more used to that than others. The riders who passed you may have done so because they felt comfortable with your riding (i.e. you were
holding your line well) and treated you as one of the group. But it's probably not that good an idea.

In road riding one should pass on the left because that's what people expect.

If you are getting passed on the right often then you are probably riding too far to the left, or not paying attention to what's coming up behind you. It's always good to keep an eye out behind for riders who are catching you and move over to the right to let them by.

I often see riders who crowd the left side of the shoulder, even when it's plenty wide for two bikes. Or they even take the entire lane on climbs and ride next to the centerline. That means that a rider who wants to pass on the left has to go out into traffic, or cross the centerline, to pass. Sometimes it's safer to just pass on the right, although you have to take into account that if the rider you are passing is clueless enough to be making you pass on the right in the first place, they are probably going to be startled when you pass and there is a good chance that they'll move to the right. So you have to leave some extra clearance.

If you're making it really difficult I'll pull up behind you and say "Hi" then clearly state in a full sentence which side I'm going to pass on.

Always pass on the left after signaling and stating your intentions.

If you are making it difficult for me to pass on the left. I will wait until there is an opening on the right, scoot up next to you and kick you into traffic for being a putz! :p

the aforementioned sentence is not really how I would act, but is how I sometimes feel I should act.

It sounds like what happened to you was lame and the guys passing you were just being careless. That said, is it ever acceptable? I haven't read the rest of the responses, but f-it. If someone is ahead of you and you say something (e.g. passing, on your left, move the f-over, etc.) and they don't give you room on the left, then go right and don't lose sleep over it.

Sometimes it's safer to just pass on the right, although you have to take into account that if the rider you are passing is clueless enough to be making you pass on the right in the first place, they are probably going to be startled when you pass and there is a good chance that they'll move to the right. So you have to leave some extra clearance.

And they're going to be just as startled when you announce which side you're passing on.

I prefer them to already be behind me when they get startled.

I spend a lot of time watching how people ride and predicting what they're going to do when they don't want me to know their intentions, so it's usually pretty easy to shoot past wiggly people without any chance of contact.

And I really don't care which side of me you pass on, or even if you bump me while doing it (but I won't bump you while passing).

Always pass on the left after signaling and stating your intentions.


Come ride with me in Montreal some time-- you'd need a tape recorder repeating "a gauche" over and over. And then you'd run into some anglophone who doesn't know enough french to even understand that.

Do you pedal in the reverse direction down there?

And also, their toilet water flush in a clockwise direction. :D

Whenever I see riders approaching, I veer to the right as a courtesy. I don't leave them room on the right.:)

If people pass you on the right it's because you left a big hole there,.

That big hole is called "the door zone", "taking the lane" and "avoiding gutters".

And also, their toilet water flush in a clockwise direction. :D

The toilet water flushes which ever way the toilet designer pointed the openings. It's the drain whirlpool that goes in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere.

Joke killer.

Joke killer.+1 :D



The toilet water flushes which ever way the toilet designer pointed the openings. It's the drain whirlpool that goes in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere.I understand the coreolous (sp??) efffect only affects large bodies of water.
Yes, I know that the direction of spin is affected by the design of the toilet.

:D

That big hole is called "the door zone", "taking the lane" and "avoiding gutters".

Not always-- there are times people are just riding stupid and not paying attention and passing on the right makes more sense than passing on the left. I'm less likely to ride in the door zone and more likely to take the lane than most riders I see. And if I'm taking the lane, feel free to pass me on the right-- it would be stupid to pass me on the left in that case.

Not always-- there are times people are just riding stupid and not paying attention and passing on the right makes more sense than passing on the left. I'm less likely to ride in the door zone and more likely to take the lane than most riders I see. And if I'm taking the lane, feel free to pass me on the right-- it would be stupid to pass me on the left in that case.

I'd still pass you on the left (assuming I was that fast).

The bike lanes here can be quite wide. I think the safety of passing people on the right is a grey'ish area and really depends on the situation. I don't think this is black and white.

In a way, respect goes both ways including moving over when it's safe to do so to allow faster moving traffic to pass.

I passed somebody on the right the other day, for the first time that I can remember. But he was rollin in like 22-32 gearing or something at approximately .01 mph and the bike lane was realllly wide right there.

Other than situations like that I'd say it's mostly unacceptable, and the guys who passed you were quite rude to do so.

I'd still pass you on the left (assuming I was that fast).

It would probably require you to make two big lateral moves (one to the left, one to the right), which is generally less safe and less polite to people around you than riding a straight line.

If I'm riding with a bunch of riders who are less comfortable in traffic than I am and I move out to take the lane, I generally expect people to come through on the right. Similarly, if I'm at the front and want to move to the back to check on someone, I'll often move to the left (sometimes quite far) and drop back-- are you going to pass me on the left there? Or in a rotating paceline with the wind from the left? Riders moving back should be in the wind sheltering riders moving up (who are all passing on the right).

If you ride a straight line and are aware of what's going on around you it shouldn't matter. If people are surprising you when you're being passed on either side, you're not paying enough attention.

+1 :D



I understand the coreolous (sp??) efffect only affects large bodies of water.
Yes, I know that the direction of spin is affected by the design of the toilet.

:D

the correolous effect is a pretty wild concept. I still have trouble understanding it- but with enough force a current to gradually do a 180 degree shift.

It would probably require you to make two big lateral moves (one to the left, one to the right), which is generally less safe and less polite to people around you than riding a straight line.

If I'm riding with a bunch of riders who are less comfortable in traffic than I am and I move out to take the lane, I generally expect people to come through on the right. Similarly, if I'm at the front and want to move to the back to check on someone, I'll often move to the left (sometimes quite far) and drop back-- are you going to pass me on the left there? Or in a rotating paceline with the wind from the left? Riders moving back should be in the wind sheltering riders moving up (who are all passing on the right).

If you ride a straight line and are aware of what's going on around you it shouldn't matter. If people are surprising you when you're being passed on either side, you're not paying enough attention.

If you're riding together with a group of people that you're part of and comfortable with, you're free to move around within the group in any way the group members tolerate. If you happen to be sharing the road with other cyclists who aren't with you, and whose skill and predictablity is unknown to you - and they don't know you either - I believe the safest and most considerate course is to observe established conventions and legal rules of the road. I overtake other cyclists frequently and I would never pass on the right unless they were signalling and/or executing a left turn, because otherwise I can't count on them not to squeeze me to the right and I may have nowhere to go if they do. If I pass, it's on the left, usually with warning, and always with awareness that there's extra space to the left if I need it.

I'm usually aware of other cyclists overtaking me but occasionally I've been caught off guard and I would bet you have too.

If you're taking the lane, you're going to do it (A) because it's not safe at that point to be too far to the right, and (B) in the middle of the lane, not by the centre line of the road. It's not safe for you to be over to the right, why would it be safe for me? I'll pass you on the left, thank you. If it's not safe to pass on the left, I'll wait until it is.

It's not safe for you to be over to the right, why would it be safe for me?
That's the key, and the argument is that it isn't always true. Some people just *like* to ride furthest to the left (either personal preference, different safety margins or just too tired and unaware of people coming up behind them).

If the bike lane is half to almost 1 car lane in width, and the person in front of you is riding near the left line, will you pass on the right after realizing the person will not be moving over to the right?

That's the key, and the argument is that it isn't always true. Some people just *like* to ride furthest to the left (either personal preference, different safety margins or just too tired and unaware of people coming up behind them).

If the bike lane is half to almost 1 car lane in width, and the person in front of you is riding near the left line, will you pass on the right after realizing the person will not be moving over to the right?

No, I'll shoulder check and then pass on the left in the car lane, and if I'm a bad mood I'll crowd him a bit as I swing back into the bike lane.

I overtake other cyclists frequently and I would never pass on the right unless they were signalling and/or executing a left turn, because otherwise I can't count on them not to squeeze me to the right and I may have nowhere to go if they do. If I pass, it's on the left, usually with warning, and always with awareness that there's extra space to the left if I need it.


If I'm passing someone I've probably already evaluated their riding skills. If I'm passing on the right it's probably because they've already committed to a move to the left, whether they know it or not.


I'm usually aware of other cyclists overtaking me but occasionally I've been caught off guard and I would bet you have too.


very rarely, and it doesn't startle me out of my line. A lot of riders swerve the instant you announce your presence behind them. I prefer them to be behind me by the time they realize I'm there.


If you're taking the lane, you're going to do it (A) because it's not safe at that point to be too far to the right, and (B) in the middle of the lane, not by the centre line of the road. It's not safe for you to be over to the right, why would it be safe for me? I'll pass you on the left, thank you.

Usually if I'm taking a lane around LA it's because it's too narrow to have cars in the same lane to the left of me. By having one or two cyclists taking the lane, the danger of anyone else being on the right is vastly reduced, and it is likely safer than passing to my left.

It's the "never" thing about passing on the right that I find silly-- there are plenty of situations where it make sense, and where you probably do it without realizing it.

Do you pedal in the reverse direction down there?

Only before midday!

Only before midday!

I was always curious, how do magnetic shoes and clipless pedals work together?

I was always curious, how do magnetic shoes and clipless pedals work together?

I have no idea!

If people pass you on the right it's because you left a big hole there, and probably looked like you were going to force them over if they passed on the left.

And never try to get out of the way-- if they're behind you they can see you better than you can see them. Ride a straight line at constant speed and they'll get around.

+1

I was always curious, how do magnetic shoes and clipless pedals work together?
For that matter, isn't it easier to go uphill than down, down under?

For that matter, isn't it easier to go uphill than down, down under?

Yeah I love hills-yeah riiiight!!