Advocacy & Safety - one way street..left side or right side?

on an one way street. do u guys ride on the right side or left side if there is no bike lane? which is safer so drivers can see you better? i guess it would be on the left side? what do u guys think?

Right side. Usually, that's a requirement.

However, if it's too narrow, I will take the lane if that's the only way to stay 3 feet away from parked cars.

drivers always expect random objects that they need to avoid on their right side, so stay on the right. The law seems to say to stay to the left which makes no sense at all since if thats the place where drivers will see us, maybe we should ride on the left (closer to the center line) on regular roads...Just stay on the right and take up enough of the lane so that people don't squeeze by you and if it's a busy street well either keep up or find another street.

then how come on a one way street in nyc like on 1st ave. between 60th and 125th st. which has a bike lane...the bike lane is on the left side?

I almost always take the lane, but if not I just cruise in the right lane unless I am close to turning left.

Depends on several factors to me. Which side are the cars parked on? Am I going to making a right or left turn off of the road? Which side has the most driveways? Default would be right hand side if it is safest.

Aaron:)

Here in FL you can ride on either side on a one-way street. I don't find it dangerous to be on the left on one-way streets in the business district where speeds are 15 to 30 mph. Look up the NYC laws. If they're striping bike lanes on the left though, then you can be pretty certain it's ok to take the left lane on a one way.

then how come on a one way street in nyc like on 1st ave. between 60th and 125th st. which has a bike lane...the bike lane is on the left side?



Bus stops, perhaps?

Bus stops, perhaps?

yes that gotta be it...they bus stop on the right side of the st.

I prefer the left. With a car is approaching you from the back to pass you on your right side, the driver will be aimed almost directly at you. He will see exactly where you are in relation to his car, since he is basically at the left edge of the car, and he will instinctively give you a lot of room, since he is almost in line with you.

When any car passes you on the left, the driver has the feeling he is far away from you, which he is, because there is a whole bunch of car between you and him, and it is also very easy for him to misjudge the distance between you and the edge of the car, which is the important distance, because he is so far way from the right edge of the car..

It depends where I am going.

Here in Minneapolis, bike lanes are on the left side of one-way streets because the theory is that drivers can see the cyclists better on the left side. But with the size of a-pillars these days, I tend to disagree.

He will see exactly where you are in relation to his car, since he is basically at the left edge of the car, and he will instinctively give you a lot of room, since he is almost in line with you.

in an ideal world maybe. I ride a left side of a one way street daily and get buzzed quite a bit. Cabbies are by far the worst offenders, they seem so overconfident they don't consider you a vehicle, you're just another obstacle to skillfully bypass while speeding on their merry way. This morning a red sports car buzzed me aggressively gunning the engine at my side, accelerating past, making a left in front of me from a middle lane and coming to a screeching halt half a block down, the last in a red light line. Assclown. :D

I ride a 4 lane, one-way street every day. Every day I ride in the far left lane. The right lane is heavily used by buses and can be quite dangerous, not to mention slow. It's one of my favorite routes b/c I rarely have problems with drivers. On a one-way street, it is permitted to use the far lane on either side of the street.

To me it's no different than any other lane moving in one direction...keep right pass left. If you need to take the lane, do so, otherwise keep right.
I'm not keen about cars trying to pass me on the right, as one time some impatient fool did and ran into a hole large enough to blow out his right front tire.

then how come on a one way street in nyc like on 1st ave. between 60th and 125th st. which has a bike lane...the bike lane is on the left side?

Because here in NYC, the left side is the best place to be for a bike rider. You should definitely keep to the left on a one-way street in NYC. All seasoned cyclists here follow this rule. The reasons are (1) it keeps you visible to drivers and traffic and allows you to make eye contact w/ said drivers; (2) it minimizes the risk of getting doored by a person exiting their vehicle; (3) b/c of the closeness of city blocks and the density of traffic, cyclists are often moving faster than traffic; (4) it keeps you away from buses, which are more likely not to see you and mash you to a pancake.

People who ride on the right side in NYC are putting themselves at risk. Stay to the left on one-way streets whenever possible. I frequently move to the left even on 2-way streets when traffic is stopped, b/c that makes me visible and keeps me away from the potential of getting clocked by a quick right turn.

The normal traffic rule that says bikes are slow and need to keep to the right just doesn't apply here in NYC. The older bike lanes are on the right side of one-way streets, but all the new lanes are on the left b/c the traffic planners realized it was safer and disrupted traffic far less.

Either is legal in California.

on an one way street. do u guys ride on the right side or left side if there is no bike lane? which is safer so drivers can see you better? i guess it would be on the left side? what do u guys think?

Ride in the right-most lane that's going where you want to go.

Positioning on the roadway is mostly dictated by speed. Slower traffic/vehicles to the right; faster-moving vehicles pass on the left. If you're stopped, you need to be at the curb or off the road. Slower traffic in the right lane, faster/passing traffic in the left lane.

Ride in the left lane if 1) you're going faster than the average pace of traffic, and 2) if you're setting up to make a left turn.

Because here in NYC, the left side is the best place to be for a bike rider. You should definitely keep to the left on a one-way street in NYC. All seasoned cyclists here follow this rule. The reasons are (1) it keeps you visible to drivers and traffic and allows you to make eye contact w/ said drivers; (2) it minimizes the risk of getting doored by a person exiting their vehicle; (3) b/c of the closeness of city blocks and the density of traffic, cyclists are often moving faster than traffic; (4) it keeps you away from buses, which are more likely not to see you and mash you to a pancake.

People who ride on the right side in NYC are putting themselves at risk. Stay to the left on one-way streets whenever possible. I frequently move to the left even on 2-way streets when traffic is stopped, b/c that makes me visible and keeps me away from the potential of getting clocked by a quick right turn.

The normal traffic rule that says bikes are slow and need to keep to the right just doesn't apply here in NYC. The older bike lanes are on the right side of one-way streets, but all the new lanes are on the left b/c the traffic planners realized it was safer and disrupted traffic far less.

^^ thx for this advice..i'll stay on the left side.

^^ thx for this advice..i'll stay on the left side.

By way of illustration, do this small exercise sometime (I did it this past week, and it was obvious): Sit on a busy corner w/ a lot of mixed traffic (I was on Lafayette and Kenmare in the LES) for about half an hour around 6 pm in a business district and watch the cyclists. You'll notice that the most experienced cyclists (messengers and perhaps decked-out commuters) will generally follow best practices; you'll also notice a lot of oblivious types (fashionista women are often the worst) doing all kinds of idiotic and life-endangering things. Most of those people will keep to the right. The worst ones obviously follow the if-I-don't-see-or-hear-it-it-can't-hurt-me rule, and they'll be (a) slowly cruising and weaving across lanes w/o signaling and (b) listening to their ipods w/ earphones in or talking on their cellphones.

Unfortunately, this city is neither Amsterdam nor Santa Monica. Being aware and as communicative w/ the traffic around you is of tantamount importance.

.... You'll notice that the most experienced cyclists (messengers and perhaps decked-out commuters) will generally follow best practices; you'll also notice a lot of oblivious types (fashionista women are often the worst) doing all kinds of idiotic and life-endangering things. Most of those people will keep to the right...

who is most stay on the right? the fashionista women or the experienced cyclists?

Either is legal in Ontario. I tend to ride on the side most convenient (e.g. for my next turn).

who is most stay on the right? the fashionista women or the experienced cyclists?

Experienced cyclists generally stick to the left unless they're looking for a right turn. Fashionista women (and men) are all over the place.

Either side is legal in Hawaii. If I need to make a left turn, I move to the left side very early.

Either side is legal in Hawaii. If I need to make a left turn, I move to the left side very early.

Same here (but I'm not sure about a 1 lane 1 way street.) On a 2 (or more) lane 1 way, you're allowed to be at the leftmost edge or the right. There's a section of 2 lane 1 way I take on my way home, and I use the left side of the road because I make a left turn 3 blocks from where I get on the road. I can keep speed with the traffic much of the time, and when I can I will take the entire left lane.

Before I started using this road on my commute, I once saw a guy riding on the left side like that, and I questioned the safety of the manouver. Now I fully understand it. It's much safer than trying to cut over 3 lanes to make a left in rush hour traffic.

Here in FL you can ride on either side on a one-way street. I don't find it dangerous to be on the left on one-way streets in the business district where speeds are 15 to 30 mph. Look up the NYC laws. If they're striping bike lanes on the left though, then you can be pretty certain it's ok to take the left lane on a one way.

It's been a few years since I lived in Florida but I was under the impression that with a single lane one-way street you rode to the right only, but if the one-way street had multiple lanes then you were allowed to ride on the left side of the left lane too.

Either side is legal in Illilnois

It's been a few years since I lived in Florida but I was under the impression that with a single lane one-way street you rode to the right only, but if the one-way street had multiple lanes then you were allowed to ride on the left side of the left lane too.

That's sounds right. I was pulling from my frequent downtown experiences where its 3 or 4 lanes of one way travel and hadn't considered the single lane scenario.

Riding the left side of a good one way street is one of my favorite ways to ride. People are much more cautious making the left than the right. Being left hooked by somebody going the same direction as you is pretty improbable imo.