HillCusser

Riding on shoulderless roads in S. MD. (and probably many other parts of the state) is like playing Russian Roulette - we could use a better informed public as to cyclists right to 'take the lane'. Here's a link to make sure Gov. O'Mally understands just that. Maryland bikers can click the link here to help make a difference ~

https://www.waba.org/blog/2011/06/mar...yclists-safer/

The Human Car

Just to note, O'Malley will be at the 65th Annual Catonsville July 4th Parade. So if you can give a complement and ask him nicely to reverse SHA's staff decision about R4-11 as it is approved by FHWA.

NVanHiker

Hey, as long as you can maintain 50mph, feel free to take the full lane.

xrayzebra 

Funny, how regionally, drivers seem to have different attitudes. In parts of Boston, cars seem to stop dead when someone steps off the curb into the street, and pedestrians know it. They'll walk out in front of a moving car without looking, assuming you'll yield to them. In other cities, drivers assume that if you step into the street you have a death wish, and they're happy to help you out. In parts of MD, drivers seem to think that a bicyclist on the road is a nut case who doesn't know that bikes are meant for the sidewalk. My own wife is one of these drivers, even though I constantly remind her that bikes are considered vehicles which legally belong on the road, and it's illegal to bike on the sidewalk.

People have a tendency everywhere to be a bit selfish, especially when they get behind the wheel. It's the old thing of the anonymity of being in a car making people ruder than they would be to your face. I've observed something that I call the Baltimore lane change turn signal: a driver suddenly cuts into the lane in front of you on the freeway, and flashes their turn signal once or twice as they cross the line. The meaning of the turn signal is, "It's cool, I'm not drunk, I meant to do that." Of course, I've seen this all up and down the New Jersey turnpike to Newark, so it's not just B'more. I think the theory behind it is that if you signal before you change lanes, the guy you are cutting in on will speed up to prevent this.

I compare selfishness on the road to the phenomenon where people buy a new house in a new development carved out of farm land, but as soon as they move in, they want to join a conservancy movement to ban further evil development.

I didn't realize though, that bikes have a right to a full lane in some places, except for the rare place where I've seen it very clearly marked. I think that insisting on a full lane, even where it is granted, is asking for trouble. I'd rather be sharing the lane than in the hospital.

Where I live, the roads are narrow, and the rural scenery is really nice. It looks like a great place to bike, and you'd think - looking at it but not living here - that these roads are placid places with few cars, and it would be an excellent place to bike. It is quite the opposite. Even at 3 or 4 AM, the 1 1/2 lane roads out here are busy, and people drive fast at all hours. Soccer moms talking on their call phones in SUVs come around a blind curve at you in the middle of the road, and both drivers have to jam on the brakes and move to the edge of the road where there is no berm. If two cars encounter a bike at the same time, you can imagine how that goes. Somebody has to stop and let the other vehicle pass the bike. Even a car and a bike passing side by side is close. I put my bike in the truck and take it somewhere else to ride.

The Human Car

While R4-11 is being discussed in Maryland, the new drivers manual came out:

Expect to find a bicyclist on all types of roads
(except interstate highways and toll facilities),
at all intersections and roundabouts, in all types
of weather, and at all times of the day and night.
Bicyclists may ride out in the travel lane for their
own safety due to narrow roads, or to avoid
obstacles or pavement hazards. On roads without
shoulders, or with cars parked along the right side,
often the safest place for a bicyclist to ride is in the
center of the lane. In Maryland, a bicyclist may use
the full lane even while traveling substantially below
the speed of traffic if the lane is too narrow for a
car to safely pass a bicycle within the lane)

https://www.mva.maryland.gov/resources/dl-002a.pdf (Starting on pg 29)