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You come upon a long line of cars at an intersection...what do you do?

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You come upon a long line of cars at an intersection...what do you do?

Old 05-06-11, 09:37 PM
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You come upon a long line of cars at an intersection...what do you do?

Do you wait in line, or do you ride alongside the cars to the front of the line? What do you believe is safer and/or considerate?

I personally ride alongside the right hand side of the cars...I can get out of the way faster when the light changes. I wait in line at 4-way, or 3-way stops.

Last edited by DaveInThePacNW; 05-06-11 at 10:14 PM.
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Old 05-06-11, 09:57 PM
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Can of worms has just been opened.
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Old 05-06-11, 10:09 PM
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Oh dear....
I get in line when going through intersections. Getting right hooked hurts. Darn inattentive drivers.

*Cowers in fear from the coming of the can comprised of worms*
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Old 05-06-11, 10:12 PM
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I'll move to the front of the line.
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Old 05-06-11, 10:28 PM
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I typically ride to the front unless i see a vehicle signaling for a right turn and I know I can't get across the intersection before them(I know most don't use their signals here). I always look at the driver next to me to make sure they see me.
 
Old 05-06-11, 10:31 PM
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I wait in line.
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Old 05-06-11, 10:38 PM
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it depends
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Old 05-06-11, 11:33 PM
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Wait
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Old 05-06-11, 11:40 PM
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I wait in line. In this town, filtering is probably asking to be right hooked. I was nearly hit head on once, while waiting to make a turn out of a park exit, so I don't have much faith in the drivers around here.

I'd also claim that I don't want to be one of those cyclists that motorists complain about, but I still have a bad habit of creeping through stop signs, and not completely stopping unless there's a car coming. Though around here, that might make me a vehicular cyclist.
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Old 05-07-11, 12:09 AM
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If the line of cars is standing still I usually try to get to the front if there's enough space (not always though, it's a situational thing), if the cars are moving I probably stay behind even if they are slowing me down.
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Old 05-07-11, 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by oban_kobi
Oh dear....
I get in line when going through intersections. Getting right hooked hurts. Darn inattentive drivers.

*Cowers in fear from the coming of the can comprised of worms*
Not just right-hooked, left-hooked too.
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Old 05-07-11, 01:29 AM
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If there is a dedicated right-turn lane and there is room for me to filter between the right-turn lane lane and through lane safely, I will do so. If there is no dedicated right turn lane I generally wait in line, unless there is a lot of room to the right (enough for a car making a right to use separate from the line), making a defacto right-turn lane. If the line is really long, I may get greedy and slowly filter up in other situations, but these times are rare, and I approach them with extreme caution. YMMV.
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Old 05-07-11, 01:49 AM
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I wait unless I know there's more traffic ahead and I can keep riding without playing lead frog. I hate to be the guy that rolls up to the front only to get passed again by every car a minute later
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Old 05-07-11, 02:43 AM
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I'll pass the line of cars, generally on the right, and then wait for the light to change there.
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Old 05-07-11, 02:57 AM
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Originally Posted by DaveInThePacNW
Do you wait in line, or do you ride alongside the cars to the front of the line? What do you believe is safer and/or considerate?

I personally ride alongside the right hand side of the cars...I can get out of the way faster when the light changes. I wait in line at 4-way, or 3-way stops.
Assuming there's space, I ride down the inside of the line to get to the front. Depending on the road and conditions I sometimes ride down the outside. If there's no space I wait in line until there is space.

In the UK it's pretty much expected that cyclists and motorcyclists will pass a queue of cars to get to the front. A lot of traffic lights have what we call an ASL (advanced stop line) intended specifically to give cyclists a space at the front of the queue ahead of the stop line for cars.
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Old 05-07-11, 04:56 AM
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Originally Posted by hairnet
I wait unless I know there's more traffic ahead and I can keep riding without playing lead frog. I hate to be the guy that rolls up to the front only to get passed again by every car a minute later
Actually that can be pretty amusing if you're in a bad mood and want to cheer yourself up by pissing off motorists.
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Old 05-07-11, 07:22 AM
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Depends on the road. If there's a bike lane, I'll move up. In every situation that I ride in where there's a stoplight, there's also no bike lane or even shoulder, so I get in line.

In short, I act exactly as I do when I'm in a car. In a car, if I had my own clear lane, obviously I'd move up. If not I stay in line.
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Old 05-07-11, 07:59 AM
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I have a question about this. In Texas its illegal for a motorcycle to split lanes - which is what this is. So if bikes are constrained by the same laws on the road as motor vehicles, wouldn't it be illegal (in Texas) to do this?

Also, I agree with hairnet about "I hate to be the guy that rolls up to the front only to get passed again by every car a minute later." This move seems to be justifying the cagers negative opinion of cyclists, IMO.
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Old 05-07-11, 08:04 AM
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Texas its Legal for a motorcycle to split lanes
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Old 05-07-11, 08:07 AM
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I wait unless I am in a bike lane. I also get out into the lane so I am not squeezed unless (obviously) if there is a bike lane.
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Old 05-07-11, 08:07 AM
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I drop into the blind spot just off the right rear fender of the lead car and let him pull me through, then drop back off to the right of the lane as he pulls away.....
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Old 05-07-11, 08:16 AM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Texas its Legal for a motorcycle to split lanes
When did that happen? its been a couple of years since I've ridden - and got ticketed for it. But the most recent dated entry on Google shows HB 1571 still in process.

Funny story: when I got ticketed for it the officer asked "do you know why I pulled you over?". I replied "because I let you." Yeah, he didn't think that was very funny either.
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Old 05-07-11, 08:20 AM
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Mentioned above, it depends on the situation.

Generally I wait, like any other vehicle in line, provided I can clear the line in one light cycle. If not, well then the way I look at it: Hell I am on a bike, and they are not, I view it as the privilege of riding a bike.

However, there are certain situations that dictate otherwise: my city has 5 main bridges that cross a River that divides the region and city. All of them are major choke points at rush hour. Usually there is enough room to filter forward, however one in particular is rather narrow with no room to filter (four lanes on a bridge originally built for two - with traffic heavy in both directions). There, I actually hop up on an elevated sidewalk and slowly proceed along until I reach the far side. Otherwise it could be a 20-30+ minute wait to go ~200 yards. On another bridge that is currently undergoing renovations, jersey barriers are being used to channel traffic, there the traffic flows at speed and since I am able to keep up with traffic, I take the lane and then either filter or wait depending on the egress choke points on the other side (the bridge itself feeds into a rotary that keeps the traffic off the bridge, but chokes at points beyond the rotary.) Whether I filter or wait depends on the road surfaces, the room and the traffic and how much it is crowding the fog lane. In the winter/spring, there is more debris in the fog lane, so I wait, in the cleaner summer/fall months, I can usually filter as there is more room, unless a vehicle is pulled way over, then I have to wait.

Do what makes sense and is most safe for you.

As I said, the way I look at it is I am riding a bike, I don't contribute to the traffic situation, so why should I have to wait in it.

At least here in Mass another thing that controls is the law. Mass law specifically allows bicycles to pass on the right, however the law is somewhat ambiguous as to whether this applies to moving vehicles AND stopped vehicles, OR only moving vehicles. I have read opinions from MassBike that indicate it's not okay to pass stopped traffic, however, I have successfully argued for clients that it is. There is no case law on point. In this regard, I will generally filter forward, as long as the line of traffic is moving and creeping, however, unless I have a clear lane for me (fog/bike/shoulder lane), as mentioned above, I stop and wait. At least in Mass., the law really just codifies what is the most sensible thing to do anyway.

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Last edited by zac; 05-07-11 at 08:36 AM.
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Old 05-07-11, 08:21 AM
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I've done all manner of things. every situation is different. one thing I didn't see mentioned was moving to the intersection to wait, but then waitign for the line of cars to pass before taking off.
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Old 05-07-11, 08:27 AM
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If you waited behind the cars at every intersection then biking wouldn't be any faster than driving would it? Kind of defeats the point of riding in the city. Pretending that 25 lbs of welded aluminum tubes on two wheels is actually 2000 lbs of steel with four wheels is stupid in my opinion.
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