Originally Posted by
PatrickGSR94
"Control" may not be the best term, but "influence" certainly works. You ABSOLUTELY influence traffic behind you based on your riding behavior, lane position, hand signals, and probably other factors. There was a study conducted recently of how lane position affects motorist passing distance. The farther left the cyclist gets (farther from the edge), the more likely the motorist is to change lanes to pass. Interestingly, starting from the curb or edge, if one moves just a few feet left (right tire track), passing distances actually get CLOSER. But then as the cyclist moves farther left still towards the left tire track, nearly 100% of motorists change lanes to pass. This directly reflects my experiences in the past 3 years of riding and commuting by bike.
Just a minor quibble: "Control" is
exactly the term to use. People can
try to sneak around me on a left turn or even when going straight but if I'm positioned in the middle of the lane, they can
only "try".
Originally Posted by
PatrickGSR94
So yes, you definitely can influence motorists behind you. To think you cannot influence others is just silly. The very act of being there influences others. Pretending that other people can't see you is actually a great way to get hurt. The best way to stay safe is to do everything in your power to MAKE SURE other people can SEE you.
Exactly. The problem here is one of perception (with a modicum of fear). Motorists aren't out there to just run down cyclists willy nilly. You've only been commuting for 3 years, I've been commuting for 10 times that. I've had lots of time to observe how motorists act and while we bicyclists may anger some drivers from time to time, seldom do we anger them to the point of murderous intent. I've
never had someone in a car try to actively run me over while making a left turn and I make thousands of them per year. Even on multi-lane left turns to multi-lane roadways, people don't actively try to run me over.