Originally Posted by
RubeRad
Well neither of those concerns apply to cars in a left turn lane (at least they shouldn't!) For cars in a right lane next to the bike lane, I stay in the bike lane, carefully observing cars for signs of right turn/hook. At the light I still pull to the front of the crosswalk, and AFLAP (not quite taking the lane), to give room behind me for right-turning cars. If I hang out in the bike lane behind the crosswalk, I would block right-turning cars, where I would rather send the message "bikers are not annoying obstructions to my driving"
Apologies, I was extrapolating to more general intersections without turning lanes.
Originally Posted by
rmfnla
If there is room for cars to turn right and you are in the crosswalk just to the right of the car going straight there will be room for right turns.
Read this and then tell me how much it matters if I have seen anyone getting rear-ended:
Avoid This Killer Sales Strategy at All Costs
It's the one you
don't see that you have to worry about...
You can't spend your entire life worrying about the surprise thing that you'll never see coming that will kill you. Everything is a calculated risk. If you were sitting in the crosswalk and the car beside (and slightly behind you) got hit, you're getting hit too. I don't think a biker would be crushed if he were sitting behind a car when it gets rear ended. More likely he'll get thrown over top of one car or the other. (My opinion.) Although helmet testing seems to support that. (Video below) Where as getting sideswiped and dragged is... well... very bad. How often do drivers pull up to an intersection wanting to turn right. They don't look right, they look left. Once they see an opening they go for it. I catch myself doing this occasionally, so I know other, less attentive drivers do it as well. That's what I'm afraid of (in a normal intersection, not the turning lane in the OP.) But, in reality, I do not worry about getting rear ended at a stoplight. I simply don't.
As for the URL you posted. People get rear ended at stoplights every day. This one was particularly nasty, since it involved a pedestrian getting killed, but it's nothing new. I think if, in 45 years, you've never seen someone get rear ended at an intersection then you're safe to pull your bike wherever you want. I simply prefer to be behind the car as I never have to worry about being in anyone's way and I do the same thing regardless of the lane I pull into.