Originally Posted by
donheff
I try to keep track of proper safety rules when riding and, importantly, when driving. But I didn't understand the proper right hook rules until I read an article about Uber driverless cars violating them. I viewed right hooks as careless turns without checking for oncoming cyclists - so far so good. But for turns when driving I also have intentionally stayed out of marked bike lanes, staying in the car lane until the bike lane is clear and then turning right. In the article I learned that the proper approach is to merge the car into the bike lane and then make the right. That is the law in CA. I can see why that is safer but I would expect to get some grief if I pulled over into the bike lane at a red light thereby blocking bikes who want to get through.
What do you all do?
Anyone who gives you grief for waiting in the bike lane while preparing to make a right turn is ignorant. Think about it. Assuming you got there without cutting anyone off, that's the only safe place for you to wait for traffic to clear for your right turn. It tells cyclists who overtake you what your intentions are so that they don't try to squeeze up on your right side while you're looking left (okay, some will still try to do this
). If you were to wait in the lane to the left of the bike lane, you would have to rely on your ability to see each and every cyclist who overtakes you while you're also looking for an opening to make that right turn.
Now having said that, when you come north to Oregon, things work differently. Up here, you are supposed to make your right turn from the lane next to the bike lane while yielding to anyone who overtakes you in the bike lane. It's odd, but you get used to it. After seventeen years here, I still don't trust anyone in a motor vehicle who is stopped at a red light because I can't rely on their lane position to tell me what they intend to do.
I much prefer it when right turn lanes magically appear to the right of a bike lane. That makes it clear to everyone what to do. The motorist who wants to turn right simply waits for an opening in the bike lane (rarely a very long wait) and crosses the bike lane to the right turn lane. Easy peasy, but not the norm.