Originally Posted by
mcours2006
Of course close passes are dangerous. The closer the pass the more dangerous. Just because nothing happened doesn't mean there wasn't a risk. The closer the pass the higher the risk. Higher risk means more danger. Not sure why this is even a point of contention...oh wait, this is BF where everything is up for debate.
The bone of contention is the proposed recommendation for allegedly reducing bicycling
risk incurred from close passes while riding anywhere to the right side of the right lane, to include bike lanes or shoulder -
The solution: Ride nowhere near the right portion of the traffic lane and instead to ride much farther to the left or near the middle of traffic lanes in order to allegedly be more visible, regardless of traffic conditions.
The proponents of this solution ignore the possibility that cyclists following this dogmatic "solution" could increase their risk of overtaking collisions with the likely increased risk of catastrophic injuries by following such a recommendation, and furthermore that "taking the lane" does not necessarily remove or even reduce whatever risk exists from close passes.
Anecdotes about an alleged history of "lane taking"
reducing risk from close passes that lead to collisions, let alone any reduction in overall bicycling risk do not become more convincing with constant repetition, nor by use of enlarged blue typefaces, nor by citing unproven/unsubstantiated bicycling safety theory on the topic from Vehicular Cycling Promoters/ideologues.