Originally Posted by
Ninety5rpm
The problem is that bike lanes are similar to shoulders, you can't blame drivers for treating them the same, and shoulders are not supposed to have traffic. Legally the cyclist has the right of way if int a bike lane, but not if it's a shoulder, even though geometrically shoulders and bike lanes are often virtually identical. Expecting motorists to always do the right thing is a recipe for disaster.
Pretty much!
After a long time of driving, when I took up cycling I was initially quite uncomfortable passing cars on the right. A few close calls later I figured out that I was rightly so, because it's something drivers simply don't expect and don't check for (and we don't have bike lanes on the roads, as a rule - when we do have bike lanes they're on the sidewalks which I generally ignore and just ride on the road).
If it's a slow city street I just pass them on the left, sprinting and impersonating a motorcycle. In some situations (large trucks, especially) I find it safest to simply ride with the traffic, keeping behind the truck and being a little patient and a little bit slower, perhaps....