Originally Posted by Bruce Rosar
Originally Posted by Helmet Head
This is yet another reason why I believe the presence or absence of fsdt is such a critical factor in determining where I am positioned. When fsdt is present, it acts as a "cover". In cases like this (rural 2 lane highway with dashed center stripe) it prevents oncoming traffic from passing. When fsdt is absent, you have to take an assertive/conspicuous position to create your own cover not only to prevent oncoming traffic from using your lane to pass slower traffic moving in their direction, but also to inhibit cross traffic from crossing in your path.
IMHO, using
prevents in this context overstates your case somewhat. While a wide vehicle (such as a car) is easier for other road users to see than a narrow vehicle (such as a bicycle), approaching traffic (from any direction) can't actually stop a someone from attempting a pass (although it would be less likely that they'd try).
Good catch, I used the word "prevent" twice, and "inhibit" the 3rd time, which is more accurate. I've edited the post so that it says "inhibit" in all 3 cases. Thanks.
Edit: in my defense, technically, "hinder" is supposed to be a synonym for
prevent, and "hinder" would be an appropriate word to use here, but
prevent does imply "not allow" to a greater degree than I intended to convey.
Edit 2: I changed the first one back to
prevents, since that's reasonably accurate, and changed the second one to
hinder.