then how come over the past year or so I've been here I got a totally different impression of it? am I the only one? hands?
Because there is a huge difference between HHs definition of VC here, and his definition of VC elsewhere, and it changes.
HHs power weave, for example, is no more VC then staying in the bike lane. Defaulting to a centerish position absent FSDT, also not required by VC, according to him here. And yet, in his VC definitions thread, he brings up his default center idea as an important concept for vehicular cyclists.
Originally Posted by HH
In particular, in the absence of FSDT there is no reason for a vehicular cyclist to ride in the road margin
Note that by road margin he meant bike lanes, shoulders, etc.
Passing stop or slowed traffic on the right is something HH does. It used to be against VC, according to HHs own Wikipedia article. Now it is VC. But only if you have the right attitude while you do it.
This is where it gets interesting.
His "as long as it is consistent with the rules of the road" speal. Because the points of "consistent" and "rules of the road" are rather fluid ideas. We all know that HH has a loose concept of consistent.
For example, HH once referred me to a primer on the VC rules of the road
Also, some of the core ideas in Effective Cycling, go beyond the rules of the road
Originally Posted by Effective Cycling
cyclists must think for and control the overtaking driver to some extent, even though this is not in the rules of the road.
So here, while Helmet Head says that you are VC so long as you behave consistently with the ROTR, Forester says that to be VC you must go beyond that....
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What we really have is Helmet Head defined concepts, clarified below:
VC is everybody following the rotr
Advanced VC is everybody following Helmet Head's extra-VC philosophy, which includes the attitude, the default center weave, the gap negotiating.
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So when HH is criticizing people, it's usually for them not following or agreeing with his "Advanced VC" ideas. It's just confusing because he blurs the line between VC and "advanced VC" so often.