Old 09-29-07, 06:42 PM
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DCCommuter
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Sorry to hear about your accident.

I read the document at the link you mentioned. I found it full of misinformation and bad advice.

For instance:
Because of the special nature of the bicycle, there are two rules of the road to which cyclists must pay special attention.

slower traffic stays right.
slower traffic must give way to faster traffic when safe and practical.
There is no "rule of the road" that slower traffic gives way to faster traffic. The law everywhere in North America is that passing safely is the responsibility of the passing driver. That's auto-centric wishful thinking on the part of the author.

They then go on to say:
cyclists should ride close to the right hand edge of the road without a curb, or about one metre from a curb, when it is safe to do so, unless they are turning left or going faster than other vehicles.
Lane position is highly controversial, just spend a few seconds in the Advocacy & Safety forum and your head will spin. The blanket recommendation of "one metre from a curb" without any regard for the context is irresponsible and has no basis in the law. Again, this is auto-centric wishful thinking, the belief that every road has some magic "other" space that cyclists really should be using instead of impeding motorists.

Finally, in the section on taking the lane:
On high-speed roads, it is not safe to take the whole lane.
More wishful thinking, that shows a complete lack of understanding of how to ride a bicycle in traffic, and what the law says about how cyclists may use the roadway.
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