JRA

Riding to the right to allow motorists to pass is not uncommon at all. An intersection can provide the space.

The problem, of course, is merging back into the lane.

The crosswalk weave is not all that different from the weaving in and out between parked cars that some riders do, although the crosswalk weave is probably more dangerous.

Weaving in and out between parked cars leads to what has been called the mousetrap accident. It has been argued that 'mousetrap' doesn't happen more than it does because both motorist and bicyclist can see it coming.

A problem with the crosswalk weave is that, while the cyclist should see a problem coming, the motorist quite possibly does not. The motorist might assume that the cyclist intends to ride onto the sidewalk.

Of course, the cyclist wouldn't intentionally swerve into the path of traffic. The recipe for disaster is if the cyclist is unaware of the presence of the motorist.

---

BTW, the crosswalk weave is not limited to bicyclists. Some motorists use it to pass on the right (this is essentially the opposite of the crosswalk weave that bicyclists do). I've had motorists do it to me (my reaction was an amused, "Whoa, dude! On your way to a fire?" ). I've even seen a motorist attempt this stunt on another motorist (he didn't make it and wound up stopped in the crosswalk).

It's a jungle out there.

---

I occasionally see bicyclists dismount and cross intersections on foot but the crosswalk weave is much more common. Sidewalk riding is more common still, even though it's illegal in many of the places that I see it. Sometimes when I'm riding in the city I wonder if vehicular cyclists even exist.

cudak888 

I've seen it hundreds of times, especially on two-lane (single each way) neighborhood road intersections with no sidewalk (or traffic) in sight. I never could understand it, though the hypothesis of it being related to gap riding is a good guess.

I wonder though whether this type of riding would make sense in the mind of a gap rider - after all, the misguided idea of gap riding is to stay away from traffic. Treating an intersection like this would put one closer to cars that could T-bone someone, which I would expect to be painfully obvious, even to a gap rider.

Take care,

-Kurt

lima_bean

Ignoring for a moment that the vehicle is turning right, I do this to give vehicles an opporutnity to pass me as Robert Hurst described.

As others described, the problem with this maneuver is merging back into traffic, so I only do this manuever when there is a large enough gap after those cars pass that merging is not an issue.

If traffic is deep and close enough that there is no gap without actually having to stop my bicycle than I avoid this type of maneuver and continue to take the lane.


A guess as to what this cyclist might have been doing assuming he knew the car was turning right, which I see more aggressive bicyclists do in chicago quite often, is starting a right turn in preparation for being 'right hooked', then seeing that no right hook is coming, correcting their path and continuing through the intersection. This creates a weave pattern very similar to what the OP described. I also see it used for riders running red lights to give them a better view of the intersection and the option of taking that right turn if they find themselves in front of an oncoming car.

-=(8)=-

I do this too. I definitely would not have pulled next to the car, waiting behind it
instead , but I have one intersection (6 lanes, A1A & PGA) where I do this because
cars are so close I want to make a little room for myself away from the total mayhem
10" to the left until the turning cars have filtered into their lanes.

RobertHurst

Oh, well it sounds like bad riding to me, which comes in a wide, maybe infinite, variety of styles. I wouldn't wonder or worry too much about it.

If there are only one or two or three cars to worry about, then it's probably going to be easier for everybody including you to let them pass early. This all depends on the width of the intersection and streets, disposition of rider, wind direction, etc. If you think doing this would make it more difficult to get back into some flow, that is, a long string of cars, then don't do it. I'm not advising people to do that all the time, just pointing out the option. This is functionally different than riding in gaps formed by parked cars (something which also may be useful from time to time) because the cyclist is starting from stopped position.

Robert

tomg

maybe the rider seen was drunk or high, not able to hold a straight line...?

or a fly/wasp in the helmet could also help bring behavior on like this...

if you see this rider again, ask: "why did you cross like that" because they know the answer!

San Rensho 

Completely disagree. An intersection is the most dangerous place for a bicyclist to ride. You should ALWAYS take the lane when crossing an intersection to minimise the number of car encounters.

As you cross an intersection, taking the lane eliminates traffic in back of you from passing, so that you only have to concentrate on cars coming at you from the front and from the left and the right.

By moving to the right when you are in the intersection to "invite" a pass from a car now forces you to concentrate on a car from behind and to your left, in addition to all the other cars.

Makes no sense at all.

RobertHurst

Give me a break. Like just about everything else in traffic cycling, sometimes it makes sense and sometimes it doesn't.

joejack951

It might minimize the chances of being passed in an intersection but it does not eliminate it. It really depends on how wide the intersection is and how impatient the people behind you are. There's a wide intersection right before my workplace (three lanes, one left turn, one straight, and one right turn crossing a 6 lane arterial with the same three lane setup on the other side) where there's always the chance of being passed on the left AND the right no matter where I position myself. With only one narrow lane available for straight through traffic on the other side, I always keep an eye out for the right side passers as they'll need to squeeze in in front of me before the end of the intersection. The left side passers usually end up using the oncoming left turn lane to complete their pass, assuming it's empty.

The intersection pass is not something I encourage here as there is often traffic trying to turn right from the arterial onto the road I'm on and I'd rather keep my distance, plus there is always a line of traffic behind me at least 5 deep unless I'm heading to work really early.

If you are aware of the traffic behind you, it's easy to figure out when an intersection pass is a reasonable idea. With one or two vehicles behind you, there's little concern about being able to merge back into the lane. Or if the road is wide after the intersection, it's a non-issue as well. If you are proficient at merging, you could even pull this off with a line of traffic behind you. Oncoming turning traffic is blocked by the traffic passing you, though you do need to watch for people who might try to shoot a gap.

-=(8)=-

^^^ I agree.
I could never take the lane where I do what you and the OP describe,
but I feel more comfortable letting cars get ahead of me in a fairly safe
manner. Where I do this many cars have filtered off into L or R turn lanes or have already
blown up the road like Dale Jr. so there is always a gap for me to slip safely
back into the flow.

Western CO guy

How many times does it have to be said that the bike was there FIRST!!

J A Holman

Hard and fast rules like your ALWAYS make no sense at all, except in a perfect world with a perfect transportation system. That's still being worked on if we should believe the newspapers.

Bone Head

Sorry, I don't understand......I know the proper signals for left or right turns and stopping. What is the proper signal for proceding straight thru an intersection???

making

One intersection on my commute is so rough I used to fade a little right to get out of the rough, holes and debris. the road was so much smoother and cleaner a few feet to the right. Problem was, as someone mentioned in a post above, cars tried to pass me bacause I was out of the lane, then I could not get back in my lane without getting run over. Now I go left as far as possible while staying in my lane, not as smooth but much safer.

-=(8)=-

Hey Tony Robbins, was the bike or the car there first ?

randya

Personally, I want to keep rolling, and I'll turn either way at an intersection if it's a short wait for traffic to clear, but I prefer to turn upstream into the traffic, e.g. to the left, rather than to the right, but I will turn to the right and make a U turn like the scenario described, on occasion.

Western CO guy

See post #20

ghettocruiser

I'll do this from time to time to allow a car to pass me with more room on a narrow road, especially a wide vehicle.

Obviously not if there is cross-traffic present, and not if there is an endless string of cars I have to push back into.


Sam you've made many excellent posts here but that wasn't one of them. Nothing eliminates cars from passing. Nothing.

San Rensho 

To quote Botto: Correct.

San Rensho 

[QUOTE=ghettocruiser;7374632]I'll do this from time to time to allow a car to pass me with more room on a narrow road, especially a wide vehicle.

Obviously not if there is cross-traffic present, and not if there is an endless string of cars I have to push back into.


Sam you've made many excellent posts here but that wasn't one of them. Nothing eliminates cars from passing. Nothing.[QUOTE]

Of course nothing will stop a car from passing. But taking the lane, especially in an intersection, discourages cars from passing, which is all you can hope for.

Cars will usually be less inclined to pass in an intersection because everything that is going on in an intersection makes drivers instinctively hesitate and not pass, and if the driver actually knows the law, he won't pass in an intersection because he knows it is illegal. All of this helps to keep the car in back of you where it should be, in back of you and not next to you hooking you or pushing you off the road into the curb.

Moving to the right in an intersection is inviting a car to pass you just when everything is at its most dangerous for a cyclists, at an intersection with cars going and coming from 4 directions at one time. Taking the lane eliminates or lessens the posssibility of cars from behind you now getting next to you or in front of you so that now you have one more car that you have to make sure does not hit you.

Twitchy

I do the same thing as described in the OP at a couple of intersections on my route, but only because the pedestrian crossing light turns green up to 5 seconds before the traffic light. This 'ped-lane surfing' allows me enough of a head start, which increases my margin of safety an lets me get to the next intersection before the rest of the commuter traffic catches up, which makes taking a turn less risky.

Asymmetriad

I do this all the time. My technique needs a lotta work.