glomarduck

This is my new strategy in a multi lane road such as park or broadway I take up the entire left lane regardless of what speed I'm going and in side street I ride in the middle . This I feel is safer because of the much greatly reduced chance of getting doored(very unpleasant) and of course pissing off motorists. how much space do all of you take up?


So keep it all like and something
Spencer

Raiyn

Wow not only is that asinine that's also illegal. The laws in most areas state that a cyclist id to ride as far right as practicable. Which means riding down the center of the RIGHT hand lane is cool but it damn sure doesn't give you license to cruise the left lane with impunity

LittleBigMan

My strategy varies according to the situation.

I usually take up only as much space on the right of the pavement as I need (of course, if I were in Australia or England, that would be the left of the pavement.) It's true whether I'm riding on the shoulder, or in a bike lane, or in the regular traffic lane. I avoid pavement that's rough, uneven, or littered with trash of any kind (including sand or gravel,) even if it's a marked bike lane. If there are parked cars, I maintain a straight line of travel far enough away from them that I won't have to swerve to avoid an opening door. In general, I ride on the right side of the usable pavement.

But there are times I ride smack in the middle of the lane. I do this when the lane is so narrow that it wouldn't be safe to encourage motorists to even think about sharing the lane with me. This is different from, "taking the lane," which means moving far enough out into the lane that motorists have to cross into the next lane to pass. It's very rare that I take up the entire lane, but there are times that I consider it prudent, and it's legal. Sometimes I do this in lanes other than the rightmost lane, such as on a one-way street.

But to take the entire lane all the time as a basic strategy is not advisable. It's usually best to allow motorists as much room as possible to make an avoidance maneuver around me if they have to (or if they are not paying proper attention.) While the law allows me the entire lane if I need it, I am careful how and when to use that right.

supcom

Most, if not all, states permit you to ride on the left side of the road if it is a one way street. I assume that the streets mentioned are one way, otherwise it would be illegal to occupy the left lane unless you are making a left turn. Riding down the center of a right lane to avoid getting doored or having a car pull out in front of you is perfectly acceptable. Doing something just to be 'pissing off motorists' makes no sense and decreases safety.

Raiyn

This is true, but he did make a blanket statement.

Phiber

Is there any possible way to give someone advice without insulting either them or their intelligence? If I disagreed with any one you for any reason no matter how right you may think you are, and I used a harsh manner of 'speech' such as some of you have adopted, you would probably take great offense.

play nice.

And as far as cruising in the left most lane it is most definatly against the law. One, it is illegal to pass anyone on the right. Two, it is impeding traffic.

Raiyn

When the original poster's intent is "pissing off motorists" insulting that person's intelligence (or lack there of) is fair game.

Dchiefransom

I think from his sentence, he believes there is a greatly reduced chance of pissing off motorists. I'm not an English professor, but that's the other way I read it.

nocoins

I have to say that I agree with taking the lane. I live in Center City Philadelphia and I have had so many accidents from getting forced into the curb or doored by parked cars. My girlfriend just got dragged by a cab that was trying to squeeze between her and the minivan in the other lane (she was carrying boxes and the cabs back fender hooked onto her, it was a bad situation). I always take the lane when riding through the city streets, give drivers an inch and they will try and squeeze a minivan in there. Of course, I ride faster than traffic usually... unless its some ******* from suburbia who wants to speed through, but I would have to say, taking the lane in this city is the safest way to travel.

Raiyn

Yes, yes, take the lane. Take the RIGHT one not the LEFT one. Unless you're in a right-hand drive country, or making a left turn, or (in some cases) on a one way, and/or avoiding a hazard in the right lane you've got no business in the center of the LEFT lane.
https://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bike-vt.htm#sec1234
NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
Section 1234. Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle or in-line skates lanes and bicycle or in-line skates paths.

(a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle or in-line skates shall be driven either on a usable bicycle or in-line skates lane or, if a usable bicycle or in-line skates lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge. Conditions to be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, in-line skates, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle or person on in-line skates and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the lane.

In Florida our version which is legally similar reads
Florida Law Link
316.2065 Bicycle regulations.--
(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition, including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard-width lane, that makes it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For the purposes of this subsection, a "substandard-width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a one-way highway with two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as practicable.

supcom

If you can keep up with traffic, you can ride in any lane you wish.

dobber

That's it, more or less in a nutshell. When you become, percieved or otherwise, an impediment to traffic, that's when the fun starts.

My basic strategy is get out of the way, stay out of the way.

Raiyn

Yes but he takes the left lane regardless.

Ryan

Everyone has their own opinion, and their personal prefrence on how they ride.. Let them ride how they'd like.

LittleBigMan

Anyone who posts on this forum is submitting their opinion publicly. Therefore, their posted opinions are subject to public scrutiny.

And, being on a cycling forum, I would hope we cyclists would try to convince others to ride responsibly.

John E

Through much of downtown Encinitas, Pacific Coast Highway ["Surf Route"] 101 has four 11-foot lanes, a 30mph speed limit, and diagonal parking. Riding far enough to the left to avoid being backed into puts me essentially in the center of the right lane.

randya

Here's the Oregon code. Note that item (d) allows operation on the left side of a one-way street.

Also note that, although this may not be a problem in most areas, double-parking is common on the streets of NYC and as a result many bike lanes are installed on the left side of the street in NYC to avoid conflicts with double-parked vehicles.

ORS 814.430 Improper use of lanes; exceptions. (1) A person commits the offense of improper use of lanes by a bicycle if the person is operating a bicycle on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic using the roadway at that time and place under the existing conditions and the person does not ride as close as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway.

(2) A person is not in violation of the offense under this section if the person is not operating a bicycle as close as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway under any of the following circumstances:

(a) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle that is proceeding in the same direction.

(b) When preparing to execute a left turn.

(c) When reasonably necessary to avoid hazardous conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or other conditions that make continued operation along the right curb or edge unsafe or to avoid unsafe operation in a lane on the roadway that is too narrow for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side. Nothing in this paragraph excuses the operator of a bicycle from the requirements under ORS 811.425 or from the penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.

(d) When operating within a city as near as practicable to the left curb or edge of a roadway that is designated to allow traffic to move in only one direction along the roadway. A bicycle that is operated under this paragraph is subject to the same requirements and exceptions when operating along the left curb or edge as are applicable when a bicycle is operating along the right curb or edge of the roadway.

(e) When operating a bicycle alongside not more than one other bicycle as long as the bicycles are both being operated within a single lane and in a manner that does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

(f) When operating on a bicycle lane or bicycle path.

glomarduck

Look guys it's new york and it gets pretty gritty here so you have got to fight to stay afloat and all those rules laid down by the gov are nonsense. All I'm talking about is getting a safe space to ride in and now mind you some drivers get pissed but most don't care. Let me ask how many of you have been doored or have had problems with j walkers, New York is insane and riding in the way left of the left lane is very dangerous all those cars are like ticking time bombs and if I was ridding up state on a local road ( which I do ) I'l take the shoulder because it is the safest space to ride. Like I said before some times the rules in the book are not always the best. We live in the postmodern age ,every thing is not clear cut and simple and I only use logic to guide decisions when I'm on my bike.

glomarduck

Like I said man.........Logic it's all about Logic and, biking is very postmodern and fragmented so again logic is the best tool.

timmhaan

yep - you just gotta do what you feel is safe in this city. a lot of the drivers don't follow the law either, so even if you have the best intentions you can still get killed.

glomarduck

Rock on man!

randya

I agree that common sense is the most important thing when it comes to your personal self-preservation while cycling, and riding in the door zone is not a very smart thing to do, regardless of the law. Having said that, however, I must point out that the Oregon code, and probably the code in most other states, provides specific exceptions to the "as far to the right (or left, on a one-way) as practicable" language, allowing you to legally ride somewhere other than in the dooring hazard zone.

In the Oregon code, ORS 814.430(2)(c) is the major exception to the "as far to the right (or left, on a one-way) as practicable" language; it allows you to take the lane in a variety of situations where hazards are present, including the potential of being doored. In addition, the "as far to the right (or left, on a one-way) as practicable" doesn't apply if you are operating at the normal speed of traffic, i.e. you are able to keep up with the motorists on a section of road that has a low speed limit, timed lights or sufficient traffic congestion to keep the traffic moving at a speed you can ride along with. It also applies if the lanes are too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely share a lane. Usually that means less than 12' of lane width to me.

And everyone posting here should take note that it is generally up to the cyclist to make the decision when to take the lane; you make that decision to protect yourself from physical harm - you don't base your judgement on how it might or might not affect the delicate emotions of the motorist behind you.

"ORS 814.430(2) A person is not in violation of the offense under this section if the person is not operating a bicycle as close as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway under any of the following circumstances:

(c)When reasonably necessary to avoid hazardous conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or other conditions that make continued operation along the right curb or edge unsafe or to avoid unsafe operation in a lane on the roadway that is too narrow for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side."

PS - in all my years of riding I have had only one serious accident involving a motor vehicle, and it was a dooring incident (which incidently occurred in the NYC suburb of Rockville Center). I have also been doored two other times less seriously. I always make it a point to ride outside the door zone, which usually means taking the lane, as it has become less and less feasible to check for drivers and passengers in parked cars due to the increasing use of tinted and reflective glass in the rear windows of newer cars.

Also, FYI, dooring accidents are also probably significantly under-reported in the official gov't stats, since most probably go unreported...

brokenrobot

Transportation Alternatives has a good page on NYC dooring law...
https://www.transalt.org/features/doored.html

-chris

madpogue 

No need to overinterpret the law. In most states, it uses the same phrase. And note that it's "as practicable", not "as possible". If you're hanging a left, it's "practicable" to use the turn lane. If you don't wanna get doored, it's "practicable" to ride more than a door's width away from the parked cars. If it's hippie Christmas in Madison and the bike lane is strewn with discarded futon frames and barbecue grills, it's "practicable" to use the car lane. All the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (2) of the above Oregon code aren't "exceptions" to the "as practicable" language, they are examples (thus, the "including, but not limited to" language) of its meaning and interpretation.

That word was very carefully chosen when these statutes were first drafted, in effect to leave "practicable" in the eye of the beholder.

DMax

https://bicycleaustin.info/laws-tx-bike.html