Is it bad to hog lane like this?
 

I mean wouldn't I get honk for doing this?

Just because you get honked at doesn't mean you're wrong or unsafe.

In the situation at the beginning of the video, I would ride in the middle of the lane, or in the tire track closest to the dashed white line. There's no room for a car to safely pass without switching lanes, whether they realize it or not.

Stay out of the Door Zone on the parked cars.
Honking is good as it means they see you.

That's NOT 'hogging' the lane, that's claiming your right to the road. And really -- WHO CARES if they honk? You are obligated to follow the TRAFFIC LAWS, not what self-important drivers WANT! DO your research, find out what the state and local laws are for where you live, and ride accordingly.

yea its weird because I never seen anyone ride on the road before like that in my life lol.

Whenever I see the video that was in the OP, I always wanted to see the raw video in it's entirety rather than the edited version, to see if cyclists actually fared as well behind the scenes as they did on camera.

I know what you mean. When I started riding again in 2008, I had never heard of "vehicular cycling" and was pretty much taught to stay out of the way of cars, in the fringes. In actuality, you are safer out in the lane in many conditions. Check the laws in your state (Google "[YourState] Bicycle Laws" and you should be able to find a summary pretty easily).

If you stick against the curb in a lane that is not really wide enough for bikes and cars to operate side by side safely, you have little or no room on the right. Doing so, though, invites cars to pass without changing lanes and it can be a tight squeeze. A small error on anyone's part and the cyclist is going down and maybe suffering serious injury. If there truly isn't enough room, it's safer to control the entire lane, which sends the signals drivers behind you that they need to change lanes in order to pass you, which gives you a LOT more room.

Honestly, my personal experience is that yes, you get that kind of cooperation from cars. Note that the cyclists is riding predictably (steady speed, straight line), and when he changes lanes, he signals first. Another thing that helps a LOT, in my experience, is using a helmet-mounted mirror. It really provides a lot of information that can add to confident vehicular cycling. You can confirm that the lane is vacant before changing lanes and not just make a leap of faith. When I ride in traffic I find that signaling a lane change invariably causes drivers to slow up. Whether it's because the are courteous or just they are freaked out and confused so they back off, I don't really care, but it does work.

A website that has a bounty of information, including a lot of videos like this, is http://commuteorlando.com. In addition to the videos, there are articles and animations that illustrate how to operate a bicycle in traffic. From what I've read over there, the video above is typical for them as well.

I can think of only one instance where I had an issue with taking the lane, and the helmet mounted mirror helped. A car was coming up behind me, probably doing 55 or so in a 40. There were two lanes each way and the car and I were both in the right lane, with no other vehicles present. It didn't seem to be changing lanes, so I lost my nerve and bailed out toward the curb. At the last second, it did change lanes, and my movement to the right meant that there was, in fact, plenty of room for the pass.

Still, controlling the lane is safer than riding on the fringes where you are not really seen as traffic, and in a lot of cases not even noticed at all. If you're in the lane, you become a motorist's primary focus of attention, which is much, much safer.

Much (perhaps most) of the time, you're much safer controlling the lane than riding on the sidewalk. Again, if you're on the sidewalk, you are not the primary focus of drivers and since you are moving faster than pedestrians, you are probably out of their view area when they want to turn across that sidewalk. Also, sidewalks are often bumpy and neglected. Since riding again, the only serious fall I've had was on a sidewalk before I learned about vehicular cycling. Ended up doing a face plant due to poor sidewalk pavement.

One last thing: I agree with the contention that honking is good, because when they honk, you know the driver sees you. If it goes beyond that (verbal abuse, etc.), I make a concerted effort to smile & wave. In my mind I might be giving the finger, but outwardly I wave. When they are trying to get your dander up and you just wave, it takes them off their game (and can even turn their own frown into a smile).

I didn't say that a cyclist wouldn't receive cooperation from motorists, I happen to ride in the same manner as the video, I just wanted to see if the motorist courtesy, shown on camera, extended to off camera as well.

I ride like that every day on roads with narrow lanes, or intersection issues that make it safer to ride near the center of the lane. It's not "hogging" the lane if it's not safe for drivers to pass you within the same lane or if it's unsafe to ride farther right.

Some of the roads I use have wide lanes (14' or more) or wide paved shoulders where I can ride far enough right for drivers to pass without changing lanes. I do that as a courtesy when I find it safe enough to do so.

But it's true that a lot of cyclists ride at the rightmost edge of the pavement no matter what, and then wonder why they get passed at very close distance by drivers trying to squeeze by in too little room, or get right hooked at intersections. That's why it's helpful for more experienced cyclists to share their observations about how they can reduce these problems by operating differently.

If you call that "hogging" the lane, then it's to avoid a motorist "hogging" the lane along side you!

It's all about "judgement".... Your judgement about your own safety, or do you TRUST the motorist's judgement to pass you in the same lane safely?

Try cycling like a car some time; it's empowering, and liberating!

I agree with all the previous posters, and find ‘taking the lane’ when necessary and legal to work quite well.

Honking not only means that the particular driver sees you, but may also snap any nearby inattentive drivers back into reality. If someone is texting or playing with their radio, a honk is sure to force them to look to see what's going on. I get honked at usually a few times a week, almost always by drivers passing me safely, fully in the other lane. Any escalation of harassment from there is extremely rare for me.

Stick around... quite a few of us here ride like that.

It is something that is very situational though... you need not do this if there is other room to share the road. And yes, you may get honked at... in fact it could escalate to worse...

Of course the flip side is that if you don't ride like that, you could be unseen and again things can get worse.

Search for the thread "when do you take the lane" and you will see just how situational taking the lane can be.

Its not hogging the lane if its unsafe to share the road otherswise, but drivers also aren't required to fully change lanes to pass in most, maybe all states.

As far as my read of states laws regulating bike traffic goes, partial lane changes to pass slowly moving cyclists are allowed in almost every state. some states specifically allow bicyclists to 'control' a narrow lane. In some states, crossing a solid double yellow to safely pass a cyclist is legal.

Generally speaking, if you can safely share a two lane road by riding to allow partial lane changes to pass, a rider should, even if the state you're in allows you to control the lane. Don't share if it isn't safe, share the road if safe to do so.

If it is safe to share it otherwise, why not be courteous road user? hogging the road may be legal but is it fair & courteous use of a public highway?

I'm not a big fan of lane-taking - I only do it when 1) I'm going the same speed as traffic OR 2) Parked cars exist.

As for the video:
1. (parked cars) - I would ride the same way
2. (wide lane) - I would be further to the right
3. (freeway ramp) - I would be in the right tire track of the thru lane, though I wouldn't move there until the lanes have appeared.
4. (left turns) - I'd move over maybe a few dozen feet in advance of the turn lane.

+10000!!!!

I want to add I ride much like the riders in the video.

Do they extend the courtesy to you while you are not on camera riding in the same manner? That'd probably answer your question....

I assume you are tlaking about the first part of the video. As has already been mentioned there is not even close to enough room in the right lane for a car to pass while sharing the lane.

What other alternative is there? Moving over into the parking lane for the brief times when there are a few car lengths without parked cars? That is the untimate stupidity, it creates a situation where when you do move back into the traffic lane you really do suddenly appear right in front of a car.

Frankly I think the video is a bit pollyannish... first there are two cyclists when these videos are made... so that increases your visibility and reduces the negative interaction from motorists. Second, you don't hear the sound... so you don't know if the cyclist is ever honked at. And last, these show ideal traffic conditions during one time events... not day to day rush hour commuting with frustrated motorists on really bad narrow streets.

But the bottom line is still that cyclists DO take the lane, and have every right to, and should do so when the conditions warrant doing so.

At 40s into the video, the rider passes two Ford F-150 pickups. How far does a fully opened F-150 door extend into the lane? Pretty damn far. So I ride pretty damn far + a few more inches into the lane.

I was riding Saturday, in a town that I know like the back of my hand while driving, but not biking a very very nice wide bikelane turned into no bikelane in a 2 lanes each direction 40mph, I took the center of the right lane, no honks, no complaints etc, if it is what you need to do to be safe do it, it's also perfectly legal. (It should be noted, I was using this route to go to the head of a MUP to visit a friend or I wouldn't have been on that horrid road at all).

Well, since I don't film, I would say that yes it does. A lot of these videos are filmed with small cameras and it is not obvious to motorists that they are being filmed.

My bike commute involves a few miles of 4-lane road with narrow to marginal outside lanes, posted 35 in one section and 45 in another. I ride in the center of the outside lane on those sections. Every couple of weeks I might get a horn honk; once a year or so somebody tells me to get on the sidewalk or ride in the gutter. No big deal; I prefer that to the frequent close passes that result if I ride near the right edge in those locations. I've been riding this way in those locations for over 10 years now.

Yeah, right.

To quote (modified) from RaleighSport above... with the reality of what I have encountered... sure it works well, most of the time... but I was riding months ago, in a town I'm that I know like the back of my hand while cycling, I was in a bikelane turned into no bikelane in a 3 lanes each direction 50mph road, I took the center of the right lane. The traffic was extremely light, but fast. I was buzzed and honked at by a city garbage truck that could easily have moved to either open lane to the left, but chose instead to straddle two lanes while passing closely. (I had no other place to go)

Several years ago on a quiet Sunday morning... I am occupying the right lane on a 3 lane 35 MPH arterial road. There is no other traffic in sight in front of me or beside me for more than 1/2 mile. There are cars parked along the side of the road. I am in the center of the right lane, doing a nice 17-18 MPH pace. Motorist comes up from behind and rides my tail for about 30 seconds, then honks... lays on the horn. Remember 3 lanes, no other traffic. The motorist does not pass, but honks again. In about a 1/4 mile or so... or a long city block, the motorist finally pulls into a driveway. Was that driver co-operating? :rolleyes:

I have other similar stories... I have lots and lots of road riding and commuting time... yes, generally motorists are co-operative... but why is it that they can be so uncooperative at times when the road is clear and you as a cyclist have no choice but to take a single lane?

Now the irony of my encounters with motorists in these and other similar situations is that I have formed the notion that when a motorist comes up behind me, and honks because I am in the right lane... well obviously they must want me to move to the next lane left... because apparently they are too dumb to do that for themselves. ;)

Oh and lest you think that obviously I am the screw up cyclist and these are just rare encounters... I have also been thanked by motorists for being predictable and cooperative and for being an example for other cyclists... So it's like a box of chocolates... you never know what you are going to get.

I was fully prepared for honks, and was often checking my rear for any JAM's that really did go a lot smoother then I expected when I found myself with no bike lane,however often I find I get a "retaliation buzz" for using stop signs properly... how's that for messed up?