I came across this website and this particular page I found very interesting regarding riding on the street: https://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/...e-positioning/

Be sure to watch the video.

He kept putting “lane splitting”, like it’s a bad thing.. It’s not… That’s what drivers are supposed to do…
They are NOT required to move totally over to the next lane, only keep a 3′ distance from your left and to make sure they have the ability to pass you safely while avoiding any cars coming up behind them on their left.
There are many other problems with this video…
1.) There is VERY LITTLE traffic. (Heavier traffic is MUCH worse and “taking the lane” would impede traffic.)
2.) Youre wearing a bright orange vest/shirt.. Most bike riders wear normal colored clothes, so they’re not as easily seen.
3.) You did this video during a clear day with good visibility.. Try it again on a cloudy / rainy day…
4.) Even your follow car had trouble seeing you from really far away.. (You even had to put in “you can see him when a car makes a right turn”… I wouldn’t have see him at all, if you didn’t mention it.
5.) You had a completely empty sidewalk that was perfectly able to be used.. At that point, there was no real reason for you to be on the roadway, except to “take a lane”, which technically was being done unlawfully. You don’t have to ride ON the roadway/gutter line, but halfway into the road is not the place to be, either.
REPLY

Moved from Ebikes.

whatever are they putting in the water down in Florida to make riders think motorists moving almost fully into the other lane in a 'partial lane split' isn't safe passing behavior by motorists? I didn't see a single unsafe pass in that video.

are the 'cycling savvy' cadre and the commute orlando acolytes that deluded?

I like the video...while it's true that there's really nothing wrong with lane splitting, it did seem that the drivers were better able to safely pass the cyclist when he was riding nearer the centre.

I think their hypothesis was pretty accurate.

There was virtually no difference in safe passing behaviors in that video, just a couple of motorists that hung back waiting for the next lane to clear to execute the pass.

I'm pretty assertive in my lane positioning but have no qualms with 'partial lane splits' to pass. riders that think motorists have to fully change lanes to pass a bicyclist need a reality check.

I ride a road like that one.

My Dinotte 140R Tail Light alerts the cars to pass much sooner.

All good points; Sangesf, but I disagree with you.

However, the main point is by riding in the middle of the lane vehicles treat you as another vehicle instead of just a bicyclist in their way. Here's a page from the same website just on that topic: https://cyclingsavvy.org/hows-my-driving/

1) The video states that the rider wanted to have the same traffic count in both directions when conducting the experiment. There's a link at the very bottom of the original web page for a video with higher traffic patterns.

2) Yes, I agree most bikers do wear normal clothes which is even more reason to follow the rule of riding in the middle lane. Second, we as bikers spend lots of money to inform drivers that we are on the road. Look at your own bike. You've got lots of large indicator lights at the back and even more up front. I would personally think it would be very cost effective to have some kind of reflector vest you could slip over your clothing while riding. I myself will be purchasing one asap.

Also, the military requires their motorcycle riders to wear bright colored clothing during the day and a reflective vest at night while riding.

3) Even more reason to follow the middle lane use and use reflective clothing. Remember the whole point is for the driver to see you well in advance and give them the time to move over to avoid hitting you. By using the center lane you can control that 3' ft passing distance. If you're 3' away from the lane markings of the lane next to you then the vehicle will have to be in the next lane over to meet the 3' requirement when passing you. This gives the vehicle a visible "ruler". Some drivers' perceptions of 3' would get you run over.

4) There was a vehicle directly behind the bicycle which after turning allowed the camera to spot the bicycle. Here again the video talks about a "domino" effect caused by vehicles directly behind the bicycle changing lanes completely to avoid the bicyclist. This in-turn gives all the other vehicles directly behind that vehicle a clue as to something being in the road to avoid. So the bicyclist has used the cars directly behind them as a warning signal to ALL the other cars in that lane when those cars move over. Think of the car directly behind you as a really big blinking signal notifying ALL the other drivers directly behind them. :-)

5) There's no law in Florida stating that you have to use the sidewalk. Read the article in this link: https://flbikelaw.org/2010/01/bicycle...-use-sidewalk/ The last line says it all "Bicyclists are never required to use a sidewalk or bicycle path."

Your bike in particular has so much equipment to warn people of your intentions (left turning, right turning, braking, etc.) Did you do all that for a pedestrian or another vehicle? If I had all that on my bike you'd never see me on a sidewalk.

In conclusion:

We as bicycle riders can use the drivers reaction to obstacles in the road to our benefit. To keep us safe. When the rider is in the middle lane the vehicle sees you sooner and moves into the next lane instead of trying to maintain a 3' clearance while trying to avoid hitting vehicles in the lane over. Very simply, they treat you as another vehicle.

Each states rules for bicycles varies. The video it seems applies to Florida and would not necessarily apply to other states. Here is California's rules:

Operation on Roadway

21202. (a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time 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 conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.

(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway of a highway, which highway carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.
Amended Sec. 4, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.

Yes, that is what I was referring to.

Lane splitting/sharing can be VERY dangerous. Every year here on BF you hear about a handful of cyclists who get struck by the mirror of a passing car. The best way to ensure motorists who aren't good at judging the width of their cars won't clip you with their mirrors is to encourage them to go into the next lane to pass you. Whether or not they totally change lanes isn't the point, it's that they have a clear view of the cyclist and make sure they have room to merge into the adjoining lane, even if they don't fully change lanes.

Riding too far to the right encourages a car to pass without changing lanes at all. If a cyclist is not in a motorist's primary field of view/path of travel, he may not even fully register in the motorist's mind as being something that needs to paid attention to. How many accidents do you read about here on BF where the motorist's mind wandered and they inadvertently veered onto the shoulder and stuck a cyclist? Put a cyclist squarely out in the traffic lane and the motorist is far more likely to pay proper attention.

While I don't always agree with the leanings of Keri and company at CommuteOrlando with regard to bike advocacy and infrastructure, their tips and strategies for navigating traffic in the real world are quite good, and the online tutorials, videos and animations are outstanding.

As Bek has the sense to note, overtaking motorists held back until the adjacent lane was clear for them to overtake the cyclist. They would have had to hold back whether they made a whole lane overtake or made a straddle lane overtake; there is no difference in opportunity between the two. Therefore, Bek's argument that straddle overtaking provides more opportunities than whole lane overtaking is false, and he knows it. But his argument for straddle overtaking is that it is not dangerous, which is true only if done when there is no traffic in the adjacent lane, but it is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether cyclist lateral placement facilitates safe overtaking. Of course, straddle overtaking when there is traffic in the adjacent lane is dangerous. That demonstrates that any straddle overtaking that creates an additional opportunity for overtaking has produced a dangerous overtaking. This is traffic-engineering fact that Bek chooses to ignore because it challenges the unthinking motorists' illusion of motorist superiority.

i'm stating partial lane changes to pass are not illegal in florida and all the partial lane changes in the video looked like safe passing actions.

Partial change or not is not a big concern for me. It is what happens before that that is important.

What I have found in years of riding in narrow outside lanes is that riding center of lane is more courteous to faster drivers as they know long before they get to me that they will need the adjacent lane clear to pass me. This gives them time to plan ahead for a merge before they need to slow down. Once slowed down to cyclists speed with no space buffer ahead, merging is more difficult and requires a larger gap.
When I have experimented with riding right in same lane, many more drivers did not realize they could not pass until they were already right behind me and needed to slow - that leads to them being 'stuck' out of the regular flow of faster traffic. Bottom line is far fewer motorist were (very temporarily anyway) delayed when I use a center or left position vs. right. I learned this by using a mirror.

I have found, for my little town, that the right tire track works well. And I DO believe that the LEFT tire track would result in a ticket that has less than a 50/50 chance of being dismissed. The ignorance here of the realities of road cycling, even among those in AUTHORITY (pro-bike mayor and staff excluded), ia appalling.

As far as the lane-split issue, I'm ok with it, as long as they're not going by me at 40-50mph while I'm doing 15-17. DON'T rev up your phallic extension and roar by me, I'm NOT impressed; I had cars like that when I was a teenager, but I GREW UP. Give me reasonable space when you pass, and we'll likely not interact again for WEEKS. (My schedule and inclinations rarely put me on the same spot of pavement more than 2x/week.)

Or am I thinking incorrectly that acting like an adult is not all that tough to do...?

I don't think the video has a large enough sample to actually prove anything, but its interesting none the less. I've found that if you get drivers an inch, they usually try to take a mile, no matter what lane position you are in.

I find that the right tire track is generally far enough over to break the fascination that motorists have with staying in their lane. That's all I want, to make them realize that a safe pass is going to require them to move at least their left tires out of the lane. We rarely have outer lanes that are wide enough that motorists can pass safely in the same lane.

Let's be honest.. 90% of the time, a cyclist is "in the wrong"...

If you have 90% of the people doing something wrong, when is (an uniformed) person supposed to know when the other 10% is doing something correctly? That was my point...
A lot of cycling associations have this thought in their heads that their vehicle is a car.. (yes for most (if not all) states, a cyclist is a driver of a vehicle, I know.. But it's NOT a car..

I wasn't stating that he HAD to use the sidewalk, I was just saying that if the police gave him a ticket for not following the "as far to the right as practicable" and there WAS a sidewalk available, all the prosecutor has to do, is bring that up and it's possible that the ticket would hold up.
(Like someone else said.. 50/50)

Hey, I'm all about roadway lane sharing (as my electric bike is NOT allowed to be ridden via power on sidewalks-although I CAN pedal it on sidewalks, if I want to..) but I don't take up the entire line... I just "visualize" a bike lane and do it that way... I've NEVER had a problem..

I would think taking the full lane would aggravate drivers more and cause more "road rage" than just staying a few feet from the right.

Just my opinion...

You're mileage may vary..

This post is complete nonsense.

The only people I know who have these "issues" are what I like to call the Lycra crowd...
And the funny thing is, they are the WORST OFFENDERS!!!

I ride well over 8,000 miles a year on my bike...
And they seem to think THEY own the road..

I think maybe ONE time I saw a "lycra" cyclist actually riding correctly and safely..
Every other one I've seen....

1.) Ride in between traffic.

2.) Pass cars (stopped at a light) on the right, when there was not 3' distance or a bike lane.

3.) Ride in the road constantly, even when there IS a bike lane..
(How stupid (and technially illegal in Florida) is that?)

4.) ALWAYS go through red lights/stop signs/etc.
(Especially when there's no cars around. - Ok, fine, there's no cars around, but still illegal.)

5.) Speed past other cyclists without an audible warning....

6.) Wear BOTH headphones on while listening to their music on their MP3 player..

That's SIX things I see on a DAILY basis...
(And only what was on top of my head, I'm sure there's plenty more..)

So don't tell me that my post is "nonsense"...

I love it when the "advocates" for cycling safety are the worst offenders..
LOL

You can't be an "advocate", if you don't follow the actual rules, yourself..

It seems to me, they (meaning mostly the "Lycra crowd" and a few others) have this attitude of, "I'm gonna tell you what the rules are, but I don't think I should follow the ones I think are 'silly'".. And on that note... Someone (who I won't name) that disagreed with me, is following that exact logic... While I'm technically gonna ride illegally, I think everyone else should follow the rules that keep me safe, but I won't do the same...

This post is completely unnecessary.

In my locale the right tire track is not far enough, and I now take center stage or better. My closest pass ever had emanated while riding in the right tire track, with the motorist "threading the needle" with oncoming traffic.

Hey people need to know when they're wrong.

I experience safe passing when riding in the right tire track, most motorist move fully into the oncoming lane to pass when i ride in the right tire track....

i suspect its situational.

My personal rules are simple in the extreme.

1. I am responsible for my own safety.
2. When lane width and other conditions allow for safe lane sharing I ride far right to make it as clear as possible I am sharing the lane and stay alert for potential right hooks.
3. When lane width or other conditions do not allow for safe lane sharing I ride in the outer half of the lane to make it as clear as possible the lane is already occupied.
4. If I feel unsafe on a particular street or road, I do not ride there.

The first three rules are, I think, useful for all riders. The last one can be tough depending on where a rider needs to go.