Hey, I have a question to ask all of you.
I am a cyclist(roadie right now). My roomate is not. We were having a discussion about cyclists approaching a stoplight. He was telling me that there should be a rule against a cyclist creeping up on the side of cars that are sitting at a stoplight. He went on to say that if a car passes me once while traffic is moving, I shouldn't make it to where they would have to pass me again. So he was saying that if traffic is coming to a stop, I should stop "in order", or wherever I am. Don't creep up on the side up to the stoplight because the same cars would have to pass me again. I told him that I don't agree with that. As long as im in my space(right hand side of the lane), there shouldn't be an "order" to stop in. Am I right or wrong? Lets hear it.

P.S. I am also a motorist too.

It's a bit fuzzy. Legally, generally, you are supposed to wait your turn (just like a motorist). "Passing on the right" is typically illegal.

Practically, cyclists can often filter on the right and not hold up cars (any passing they have to do isn't really a problem).

Keep in mind that it can be dangerous to be to the right of vehicles (especially trucks) that might be turning right.

(If there's a bike lane, it's a separate lane, just like a car lane.)

So, when driving your car, when you approach a stoplight and there are two through lanes, do you stop "in order" so that the folks in their cars who passed you on the way to the red light don't have to pass you again?

That's what I thought.

In Massachusetts, cars are allowed to pass on the right in some circumstances, bicycles can pass on the right in more circumstances. Can and should are different things though, use your judgement and filter up only when safe to do so.

A wide outside lane btw is not necessarily one lane.

There are people writing bitter letters to the editor about a four lane road being reduced to three lanes - even though it is a two lane road - that has a parking lane, two sub-standard driving lanes in practice - in each direction. The most militant are demanding bicycles off the road on to a nearby bike path.

The good news is they are a tiny minority. The sad news news is they only have a finite time to write these letters to the editor.

-mr. bill

In my home state of California, we are legally allowed to lane split.. so here he is definitely wrong. Also we have bike lanes on a lot of the roads here, you just have to keep an eye out for motorists disobeying or ignorant of traffic laws.. (IE not knowing that to enter the bike lane at the dotted section they are required to make sure it's safe and clear first). Dunno about where you live.

"Lane spitting" is riding on the line between lanes. It's not clear that what is being described is truly "lane splitting". It's actually "lane sharing".

California doesn't have a law that explicitly allows "lane splitting" (as far as I know). But there are many examples that indicate that motorcyclists in California don't get tickets for doing it when traffic is stopped. (It would be odd to think it would be tolerated if traffic in the lanes was moving at any real speed.)

Texas is the only state (that I know of) that explicitly allows motorcyclists to "lane split". Many states have laws that allow motorcyclists to share lanes.

Exactly!!!

Well when there are two lanes, nobody is passing anybody... they are parallel. But when cyclists and motorists share a lane, then the motorists do have to pass us with care... which means they need to pay extra attention while cruising about in their motorized couches... This is why I like bike lanes... there is a lane for us cyclists that clearly defines what is going on... and motorists can treat us like they treat other road users in other lanes.

When I am in a narrow lane... I don't filter forward, I take my place like any other driver of a vehicle. But with bike lanes, I move up as much as anyone one would in a parallel and separate lane.

Of course bike lanes complicate turns... for the most part because motorists are not well taught to merge into them to make their turn... bike lanes confuse motorists because motorists are so poorly trained.

If we all had bike training in elementary school and middle school and far far better driver training in high school... we might find that all this stuff works better and roommates wouldn't fight over misunderstanding how to share the road.

I am in Atlanta so people here will say/come up with anything to oppose cyclist. I just dont understand why it would be such a nuisance for a motorist to pass the same cyclist twice. If the cyclist has the room to safely creep up to the intersection/light, let him or her do it. Just give them 3 feet and pass them AGAIN if its safe.

The first part is just semantics.. and I'll quote from the CHP site.
"The term lane splitting, sometimes known as lane sharing, filtering or white-lining, refers to the process of a motorcyclist riding between lanes of stopped or slower moving traffic or moving between lanes to the front of traffic stopped at a traffic light."



Second part: You're right that we don't have one explicitly allowing it, but we have none against it and LEO recognize that it's legal so.. semantics again.
And yes, for motorcycles at the very least lane splitting is okay while traffic is moving (I wouldn't on a bike, but seems legal).

Here's the CHP motorcycle guide on lane splitting, if anyone's interested https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs/lanesplitguide.html

As for Texas, I don't know about there so I won't bother to guess or get technical on your wording.

As I see it this depends a lot on the road and just what the cyclist is doing.

Let's start with an instance where the cyclist is being a jerk (which is NOT the situation you stated). Filter up every light and then cut in front of the cars, or not quite as blatant, stays on the right but then moves farther left.

Cyclist is a jerk and won't get any sympathy from me if they are later passed uncomfortably close.

I think there may be at least a touch of this in what your roommate is thinking of (and possibly not communicating well).

Nice wide outside lane so the cyclist is always in the same line (or perhaps even moves LEFT once they filter to the light so cars can pass to turn right) then your roommate has no foot to stands on.

One point worth considering by your roommate is how would he feel if the cyclist takes his place in line and then takes the lane? The cars in front may be happy, but not those behind.

If the conversation gets restarted I'd also suggest that you both give specific streets. It just might turn out that he is thinking of some specific streets where filtering is flat out stupid and dangerous and you are thinking of ones where not filtering is anal retentive and absurd.

It's not a question of any hard rules, simply a balance of the desire to go vs. courtesy to others you might be slowing down unnecessarily.

I generally do filter up at lights, but if on a narrow road where passing is difficult, may wait for traffic to flush when the light changes, so they don't have to pass me later. I don't do this out any sense of obligation, and not when there are good passing opportunities, but if my losing 20 seconds makes it easier for everybody (including myself) I'm perfectly willing to do so.

By the same token, I expect drivers to accept my presence and wait for decent passing opportunities, and most do so.

Not by rule, but thinking objectively, a driver, waits for a safe passing opportunity, and passes me. Then I pass him a a light and he has to repeat the exercise. Maybe once is OK, but at some point this game of leapfrog is going to try his patience, and he may not b as willing to give me the courtesy of waiting for a good passing opportunity.

Fact is I have very few issues with motorists, especially on my commutes, where I see many of the same people daily. I operate by a single rule of shared road use, which is the same as at the dinner table; first come, first served, take what you need, but leave something for the next guy.

It doesn't help that bike lanes are handled at intersections completely incorrectly in the US.

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/20...sign-or-is-it/ is worth a read. Or, rather, it's worth it for traffic engineers to read it.

Still, if I don't have a dedicated lane to myself, I do not filter forward. It reduces stress for everyone significantly if I don't have a line of traffic held up behind me, that just passed me. Even if it's legal, it's being a dick to filter forward except in very specific circumstances.

Personally I feel that filtering up on the right is rude.

Riding up on the right side of the road is not "between lanes". It defines the term nearly exactly as I have.

Note that this isn't the traffic law. There isn't an explicit law that allows it in CA (there is an explicit law in Texas). Also, this quote only talks about it being allowed for motorcycles (not bicyclists).

It does indicate "lane sharing is "sometimes" known as "lane sharing" but "lane sharing" is often used to mean something different (not riding "between lanes").

If what cars and bicyclists normally do (what I'm calling "lane sharing") is "lane splitting", then it's the car that is "lane splitting". That would mean that, from the CHP quote, is saying that a car is a motorcycle. Snce that is an absurdity, it can't be the same thing (reductio ad absurdum).

It makes sense to have different terms to describe "riding between lanes" and doing what bicyclists and cars/etc do.

Technically I can lane split to the right if there's slower bicycle traffic in the bike lane (and I do indeed do this myself) it's usually called passing since most bike lanes in my area are worthless for riding side by side.
Now because we don't have a law making it illegal it is then what? Cool for Texas putting it on the books though.

Since you seem to have not known yet, both motorcycles and bicycles are allowed to do it in the state of California.
Shall we split more hairs?

Disclaimer: Unless there is a bike lane I line up with the cars and wait like everyone else, otherwise I slowly proceed up the bike lane as it's safe, watching for potential right hookers.

Ok "filtering to the front". Thats the phrase I was meaning to use. LOL. But yes, filtering to the front is something that I do daily but if I dont have room on the side of the road(narrow lanes), I don't do it. I can somewhat understand if people get annoyed but I have dealt with cyclist doing that while I was driving my car and it really didn't bother me.I know that the cyclist will turn off or I will turn off the street eventually. Its not a big deal. Maybe because im a cyclist myself. I think our argument was just the classic "Motorist vs. Cyclist" discussion. But the difference is im a motorist AND cyclist. Hes JUST a motorist.LOL

Don't worry about it man, you'll get a lot of that mentality from people who don't ride bicycles and there's a lot of rabid anti "cagers" around here too so it's on both sides.. hell look at this "discussion" NJ and I are having, he knows what I'm saying, and I know what he's saying but yet we're still hashing it out.

In many states cars can pass bikes if they have 3' of clearance.
So if you pass the cars, make sure you give them 3' clearance.

I drive more than I bike, I would rather have a bike pass me on the right while I am stopped than have him stop in front of me and have to wait for him to get moving and clip in when the light turns green. Especially on an uphill.

The biggest danger of being to the right of car is this -
https://bicyclesafe.com/
see #5

If you are going to filter up on the right, don't stop next to a car!

you are right

splitting long lines of motionless cars at speed is one of my favorite urban cycling activities. it's also not illegal in oregon.

I only lane split when the only option is straight… anytime I am turning or the lane is a combo (straight and turn) I wait my turn in line.

For me it depends on the situation. I never filter up tot he right of a line of cars turning right. I often filter up between two lines of cars if one of them in in a right turn lane. If there is no room to do that, I get in lin with the through moving cars. This is just one example. You have to judge each situation individually. I do not ride by rote.

This probably varies from state to state. I live in Pennsylvania and was pulled over for doing this and given a warning. Here we have to follow all the traffic laws which means no passing on the right unless it is a clearly marked lane.

The real issue that prevents well designed bike lanes, such as those shown in the illustration, from being built in the US is that in the US, the motor vehicle is given priority over every other form of transportation... and the laws and designs of the roads in the US prove that. The flow of the automobile has priority over even safety.

Motorcyclists in CA do lane splitting all the time on all roads... it is very common on the freeways between moving vehicles (often between the 1st and 2nd lanes... or the left most and the lane just to the right). It is NOT explicitly denied in any law, so it is accepted... generally if someone is pulled over for lane splitting it is due to excessive speed.