old's'cool

BTW, over here lately, it's been nice out. I think I'll leave it out.

Jim from Boston

"...Well. so long...The longer the better..."

AlmostTrick

Don't ride in fear of motorists.

Avoid like the plague any cyclists who are "Just hanging out".

TenSpeedV2

This is some of the worst advice I have ever read. I always take the lane. Not necessarily the middle, but I don't hug that curb either. You give a motorist an inch, they will take a mile. Don't give them enough room to think that they can squeeze by you in traffic. Leave absolutely no doubt that they cannot fit in the lane with you. I usually ride in the passenger side tire area in the lane. When I used to hug the curb, I got the squeeze quite a bit. Not any more.

hardboiled718

Think it depends on the situation. There are times when it's a good idea to take the lane and times when it's not.

I hate self righteous cyclists that completely block up traffic by taking a lane because "it's their right." I ride with the flow of traffic and try to disturb it as little as I can. Although this does mean sometimes taking a lane at a speed with traffic to keep a car from potentially pulling a right hook, but on straightaways where cars drive at higher speeds I tend to ride the yellow line and let the flow of traffic pass.
So I guess my rule when I ride is to stick with the flow of traffic... unless traffic has stalled, then split lanes.

katsrevenge

There is no such thing as a too bright taillight/headlight.
If someone says something about your light, a 'Thanks, it's good to know it's so visable, I don't want to die.' shuts them right up.

Never underestimate the Mary Poppins effect.

mozad655

I agree 100 %. This is what I always say, what 99% of cyclist do and what I always thought as common knowledge. You pedal to move and you ride on the side to make room for faster vehicles on the road. People who take the lane at all times are blocking the road and provoking dangerous overtakings.

mozad655

Actually it is great advice. Taking the lane makes overtakings much more dangerous. Lets face it, they will overtake you one way or another (traffic cannot slow down to bicycle speed for a longer period of time). I understand the point of taking the lane in very rare circumstances, but to do it all the time? This is just suicide and asking for trouble. The more room you give them to overtake, the less likely it is that they will make a dangerous manoeuvre. Drivers who run you over from behind are not those who decide to overtake, but those who don't see you at all. In a situation like that, being in the middle just makes it much worse.

jfowler85

....huh?

beerRun

Target fixation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some say blinking lights are more likely to result in Target Fixation.

jfowler85

You're all over the road here, so to speak. If a driver runs you over from behind because he/she didn't see you then whether you take the lane reasonably or rub the curb won't matter. The issue is a non-attentive driver. For those of us who spin with traffic on roads that have 45mph speed limits with no marked, taking the lane and riding defensively is the only way to not get yourself smooshed. Riding rubbing the curb at those speeds is dumb because you have no room to maneuver, and since you're already pretty much out of the lane you'll get buzzed by everyone behind you.

Just take the lane like a big boy.

jfowler85

Reiteration: this doesn't happen with blinkies on a bicycle. Btw your article is lacking sources.

ShortLegCyclist

Finally, I want my tail light to be able to flash. Interestingly, Germany, the mecca of dynamo bicycle lights, has laws governing bicycle illumination and has outlawed flashing bicycle lights. Several other European countries have also made blinking lights illegal. Since these are the markets that dynamo light makers primarily sell to, there are no (as far as I can tell) commercial offerings for flashing dynamo lights. The wise lawmakers of these nations must have well-considered reasons for outlawing blinking lights (although apparently Great Britain has revised their lighting regulations to allow flashers). They mesmerize tired or drunk drivers, interfere with night vision, make distance hard to estimate, annoy other cyclists riding behind you, etc, etc. There seems to be a litany of reasons for their banishment from a nation's pedal cycles. However, over here in North America I can think of two very good reasons why one would want a flashing tail light:

1. Almost every cyclist uses a flashing tail light for urban night riding. That's just what's been marketed to us by light makers and it is now the unofficial standard of North American bicycle lighting (blame the half-decade ubiquity of the knog or the superlfash!). As a consequence, it's what both cyclists and drivers are accustomed to.
   
2. In an after dark urban environment, solid, low power, narrow beamed tail lights have a lot of other light to compete with. In these parts there's been a proliferation of European-style commuter bikes with dynamo lighting. As such, they come equipped with solid tail lights. My experience riding behind such bikes is that their tail lights kind of get lost in the optical cacophony of car lights, street lights, commercial signage, utility and emergency vehicle lights, etc. So, in the same way an emergency vehicle has strobed lights to grab your attention in an already visually busy environment, a bright strobing tail light on a bicycle screams out 'DON'T RUN ME DOWN!'

That said, in cases where flashing lights are not appropriate (avoiding arrest on cycling trips to Europe or long night rides with other cyclists, for instance), there's a requirement for the flasher to be disabled.

Source: bicycle lighting: tail lamps: to flash or not to flash

beerRun

People say it does (especially with drunk or tired drivers). Grant Petersen for one. I've not seen studies to back that up however, but that idea is out there.

jfowler85

Fair enough.

TenSpeedV2

Completely agree with this.

snow_echo_NY

1. ride with super bright lights in daytime and nighttime, i set mine to flash. motorists notice it and go far slower approaching me and passing me.
2. use your bell and dad-voice to self-announce (i imitate a radio voice, such as brian the dog on family guy or american dad to be heard).
3. like @noglider said, predict others and be predictable
4. yield to the unpredicatable and give berth.
- that means self-prevent from dooring. cycling lanes mean nothing.
- additionally, this especially means big buses/trucks/etc that are right next to the cycling lane and not giving obvious room. they run right into the cycling lane without any thought or look as to who might be in them.
5. when i say "the unpredictable" ones - i mean motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. everyone is a human and subject to faulty decision making. that makes them all a hazard and i must be the most defensive of them all. which unfortunately means me the cyclist is the lowest on the totem pole.
6. don't take right of way from peds who have ROW - audibly give it. take ROW from motorists only if you are in a precarious situation by not maintaining flow and be verbal.
7. yes to what everyone else said. EYE CONTACT MEANS NOTHING. watch the car, not the driver.

i think there are more rules in my head.

Leisesturm

f laugh out loud when I pass a cyclist sitting directly behind a stopped car in the lane because he is being a "big boy". Maybe he is but part of why I ride a bike is because it is able to easily fit in the space between moving traffic and parked traffic or the curb. If I wanted to take 30 minutes to travel five miles I would drive. A rental car or two ago I was sitting at a stoplight and BLAM!!! i was hit directly from behind by some fool in a 50 year old station wagon with no brakes. had there been a cyclist between us doing the adult thing, s/he would now be very, very dead. My "rule": Use common sense and don't overthink vehicular cycling. If you don't have any common sense of your own, use mine. I'm only a PM away.

H (who is wondering why there cannot ever be consensus on any topic of roadcraft that one can think of)

Leisesturm

By the way, a 'Dad voice' only goes so far in traffic. Lights are unnecessary in the daytime. Literally unecessary. You cannot be ticketed for not having lights on during the day. A car has an alternator that keeps the battery charged so your lights always work (if not you get a $65 ticket). Lights last much longer if you save them for nighttime use only, and even longer if you use them in blink mode. A good thing because if you are stopped (at night... hint) for not having working lights the ticket is $300.

realityinabox

Taking the lane or not almost always depends on the size of the lane and general road condition. If it is a narrow lane in a 25mph zone, take it. If it is a wider lane where it is safe to slide to the side and you won't get pinched between a car and curb, then don't be a jerk, move over and let traffic pass. If it is a wider lane, but the right side is pothole hell (typical in MI), then take the lane.

My commute is a pretty good mix of narrow lanes, wide lanes, bike lanes, sharrows, and neighborhood streets. The most important thing is to keep your head up and be obvious about what you're doing. Hold the line as much as possible and be predictable.

richkarr

Two of my unofficial rules follow:

1) Stay away from school buses. Don't ever pass them on the right or left. I've found a significant number drive erratic and have very little concern for bicyclists.

2) Be extra cautious when passing the Home Improvement Store. I pass a Home Depot on my commute. Not only is traffic dicey near the store drive entrances, but most of my flat tires have occurred within a mile after passing that store

Hypno Toad

Don't pack your banana next to your underwear, 'cause if the banana gets squeezed while riding to the office, you'll have banana juice on you undies, and you aren't going to wanna wear them then. True story.

Real rule - defensive driving/riding. I spent a few years working for UPS and received commercial drivers training from UPS. The basic idea, always expect the other person to do something stupid/dangerous - so be prepared to avoid them.

Hypno Toad

Excellent point, all large vehicles are dangerous. I spent about one year driving a school bus, this experience gave me a great deal of fear of buses. The other drivers scared the poop out of me!

Here's a great video to help you understand why you need to keep a significant distance from large vehicles:

Leebo

Depends where you ride, I like my lights on 24/7. When driving, the bicyclists I see first during the day have their blinkies on. I like my lights for going under overpasses, bridges and deeply shadowed tree cover.

jimmie65

Being ticketed for not having lights is the least of my concerns when commuting. I run with blinking lights because it's more noticeable, day or night.
And sadly, not all municipalities ticket people for riding without lights at night.