Beginning drivers tend to hug the middle line actually because of the appearance of the vehicle being larger than it actually is. It takes some time to break that habit.

Driver ed teaches several lane positions (5 to be exact) depending on the situation. Those positions can take you from the middle of the lane to over either the middle or fog line. Students are taught that if a vehicle is coming that prevents the far left lane position to pass a cyclist, wait until the traffic clears so you can.

Again, don't blame driver ed. Blame impatient drivers.

I have a few friends that make their living in the music industry and one of them went to school for audio "something" and is working in it. He loves it.

Beavercreek is about 20 minutes from me, a bit south east.

Just out of curiosity, is the "far left lane position" staying within the same lane? It seems that it never occurs to a lot of drivers that they can leave their lane to pass a cyclist. They seem to think their only options are either buzzing or tailgating until you pull over.

The far left lane position is over the dividing line.

I've noticed this same behavior. Maybe a lot of them just act like they can't cross it to more or less to give us a message to move over or get off the road.

I'm just worried that if there's a recession that entertainment won't be marketable. But then I'll just work in a bike shop! :D

I have several 90 degree wide bends in the road between town and my house (this is not my cycling route, 99% of the time). The road has about a 2 foot shoulder. Almost every car cuts the corner so tight that they're OVER the shoulder and on the gravel. People on the outside lane are sometimes 2+ feet into the inner lane.

When I'm in my car I make it a point to stay inside the lines. If there's a car coming the other way, I try to hold my line and make them get the hell back into their lane. Sometimes I wind up giving a little to avoid a collision, but they get an earful of horn for my trouble.

I think I've seen a SMALL amount of change in the number of people that stay in their lanes around those corners since I've started doing that.

I DO ride that way sometimes, and I'd prefer it if people weren't coming up behind me (usually 20+ over the posted limit) driving straddling the shoulder...

I disagree. If you confront someone by yelling, screaming and tearing off parts of their motor vehicles, then all they are thinking of is retaliation no matter what they did. Most times people don't even realize what they did wrong and never will if you tear off their mirror. Have you ever made a mistake while driving? Did someone tear off your mirror for it?

Officer, I had to run over that biker because that crazy s.o.b. had already ripped my mirror off and was trying to kill me. It was self defense.

I agree. Very rarely would a person go "Gee I'm glad that my wrongness didn't end up badly, I sure do need to do better!". It's more "That is one more reason I hate bikers!".