amit_shah25 

I am pretty sure this topic has been beaten to death, but just experienced this and felt like sharing it here to remind all of us about safety.

So I am riding in the center of the lane (2 lane road) cause I didn't feel safe people passing me in the same lane. Even then, a car passes me pretty close. Pisses me off, but whatever. Cuts me, goes ahead of me, and a few feet in front of me, hits the pavement !! The road is absolutely clear, there was absolutely no traffic except 2 of us !! Nothing serious happened, but I guess he misjudged or whatever, and hit the pavement, and I guess scratched his wheels.

This just made me thinking what if I was there between the car and the pavement !!!!!! World of lunatics out there Be careful and be safe !!!

ObjectAgnosia

Pavement = Curb?

macteacher

Yeah...the description was not clear. My interpretation:

The car cut you off while passing and then he slid-skidded or veered off to the right hand side of the lane and hit the curb. Lucky you were not there.

amit_shah25 

sorry, i meant the curb.

Cut me off, veered off to the right hand and hit the curb.

d2create

I would have sat up and clapped/cheered, making sure he saw me in his rearview. lol

Longfemur

In decades of riding, I personally have never found that taking the lane provides any safety benefit whatsoever. Cars just do the same thing they would have anyway by edging into the opposing or next lane and brushing by me just as close. Taking the lane only works if there is no other lane at all or there is a physical barrier of some kind. No matter where the bike is, most drivers seem to want to prove their precision driving skills by passing the bike as closely as possible without actually hitting it.

amit_shah25 

I am a pretty new rider and dont have as much xperience with traffic as you guys, but I have definately noticed that if I take up the entire lane, it stops people from cutting me too close. It definately pisses them more as compared to if I were hugging the last inch of the lane and they were able to fly by me, but I dont feel safe that way because there are cars parked all the way and I would be directly in the "open door zone" !!!

timthorn

For this I have a GREAT shirt slogan.

First using the highly visible yellow of Alert Shirts, have printed in bold black large letters:

"MY SAFETY = YOUR INCONCEVIENCE"

I only take a lane if one of the following criteria is met:
1. narrow S curve with rock shoulders (prevents wiping out due to gravel)
2. School zones (regardless of time of day)
3. I AM GOING THE F'ing speed limit

Whatever happened to driving being a privilege not a rite of passage.

Roody

I think you're being hostile and sarcastic, but I'm not sure. I'm having a little trouble understanding this post.

Anyhoo, the rules of the road are based on the premise that safety trumps speed. So my shirt would say "My safety > your convenience".

There are lots more than 3 circumstances when it's safer to take the whole lane. OTOH it's nice to make the trip convenient for others when you can SAFELY do that.

Roody

I have quite a bit of experience and I agree with you. If drivers think they can overtake you in the same lane, they'll often try to do it--even if they can only give you a few inches of passing space. If they have to swing into the next lane to overtake, they'll usually give you plenty of space.

I don't know if drivers get pissed or not. They almost never honk, yell, or act agressively, so my guess is that they're OK with it. And why shouldn't they be OK with it? Most of them understand that one of the basic skills of driving is knowing how to overtake slower traffic safely and responsibly.

Bdaisies

Though I don't edge close to the curb, I don't hog the road most of the time. However, there are times when I will take the lane, and it's particularly when I'm worried about driver's judgement.

Today, I was on an overpass. There's construction on the west sidewalk so there's a concrete barrier to my right. I was riding fairly close to the barrier because traffic was fast and drivers were being far too aggressive today. People stayed in my lane and passed way too close to my liking. I was buzzed so close by a pick up truck that the wind nearly knocked me into the barrier. Other days I travel on this overpass, I take the lane and people actually pass in the other lane which has been a lot safer for me.

I personally believe in sharing the road, being courteous to motorists and using the maneuverability of my bike to my advantage. But if i feel like i have to take up the whole lane for my safety, I will.

Allister

The main advantage is that when they do buzz you, you've got somewhere to go to avoid them.

I generally don't find it necessary to ride in the very centre of the lane, only far enough out to make it clear that passing cars must move at least partially into the next lane, and they mostly do pass with plenty of clearance, if not a full lane change. Roughly a metre from the kerb seems to work best for me. If I do move further into the lane, people seem to think I'm being a bit too presumptuous and are more likely to buzz me.

There are situations where I will ride centreish, or even on the far right edge (left for americans), but those are the exception rather than the norm.

stevage

I pine for France. You ride in the shoulder in a country road there, yet drivers will move all the way to the other side of the road, and back, to give you the maximum possible room. Several times I was afraid they'd have a head-on.

Steve

Roody

Very true, and an important point about defensive cycling.

Another reason to do most of your riding is the traffic lane is that drivers tend to look for other traffic in the lane rather than in the shoulder or on the edge of the road. A driver waiting in a cross street to make a turn onto your street is more likely to see you if you're in the traffic lane, because that's where traffic is expected to be. Likewise with drivers who are already in your street, making a left turn or U-turn across your lane. They check the traffic lane that they'll be entering or crossing more than they check the edge of the road.

Danger is more likely to come from your side or your front, not from your rear. Most inexperienced cyclists are far too worried about overtaking cars, and not worried enough about cars coming toward them or across them. After you've almost been hit by the hook and the cross, you learn to stay in the traffic lane and look to your right, to your left and straight ahead.

A final reason to ride in the lane is that you can see other traffic better, and you'll have more time/space to react to cars that have unsafely entered your lane. It might be a difference of only a few feet and a few milliseconds, but that has meant the difference between life and death on one occasion for me.

This doesn't mean you always have to be in the center of the outer lane. It might be perfectly safe to be in the right edge of the lane. A lot of experienced riders are usually in the right tire track (or left tyre track in the UK). Personally I tend to ride closer to the center at night, or when I'm moving more quickly.

Allister

I was only talking about lanes that are too narrow to share. On wide lanes, or roads with shoulders or bikelanes, I ride just outside the line the cars are taking, or just to the left of the line, still keeping a minimum of a metre to the road edge/kerb, but it's often a lot more. I'm still plenty visible. If cars do cross in front of me, or pull out of side streets, it's not because they haven't seen me. My guess is they just underestimate my speed, but as long as I keep an eye on them, any bogus move they make is reasonably easy to avoid. If I'm in doubt about what they're going to do, I just back off a bit, or move a bit more into the lane, or even slow down until I am sure. There's no need to ride in the lane to mitigate for events that are really quite rare.

I have no more fear of crossing traffic than I do of passing traffic, and I don't concern myself with where danger is 'likely' to come from, only with what people are actually doing.

amit_shah25 

I agree with most of the posts here. I dont try to hog the road completely all the time. But for those familiar with Jersey City, I take up the lane on several blocks of JFK Blvd because the lanes are not so wide and there are always cars parked on the right side. On other parts, I try to keep to the right, but not to the right most corner so that when cars try to pass me too close, I have some room to maneuver and that I am visible (I do always wear a reflective vest) to motorists.


One of the post says here that my safety = your convinience. I disagree with that. my safety > someone's convinience. Because if we consider that, it would mean running over pedestrians crossing the road when they are not supposed to, just because I dont want to go thru inconvinience of hitting the brakes in my car .. Kindaaa ...

Allister

On the subject of drivers doing goofy things after passing, check this out.

AlmostTrick

+1. Not only are motorists more likely to see you, but they are more likely to NOT infringe on your right of way when you are riding in the center of the traffic lane. Being in the same place as other legal traffic makes you more relevant to them.

Roody

I'm not going to argue with you, but I do wonder if you really thought through the phrase that I put in bold print. A principle of risk management is that even rare outcomes should be guarded against when the potential harm is great. Also, accident analysis shows that it's more common for adult cyclists in urban areas to be struck from the front or side than from the rear.

I do agree that it isn't always necessary to ride in the trafficked part of a wide lane (take the lane), and I think I mentioned that in an earlier post. However, I base my riding position on safety concerns, not on concerns for the drivers' convenience or their supposed perception of my politeness.

robertlinthicum

Applies to most of Europe, at least the several countries I've visited. I don't know what it is here (in the U.S.) that makes any traffic activity a personal (and sometimes deadly) contest.

urban rider

I was riding the center lane while traveling to work because of the potholes on the side of the street. A police officer told me to move over so the cars could pass me. To move over to the side where she told me would have made it more dangerous for me. Riding on the sidewalk is worse, due to high bushes and trees.

Allister

As do I. If I think a driver on a side street hasn't seen me, I will move further into the lane so that a)I draw more attention to myself, and b) if they do pull out I can more easily avoid them. It's not very often that I have to do that. The vast majority of people have no problem seeing me and giving way.

condiment

Use daytime running lights if you want drivers to see you.

Taking up the whole lane, while occasionally prudent, most often leads to frustration and aggresive driving which puts more people at risk. I only take up entire lanes when traffic is merging and drivers tend to get agressive anyways, and occasionally at intersections when I roll up to a line of cars just as the light changes. If the shoulder quality of your route is so poor that you HAVE to take up a lane, find another route.

Jtarkey

I just tend to stay to the right hand side of the lane, but not completely in the shoulder (where cracks, garbage, and loose pavement sit). I understand why drivers get upset by Road Cyclists, so i'm not going to just try and inconvenience people for the sake of inconveniencing them.

JoeyBike

Every road and situation are different. WAY different. I don't think anyone can generalize where I should position myself on "The Road". I ride where I feel safest given the facts on the ground at that moment.

And...I wear and use a helmet mounted rear-view mirror so the A.H.s don't sneak up on me. I want all the information I can get concerning the current situation before I commit to any lane position.