Heavy downtown traffic: pass slowly on the right?
 

I'm just starting a short bike commute (have never commuted by bike) that goes 3 miles through the downtown of a big city. Sometimes traffic is bad and cars are just creeping along (much slower than I'd regularly ride). What do you do in that situation? Pass slowly on the right? Take the lane and go slowly with them? Stay on the right and go slowly with them? Pass on the left somehow?

Depends on the situation. Try searching for "filtering" and you'll find all kinds of opinions on this subject.

If there's a bike lane present I'll usually use it to pass on the right (just be careful at driveways/intersections and watch for cars in the lane to your left moving over to park/drop off passengers/whatever).

If there's no bike lane, the right lane is narrow, and there are multiple same-direction lanes I prefer to lane split, since it's more of an expected maneuver (motorcycles do it) than trying to squeeze between other vehicles and the gutter, and it gets me away from right hook scenarios and cars pulling out of driveways.

If this thread becomes as active as many on this topic you'll see many opinions. An important thing to remember is that you need to stay within your comfort zone and if something feels dangerous to you it probably is, so don't do it :).

Pass 'em!

+1

if the traffic is really dense and slow, I prefer to lane split.

There is bad juju in the gutter.... stay out of it as much as possible.

Somebody will come along and say that you should sit there, eating exhaust, waiting with the cars. But not me. Pass them in any safe (for you) way possible.

I feel safest in down town settings.

I always take the lane though and I sometimes sieve through a red light and pass stopped cars on the left, but only on one ways or when I'm 100 percent on the traffic flow. I usually stand up and pedal through those to increase visibility too.

Youtube video of how to travel through
(lane split) congested traffic on a bicycle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs4ZqIlur0c

Lane splinting on the left is safer than passing on the right and getting "doored" by someone exiting a parked vehicle.

Don't do it on the right, lane split right through the middle and pass those suckers.

or cars that turn into the intersection :D

I agree with lane splitting in preference to passing on the right because of glass, doo-doo and whatever along the curb. That's also where you're most likely to get a passenger deciding to open a door and hop out and walk the half block to their destination rather than continue to wait...but it's not the only place this happens. When you're filtering in stopped traffic, any door can pop open at any time, so filter sloooowly and be ready for it.

Go ahead and pass them, Cherrypicker. But be careful mentioning it here on BF. When I mentioned passing cars on my commute, the BF self-righteous called me a dick and told me I was making it worse for other cyclists by not "waiting my turn" in the car-induced congestion and eating their exhaust: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=6933692
Some pretty funny stuff there :)

Make sure when your filtering to shout ON YOUR LEFT at every car you pass too.

Can I flip them off while doing it? :love:

If there's any chance they'll make a right turn anywhere, or there are cars coming into the curb lane from a side street - split the lane between cars, saves you right hook/door/car turning problems. Do so at your own risk, of course - conditions here in Toronto often dictate that splitting the lanes like this is pretty safe behaviour, and allows everyone on the road to go about their business without any "let's wait for the 5 bikes in the bike lane to go straight while I try to make this right turn" situations.

Some situations, if traffic clears out with a light cycle or something, make taking the lane and waiting a more appropriate situation - personally in my riding here, this is rarely ever the case and so I generally filter through on whichever side seems safer.

^^^^^^He said it better than I can.
If you have bike lanes--BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AT INTERSECTIONS WHEN YOU ARE GOING STRAIGHT THROUGH. THEY ARE DEATH TRAPS. CARS WILL TURN INTO YOU. EVEN IF THEY SEE YOU.----

I go a couple miles through downtown as well. Sometimes I pass on the right, sometimes the left, sometimes filter and sometimes wait with traffic - it really depends on the traffic "feel" or the street "feel" at the time. You will learn the more you do it. Always go slow and yes, be super extra careful at intersections! One thing I often run into here is drivers that see you coming, decide that they will not let you by and pull their vehicle into your route. :notamused: So if that happens, back up, go around the other side of them b/c they've also usually pulled ahead and now can't move thier vehicle in any direction whatsover. And don't forget, always give them a friendly wave and a smile as you go by. ;)

And remember... when you're splitting lanes through a traffic jam you're a rolling advertisment for bicycle commuting, so flash em a smile!

Yeah, I get a lot of that here on the eastside, too. People stuck in traffic who pull over and block the bike lane when they see me coming. (Avondale Rd is really bad for this one, and any roads near RTC)

Depending on my mood, they get one of two things as I pass:
a) a big sweaty handprint on their driver's side window or
b) a hose-down with Acellerade

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Use the tactic that meets your requirements for safety and efficiency based upon the situation you are facing. Sometimes I'm in the lane waiting with traffic, sometimes I'm splitting, sometimes I'm filtering up the right, sometimes I jump on the sidewalk, sometimes I shortcut through parking lots or alleys. It's up to you, your skills, your comfort level and the conditions at the time.

I second FlimFlam as well. It really depends on the scenario. I generally filter on the right at the curb through some of the busiest stop and go traffic downtown and haven't had many problems at all. Cars are fairly predictable when they can't move.

Conversely, at the edge of the core, people start driving like maniacs, probably to make up for all the time they just spent idling downtown.

I'd suggest never riding beside cars through intersections. If you're sort of "on-deck" to go through a light, let the guy beside you go ahead and make his move whether it be a right or to go on through. Take the lane enough so that the guy behind you has to let you do your thing before he can start ignoring you. But, by all means: if they're stopped, pass 'em. They'd run over an entire line of cyclists to get to yoga faster if they could get away with it.

Depends on the situation: density of traffic, reason for the slow down, what kind of time frame I'm looking at (i.e. am I over an hour late like today), condition of the roadway, etc. In general I filter ahead on the right or left depending on the specifics with the exception being that I try to leave a few cars in front of me at lights to trip the sensor and run blocking against the red light runners for me. Just try different things and learn from the mistakes.

In downtown areas watch out for pedestrians stepping into the street.

Noooo, that just makes 'em jealous and bitter. Look tired and/or bored, even if you have to fake it. :p

I just go wherever I can, as long as I don't get in someone's way and force them to brake or risk hitting a pedestrian. Sometimes it's on the right, sometimes it's on the left. I always expect a car to turn at an intersection, especially if it's slowing down like it's lost or if its brake lights come on -- so I never hang around on their side. I also expect them to suddenly change lanes if theirs is slow and the one next to them gets an open space.

All of this is why I say, "Don't forget what it's like to be a cager". Think like them, imagine where you'd drive if you got irritated and impatient, then ride somewhere else -- while still looking out for even crazier maneuvers.

That was awesome thanks!

I'm glad people don't do that here, or at least not that I have seen yet. It's rather funny that they think they can stop you though. At worst all you'd have to do is hop up on the curb/grass/sidewalk for a few seconds and be on your way. Are they not worried that you might "accidentally" scratch their paint with your pedals as you pass so closely?

Thanks for all the great replies!

After today's commute, what I found was that I would not be comfortable lane-splitting. There just seemed to be too many erratic drivers who change lanes pretty quickly, or also sometimes people who were double-parked (which made everyone switch to the left lane). Also, if you're in the middle, and the left lane is left-turn-only, then you're stuck trying to merge in to the right lane from the left side.

What I ended up doing was filtering on the right, though slowly. That is, we'd all come to a light, I'd be 3 or 4 cars back, and by the time the light turned green I'd be right up there at the intersection.

Also, in general for intersections with lights, I found it to be most comfortable to just take the lane and sit with the traffic. This gave me a rest, and also showed the cagers that I was following traffic laws like any other vehicle on the road. That said, with all those lights, it made for a pretty long (time-wise) commute.