That's a good point. A few weeks back I had a lady squeeze past me before the curve, and I think that may have been scarier. There was about a foot between me and her mirror, and it appeared to be about the same between her and oncoming traffic. I've also toyed with the idea of going really, really slow before the curve so that everyone can get by so we don't all get there at the same time. I may try that today.

BTW, I do the same curve in the morning, but it's usually not as bad because I go to work earlier than most but leave at 5pm like everyone else.

I have found that for some reason I can keep the cars behind me in unsafe situations if I throw my left hand out in a down-low slowing/stopping hand signal. If I use this move while taking the lane, they usually stay put like trained dogs.

Also works well for cresting large hills when I can see traffic climbing the other side and the drivers approaching from behind cannot.

I have a couple of blind curves I ride on, though admittedly very low traffic. Taking the lane is the ONLY sensible thing on one of them. It's a curve to the right at the top of a hill. There's about a 2 foot shoulder, and immediately to the right of that is a tree-covered hill that goes up sharply. Cars rounding the corner almost all cut the corner into the curve, driving within a few inches of the dirt hill. If they don't see you, well, you're going to get hit and with nowhere to go it's going to be bad.

Therefore as I'm approaching that curve, I look in my mirror, and if anyone is behind me that will be caught up to me before the end of the curve and the return of sight lines, I move WAY the hell to the left, almost to the center line (being careful to listen, because oncoming traffic often cuts the corner as well) so that my bright yellow shirt is visible to the overtaking drivers as long as possible, so that they have as much chance as possible to realize that I'm there. Once I get to where I can't see them in my mirror anymore, I move back left. By then I'm more than halfway around the curve so I get back to where I can bail to the shoulder if I need to.

On that curve, so far I haven't had a problem. If a car catches me during the curve they just wait.

Immediately after that there's another, longer curve where traffic also cuts the corner (even worse; half the drivers actually go onto the gravel) but there's a clear line of sight and a ditch to bail into so I just keep it around the fog line and haven't had a problem.

I do have one blind curve that's on gravel and right now it's horribly washboarded. Somewhere around the middle of the road is the only place that doesn't threaten to break my frame when I ride it, so drivers are just going to have to deal with it. Drivers around here are great though and I don't get any hassle.

It sounds like a crap shoot either way, you take the lane, idiot goes by, gets headed...is that mess going to come right into you? Don't take it and get clipped?

If it is for only 500 feet I'd almost pull over, wait for a clear shot then shoot through.

+1. I also find communication to work like a charm. I commute on a narrow road with many blind curves and default to the center of the lane. When a motorist comes up from behind while nearing a curve, I am already in their path, leaving no question in their mind that they can not squeeze by in the same lane. As they near I'll issue the stay back signal. Well over 90 percent of drivers will wait. Once it is clear I'll move slightly right to help facilitate their pass, and give a wave of thanks.

Timing is everything. If you signal too late they may already be committed to passing. Too soon and they may not understand what you are doing. With experience your results will improve.

When they choose to pass me on the curve anyway, (rare) I always have plenty of space on my right to glide into. Using a mirror makes this much easier.

could you "time" the traffic by slowing down and taking the lane after its clear?
I would try that and if thats not an option I would still tend to be toward the right as they don't seem to be paying attention to you as a driver of a vehicle...

heck, if I thought it was safer, I wouldn't have a problem with "hoofing" it for a short distance...

Agreed. I'm pretty sure that when most drivers see a cyclist in the lane, they assume he has no idea that a car is approaching from behind, which makes the "hurry up and pass this guy who is unnecessarily holding me up" so prevalent.

When a driver sees that I am aware of his presence (the timely hand signal), I believe they understand that I'm in that position for a reason [the blind curve, hill crest, etc.] and don't seem to mind waiting until we've all agreed that it is safe to pass.

Sure, you'll have the occasional jerk who blows by you at 60 mph into oncoming traffic, but my success rate at this has made it a non-issue. YMMV.

Today I tried Old Dirt Hill's suggestion of signaling the drivers when it was safe. As I approached the curve, I looked behind and saw, again, three vehicles coming. I got out into the lane and held out my hand. Soon I could see it was perfectly clear, so I waved the drivers by. This all happened very quickly, maybe less than four seconds. The first driver politely passed, giving me plenty of room and didn't seem to be angry at all. The second driver was piloting an F-350 diesel and he made a point to gas it right beside me, I assume to show me how grateful he was that I was trying to prevent him from getting killed.. The third driver did not seem bothered. Much better than yesterday, but of course there was no oncoming traffic today, either.

Ride and position yourself as in "HEY I AM HERE!!!!"

Great to hear it worked out for you. I'd be interested in hearing about your success using this tactic (or lack thereof) as the days go on.

totally agree,

I am not sure if you were agreeing, or disagreeing with my post though.

I should clarify, I mean that once you're coming around the corner, where the cars behind you can no longer see you, even in the middle of lane, it's time to move back over.

Yes, and the kicker is they also blame you for 'making' them do the stupid things they do.

Remember rule one - always expect the other guy to do the stupidest thing possible and plan your options accordingly. In this case, be ready to make a dive for the right shoulder before the idiot coming up from behind tries to pass...only to discover that oncoming traffic is closer than he thought making him swerve right in a panic...so if and when he does pass, you got your butt covered.

That doesn't work every time....the 10 percent rule applies.
(in any human activity, there are always 10 percent that don't get with the program)

That's my problem with dogma. But I have a question. What's the purpose of taking the lane in these situations? To try to prevent somebody from passing you? That's the only reason I can think of...

-Jon

We run into bad drivers when we are on bike, in cars or walking. It's a fact of life. I used to get upset, but now just MoveOn.

Visibility, Safety. People tend to take curbs they can't see around overly casually. So if they come flying around the corner, and then merge left a bit to go around you, they might hit another car coming the other direction, which can lead to injury for the drivers and the cyclist that happen to be near by.

Taking the lane is supposed to make you more visible to both sides of traffic and prevent the people behind you from making dangerous passes while you're vulnerable.

Exactly...it's to make you very visible and keep cars from passing you when it's not safe. It forces drivers to take notice and think how to deal with you.

Do whatever makes you safe. Period.

I often take the lane in the city (DC), but I've spent a fair amount of time in rural western Mass, with lots of rolling, winding, twisty country roads (not riding my bike).

On those windy country roads in western Mass, I'm not sure taking the lane is a good idea. People are going very fast around those blind corners, only to find YOU right in the middle of the lane going half their speed. This seems like a recipe for disaster.

I don't really know what the right thing to do in this instance is.

Also - regarding the "slow down" hand signal - is something people actually know? I was never taught such a signal, and I would never have known what in the world that meant. I imagine drivers are the same way.

Technically it is a slow / stop signal indicating that the operator giving it is slowing or stopping. This is one of the signals taught in drivers ed. Arm down on a 45 degree angle with an open palm hand facing back. Imagine when a traffic cop puts his hand up to stop motorists. This is the same thing in reverse.

Most drivers know what this means, or at the very least it will catch their attention. In extreme cases I'll even pump my hand emphatically forward and back in a pushing back motion. Almost everyone can understand such a universal signal as this.

Agreed. I'm sure that they don't recognize it as "the hand signal they learned in 2nd grade," but more a "hold on for a second." I equate it to how you'd put your hand up if you were trying to stop someone from cutting in front of you in line. Pumping the signal adds to the effectiveness for me as well.

I'm not suggesting this is the end all solution to drivers passing incorrectly, but when combined with taking the lane I get effective results often enough to believe this is the best option. As I've said before, drivers passing incorrectly is a non-issue for me while using this technique. And again, YMMV.

Sounds like the first intersection I hit going home. I found on that corner that cars have waited for me when I signal with my left are out and and open palm facing them, like a stop or hold signal. Very scarry when it's a huge dump truck and he's right behind you.

I find when I 'take the lane' i get honked at, and drivers come up beside me telling me to stay to the right. It gets annoying after a while

Variation on this theme: emergency vehicle coming toward you. Seems once the siren is heard all recognition of other events transpiring ceases to exist. Like me whom you haven't completely cleared. I hear the siren I actually move left first to hold the lane.

And remember the mix of sunbeams and deep shadows on a lot of those roads. If they hit you blind they might even think it's just another dog and not stop at all.

Make that Three times. Somebody got it again yesterday. Saw it on my way home to drop off some boxes my wife needed about an hour after I rode though that morning.

Dodge truck came flying up on traffic took to the fence instead of rear ending the last car. The scary part is this is after I cross back over and take to the road again. First time I have seen that section get nailed.

Excuse the crappy camera phone pic.