Yeah, I tend to pay close attention to semi horns; truck drivers tend to be pretty with it. Not always, but the average is a lot higher than random folks driving around.

Well, that settles it. This thread officially convinced me to install that mirror I hadn't yet gotten around to...

Either stop with your foolish post or go find the kindergarden forum to post them in, Thank you.

My mirror has saved me from 5 hit from behinds by 3 distracted drivers, 1 likely DUI and 1 blind driver. I consider my mirror far more important than a helmet.

good one...had me check to make sure i wasnt in the fifty+ forum. jokes on me

He said, "Boy, do you know how feels when you're running three wide, Cause if you're Daytona bound, Lemme warn ya, You're in for a ride."

No, I hold my line. Doing anything else makes me unpredictable to the driver(s), and by the time any other maneuver is completed the situation is over. In this case the SUV driver is an idiot for trying to pass in this situation.

Taking bets on the SUV driver..??
Mom texting on a cell phone... Fixing her hair... Yelling at the kids... changing radio stations... All of the above...

which 4 lane road?

The shoulders right now drop off and you can't ride on them. The DOT will add an extra 3' to the road dedicated for cyclists.

All of the above is my guess. It's called "multitasking"...

Drivers may think they need to honk to let you know they are behind you. (wrong). Or it could have been the truck letting the SUV know it was not safe to pass.

If they are passing over the center line they should have their turn signals on. Bet he didn't.

Could be that the truck slowed down because he didn't have enough visibility of the road ahead to pass giving sufficient clearance (6' for a commercial vehicle).

I wish bike riders and vehicle drivers were required to pass a written test including bike safety rules when renewing their license (and that bikes operating on streets required an operator's license). It could easily be done online.

The regional (kind of like a county) government is doing this as regional roads in my area get resurfaced. Supposedly the extra non-travelled pavement on the road edges actually helps the road last longer between resurfacing, so it's expected to be cost-neutral in the long term.

If I'm on a rural road being overtaken by a semi, I get over to the right as far as I reasonably can, and that includes taking any gravel shoulder that doesn't look really gnarly. You never know who may be tailgating the truck--and many drivers are almost as impatient to get around a 'slow' truck as they are to get around a 'slow' bicycle.

This is probably way out in left field but I've notice where I live that there is almost a pack "instinct" among drivers when they are driving together in the same direction down a 4-lane highway (using two lanes, going one direction, of course). Sometimes as many as 4 or 5 vehicles will ride (at 65+ MPH) for miles within 75 feet of one another (taking up both lanes). When I am driving my car I hate (and try to avoid) getting "traped" in one of these packs. Having a vehicle traveling (at high speed) closely, in front, behind, and to the side of me is distracting and I think it increases the possibility of having a crash. I try to stay at least 50 feet away from the vehicles in front and behind me. Of course I get passed (I usually drive 55 MPH), and sometimes I pass others, but I try to execute the pass quickly and get back in my safe "zone"

...anyway my point is: the pack behavior that I've witnessed would not seem to respond effectively to a surprise encounter with slow-moving vehicle in its path.

You are wrong about that. Pack behavior is inconsequential as long as you are riding your bike in a position that is unambiguously seen as being "in the way".

You can watch it on film here, here, and here.

It's an interesting proposition, but the video does not seem to support your/their theory. That is, are they changing lanes for the cyclist, or the vehicle ahead of the cyclist filming it? I don't see anyone getting in front of the cyclist but behind the vehicle filming.

You said it brotha!

Of course the "purist" shoulder-check crowd will be squawking about how they can manage heavy/fast traffic conditions with just their furtive, backward glances.

The vehicle in front of the cyclist is a bicyclist with a helmet camera facing backward. You can see the same technique used with both riders wearing helmet cameras in this video to better see how it is done.

I'm very interested in this technique. Is there a similar technique for 2 lane roads with a solid yellow line (where there is not an extra lane for the car to move into to pass)? What do you do as traffic backs up behind you?

I know in Massachusetts the law states that bicyclists are allowed to ride on any road, except for the roads that have signage specifically restricting the activity.

The Mass DOT hasn't been that deligent about the upkeep of these signs, so many of them are missing from the local highways, which means that law isn't that easy to interpret. I still wouldn't ride on most of the highways around here though. Some cagers are nuts and there are too many Rhode Island drivers, who are annually ranked among the worst in the country.

I've never had a problem with semi's when I ride the local rural routes. They're usually better than the average driver regarding giving me enough space.

I've found that to be the case as well.

In VA, you can ride on any road that does not directly prohibit cycling. Not that you would want to, in many cases, but I think the only things you can't ride on are "limited access" highways or interstates.

on a recent organized ride, we rode on a 60mph road, and climbed the whole time we were on it heading out. so we were sloooow, but traffic seemed courteous since their was many so many bikes. coming back, speeds got up to around 40-45, so we were sorta kinda keeping up...that was a rush but scary.

If there is room to share the lane, you share it, if not, you do not.
If there is not room to safely share and traffic begins building up behind you, then you do what any other slow moving vehicle that is being operated by a courteous driver would do...when it is safe to do so, pull off and let the bottleneck clear, then continue. Repeat as necessary.