The actual wording of the legislation in the NCDOT "Bicyclists and the Law" publication says: "Also, the bicyclist must travel in the right-hand lane and should ride as close as practicable to the right-hand edge of the highway. [§20-146(a)] Exceptions to this law are provided when the bicyclist is making these maneuvers:
• Passing another vehicle moving in the same direction [§20-146(a)(1)]
• Avoiding a dangerous obstruction [§20-146(a)(2)]
• Riding on a one-way street [§20-146(a)(4)]
• Preparing for a left turn. [§20-146(e)]
Bicyclists are not required to ride on adjacent bicycle paths

There is a considerable difference between the meaning of the words "possible" and "practicable"

It will have the effect of increasing your visibility, simply by reason of being directly in the driver's eyeline. But its main purpose is to oblige the driver to move well out to overtake you. Most will, if required to pull out, move well out, whereas, even if you're wearing hi-viz clothing and bright tail lights but are riding well to the right. many will barely flick the wheel to go round you.

Taking the lane, as others have said, can also be used to prevent a driver going past you when there is oncoming traffic, or other vehicles coming past in the next lane.

You will undoubtedly annoy drivers who may be briefly held up because here isn't room to overtake, but many of them will be irritated simply because you're cycling on "their road".

I do not agree. There are drivers that will pull out into the far lane or even oncoming traffic and pass with plenty of room even when I am in a bike lane or protected section of road. And there are those who barely flick their wheels to pass when I am on top of the fog strip with nowhere else to go. If I am out in the center of the lane the only thing keeping a driver from moving well out into oncoming traffic and only putting two wheels over the centerline and buzzing close is his or her conscience. There is nothing you have actually done, by taking the lane, to force a car to pass far away. They pass as close or far as they feel like. As I said, in my area, the road culture is mainly to pass cyclists with plenty of room whether they need it or not. But many don't. I was once driving on a mountain road, at night, in the rain and feeling very overwhelmed because it was an unfamiliar road. It was very late and there wasn't much traffic, but what traffic there was knew the road. They wanted to go faster. Much faster. I was doing the limit but even so every now and then someone would risk death to pull off a hairy pass that they couldn't see around. I was in a car! So, forgive me if I am dubious about a cyclists ability to 'oblige', 'prevent', 'require' or in any way influence what a driver does or does not do with respect to you. If you take a vehicle lane you do it because there is an obstacle or other road hazard that makes it impossible for you to progress safely where ever it is you have been riding, be it in a proper bike lane or shoulder or to the right of the right hand vechicle track. Taking a lane to influence driver behavior is specious.

H

BTW - AFAIK the Fog Strip is the white line itself. The area to the right of the fog strip is called the shoulder and it may be wide or narrow or non-existent. Fog strips themselves may be wide or narrow but are usually 3" to 5" wide and take somef concentration to ride on. But IMO a road cyclist is not complete without the ability to hold a steady line for hundreds of feet at a time. Best practice is to look well down the road, not at your front wheel and relax.

"Taking the lane" is when you leave no doubt that you cannot be passed within the lane. So the above description is of a lane not taken.

Did you really just start by talking about "there isn't evidence" and then go into wild speculation about how cyclists are getting killed because they (collectively) can't hold their line to save their lives? :rolleyes:

This is a section of road I ride for @ half a mile on my way home. It's a rural area but this particular road is pretty busy during the rush-hour evening time. If I rode the far right line, quite often cars would try to pass me while other oncoming vehicles were approaching at the same time on the other side. It was all just way too close for comfort and the dirt area has tons of glass. It's about the only place I "take the lane" on my commute, as fortunately the rest of the ride has very good bike lanes.

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...224/ash_st.jpg

I ride as far to the right as practicable, which I define as being as far to the left as necessary for my safety. That particular point varies depending on road conditions.
On the part of my commute where there is a wide shoulder, to the right of the fog line, that is where I am. On the part of my commute where the shoulder is non-existent (on a portion of my commute there is no shoulder, just 2 travel lanes and a 6 inch high curb) I ride in the right lane, right wheel track. When I need to turn left, as I approach the intersection, I check traffic, signal if necessary, then get in to the left lane, right tire track.

On the two lane (rural) portion of my commute, my road position varies depending on the surface conditions, pot holes, cracked asphalt, glass etc. There is a portion of my commute where I am almost on the yellow line because of road surface conditions. I also tend to ride a little more to the left on the fast downhill sections of my commute.
When making a left on a rural road, as I approach the intersection, I go from the right wheel track to the left tire track.

I believe that taking the lane makes me more visible, and also signals that the driver needs to execute a proper pass as opposed to trying to squeeze by me in the same lane.

I would recommend the LAB Traffic 101 class for the OP.

Of course the above statement is correct, (bolding mine) but most experienced cyclists have found that lane position does in fact influence drivers, and usually for the better. Even if a driver does decide to pass too closely when you are taking the lane, at least you have some buffer to your right to glide into. Not so if you are on the fog line with little or no shoulder.

Up until this point most of the discussion has focused on motorists overtaking cyclists. But using the full lane offers several other benefits to cyclist safety. Sight lines are much improved when you ride in the lane. You will often be able to see drivers sooner (and they you) than you would when you hide yourself away in the gutter. (think intersections and driveways, but it doesn't end there)

Dangerous infringements on your right of way (like left crosses or pull outs) are also less likely when you are positioned where traffic normally drives, instead of off to the side where people normally wait for right of way.

+1 on taking the LAB traffic 101 course. Pedal On! :)

This has been my experience.

Andrew

Thank you for this clarification in nomenclature. I meant to say that I ride the shoulder to the right of the fog line when it is present and rideable as in the horse picture. In the event of an obstacle (like parked cars or people riding horses) or if the shoulder is non-existent (ex., post #35 by megalomatt), I take the lane.

The NCDOT document you quote is poorly written and inaccurate, badly misquoting and misinterpreting the law, such as changing the word "or" in the actual law to "and" in what is described above, thus generating much backlash from the cycling community. Here is a response to it:

http://humantransport.org/bicycledri...e_critique.pdf

Fortunately, NCDOT is no longer printing it, and did re-release their StreetWise Cycling manual, which describes taking control of the lane to discourage unsafe close passing if the lane is narrow.

There have been multiple threads about NC cyclists' right to use a full marked lane, versus the requirement to ride AFRAP when no lanes are marked, so I will reference one of them rather than repeat the discussion here.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...two-lane-roads

Here is what the NCDOT Driver Handbook, page 95, says:
http://www.ncdot.org/download/dmv/ha...dl_english.pdf

Oh, you mean a 3' shoulder? Great, if you have one. None of the roads I commute on do, and few of the roads I've seen on rides outside my commute. They often have a nasty habit of disappearing with no warning, when they do occur.

If it's a 3' shoulder, sure. If it's a 4" fog line, it's rather difficult. Many roads don't even have fog lines, and many of those that do are painted on the very edge of the pavement; if it crumbles, you're off into gravel, sand, or (in some rural areas with flood damage) 6' down into a creek. Your options are (1) move left, into passing traffic; (2) stop; (3) risk serious injury.

If you know the road, know you've got a wide shoulder, and expect no parked cars on those shoulders, your way can work.

For the rest of the streets and roads, someone noted that passing cars and trucks seemed to give as much room on the left of a cyclist as the cyclist takes from the right. If you ride 6" from the edge of the road, traffic seems to give you 6". (Unnerving.) If you ride 18" out from parked cars, they'll pass 18" from you. Take 3 feet, they'll give you 3 feet. It has worked that way for me with very few exceptions.

That is the point of lane positioning...to give the passing driver no doubt that he/she does NOT have room to pass you without crossing into the next lane either partially or fully. It does not prevent close passes...people who buzz you will do so wherever you are...but it does help prevent people from passing you when it is not safe to do so due to oncoming traffic...for the most part. (I think we've all met the jerks who try to pass anyway, trying to force either you or oncoming traffic out of his way - lane positioning can't cure stupid).

I take the lane when I can keep up with the traffic or when I need to turn left. Otherwise I stay to the right.