Looked really close to me. If you pause the video, the car tires are still on the outside quarter of that manhole cover, and that cover looks to be less than a foot off the fog line. I'd say the vehicle is just inside of 2-feet from the rider's bars. I see no oncoming traffic to hinder the driver from giving more room, so they're either not paying attention or just don't give a crap.

I get passed like this sometimes, and it's even when I'm out from the line, riding in the passenger's tire track. It's on a certain section of double-lane where drivers try and squeak past me while simultaneously trying not to hit the vehicle on their left.

It's closer than I'd like and most drivers give me more room than that. Not always though and I suspect that it won't be the last time somebody passes you that close or even closer. Taking the lane can help but some drivers will not be willing to crossover very far into the other lane to pass you anyway.

A rearview mirror might help you keep from getting surprised.

+1

Yes I have, but what does this have to do with the OP's video? Are you saying he should have pulled in front of that car and taken the lane? I think that would have been very, very dangerous to pull out and block that Camry from using the lane.

Could have given you a Meter, I cannot tell from the evidence offered.

you wearing a bright as heck jacket?

I get passed that close several times a day on my commute, so for me, no big deal. If the OP is not used to it, then yes, it can be scary.

Big picture, what we do (cycling to work and back) is dangerous. Exactly how dangerous is somewhat beyond our control, but on the other side of the coin, there are lots of things we can do (as noted above) to improve our chances. From my perspective, this incident, no big deal.

In my experience the scary drivers are in Paris, where I was riding on PBP (in '91) and where instead of "Give Us 3 Feet" they would give us 4 mm!

Rick / OCRR

I guess it really depends on what you're used to. Looked okay to me, but my commute is on busier streets.

That didn't seem all that close... Could you have touched the car with your elbow? Looked like about 2 feet of clearance and low speeds, to me. I get passed like that many times every day.

You speak as if you do not understand the concept of "lane taking", or have never tried it, or both. Riding the white line on narrow roads invites reckless passing.

Thanks for all the great feedback folks. This road is a bit of a troublespot for me on my commute since it has stretches of very well maintained 3'+ wide shoulder for me to ride on and then sometimes I get nothing or close to nothing as shown in the video. This is compounded by the fact that this is a 45mph arterial with a good amount of industrial traffic on it.

Seems like lots of folks feel I need to take more of the lane and they are probably right, my concern is that I don't want to end up on the wrong end of a semi that isn't paying attention to me and my tiny bike. Here's what I mean, this is from literally a minute before the first video I posted:


This truck is doing about 45 and I'm doing about 20. I don't think there's any way I can feel safer taking more of the lane when I have stuff like that bearing down on me.

Speaking of shenanigans on this road, here's a clip from last week. Within the span of about 30 seconds I get one really cyclist aware and awesome driver who is overly cautious not to right hook me, then one that is so pissed about being slowed down that he puts his and multiple other people's lives in danger.


Needless to say I'm riding in my mirror for more than 50% of this stretch of road because of the likelihood for stuff getting weird behind me.

I can certainly understand your concern, but I guess the idea is the passes like that truck just won't happen if you take the lane. People aren't going to just run you over unless something catastrophic occurs, and if it does your lane position is just a crap shoot.

Fully in agreement. In fact I find it ironic that so many cyclists refuse to use mirrors... while the driving public usually has three at their disposal.

Mirror = see what is about to hit you

Camera = see what almost hit you

I don't care for either.

British Cycling tell us to ride a metre from the kerb as hiding away near the kerb encourages cars to get too close.

Is there anywhere in particular that cars get too close to you?

Maybe there you could take the lane more and make the drivers move out to pass you.

It's like the rule , 'Don't look where you don't want to go". I ride home mid-day and there are just a lot more old timer's that are out driving then. I know they see me because I can see them in the mirror turning thier head after they pass.

It's not an uncommon passing distance....but probably yes, it's too close.

So, honestly, in that video if you were the cyclist and you heard or saw a car speeding up behind you, you would pull out into the lane in front of him? So the driver will look up from his texting just in time to see the cyclist he crashes into? I didn't think so. All I am saying to the OP is that he probably should get used to the fact of cage drivers that pass closely - because it's going to happen when you ride, and it's going to happen a lot. I don't know anyone that rides that it doesn't happen to.

Taking the lane is an appropriate tactic in many situations, but not in the op's video. I imagine if the cyclist would have taken the lane, the driver would have passed even more closely, probably faster and in anger.

No, you don't pull out in front...you're already there, forcing the driver to pass you as he would any other vehicle. If someone is coming too close, and you're in the lane, you always have the option of moving right to give yourself more room.

Taking the lane doesn't mean pulling out into the lane, it means riding in the lane the whole time as opposed to all the way to the right.

Further taking the lane doesn't usually mean the middle of the lane, more like where the right tire of a car would be. The idea is that you're more visible and that they can't pass you without moving into the other lane so they might as well give you plenty of room. If you're all the way to the right, they'll be tempted to squeeze by you even if there's oncoming traffic.

Like others have stated, my position would be in the lane already ... right tire track at a minimum, or even further left if I'm towing the trailer. Even the most brain-dead driver will see me as far ahead as the horizon, and certainly within 100 yards. My appearance in the middle of the road forces them to wake up, and start making decisions early. If I'm hiding in the cover of trees and mailboxes along the edge of the road, I will be passed unsafely by most drivers. The criminals who wish to buzz me will do so regardless of my lane position!

And no, close passes do not happen to me a lot! The concept of lane taking is counter-intuitive, but it has worked for me over many, many miles. I find that the most disturbing passes that happen to me (or riders that are with me) are when I(we) let our guard down, and try to be "courteous" by holding a line more to the right!

I've learned to have little/no care for how quickly others are triggered into "anger"; I don't compromise my safety because I'm hoping that drivers need to to stay "calm".

So, in conclusion, that road in the OP's video would be a place 100% appropriate for me to be in full control of the lane.

YMMV....

here is what me and the wife wears

I'm used to that kind of pass as well. It's sometimes unnerving, but as long as they're not speeding I don't get worked up about it.

That lane is too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle. Don't let the motorist decide there's room to squeeze by. Take the lane.
Experiment with your lane positioning and see how it affects how motorists behave. I prefer hearing honks to being buzzed.

I was in a car with a friend. She drove so close past a cyclist that I was scared, but didn't realise it was uncomfortably close - she doesn't ride bicycles/motorcycles. People often just don't think - it could have been unintentional.


In my country, a pass like that is a rule of thumb, by the way. You get used to it. Even when taking the lane, they drive as if they'll run you over, then turn at the last second to pass, without slowing down. I removed my bar mirror, because it freaked me out - better not to see them coming.

What I do is make sure that my lane position is such I don't swerve to the left (towards the middle of the road) in order to avoid debris, holes etc. Move as far to the left as needed. I also make sure to leave some room to swerve to the right if trucks/busses swerve to the right as soon as the front end of their vehicle passes my front wheel.

Mirror = see what's coming. Claiming it is only to see what is "about to hit you" is misinformation.