Originally Posted by prathmann

Not in my experience. You seem to be assuming that the line of cars will be moving pretty slowly after the light turns green. At the intersections I'm thinking of that's not the case and the line will soon be going well above typical cycling speeds. The cyclist in the line then has a choice - move over to the right and face the prospect that some of the cars passing him are likely to be turning right as they reach the corner and execute a right hook; or continue to claim his position in the lane and block the cars from passing. The first choice is usually unsafe if there's any significant fraction of right-turners and the second results in a sizable gap opening up - more than enough to let the traffic sensor conclude that it's time to switch the lights.

Originally Posted by Bekologist

I think Heffzilla is a little confused (and maybe worked up) but states. All states allow bikes and cars to share lanes of travel.

splitting lanes is illegal in many states for motorbikes, but bicycles and cars are allowed to share lanes- the sticky wicket is the laws are written assuming the bicyclists would be going slower than the cars.

as traffic congestion rears up and bites american cities, passing congested traffic on the shoulder- illegal to ride a bike on a shoulder of a road? flippin' HILARIOUS! I bet THAT one gets enforced a lot. I can see the scenario, a cop pulls over a bicyclist riding on the shoulder of a 50mph road like those posted by 10 wheels, tickets him, makes him take the travel lane and then follows him for a bit to ensure he is slowing up traffic.

sometimes common sense really does rule the order of the day. if you want to show your solidarity to cars and get stuck in traffic jams go right ahead- Some of the motorists STILL HATE YOU, heffzilla. for riding on the road in the first place.