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Should cyclists cycle in the middl;e of the lane?

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    Should cyclists cycle in the middl;e of the lane?

    BBC News - Would these five changes actually help cyclists?

    "Positioning is by the far the biggest influence a cyclist can have on his or her own safety," says Franklin. "If I had to teach somebody one thing about cycling it would be that." The optimal position depends on the situation, although never hugging the kerb, he says. The absolute minimum is half a metre, says Franklin.

    Geffen suggests a metre from the kerb or line of parked cars is ideal.

    But both say that sometimes it's important to move to the middle of the lane, as cyclists are legally allowed to do. "If it's not safe for someone to pass then you take a dominant position to deter them from doing so," Franklin says. "[When] it's safe then you're courteous and allow them to pass."

    ------------------------------

    WTF? In LOndon if I cycled in the middle of the lane I would last about 15 seconds before being run over. And quite rightly too.

    #2
    Originally posted by BrilloPad View Post
    ...

    But both say that sometimes it's important to move to the middle of the lane, as cyclists are legally allowed to do. "If it's not safe for someone to pass then you take a dominant position to deter them from doing so," Franklin says. "[When] it's safe then you're courteous and allow them to pass."...
    What this fails to take into account is the few knobhead drivers who will try to pass anyway, and as a result of you "hogging" the centre of the lane, will pass dangerously close.

    If it's not safe to pass a cyclist, I won't pass. It's not up to them to make that decision for me.
    Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

    Comment


      #3
      As with most things, it all depends.

      I wouldn't dream of it when battling uphill at 10mph. That would be mental.

      I always do it when coming downhill fast and approaching a right hand turn. Quite often I have to slow down to the speed of the cars in those situations anyway so why wouldn't I be in the optimum position to perform my intended manoeuvre?

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        #4
        This is where my manky fold-up comes into its own going through London: eye-level with the bus drivers and at this time of year lit up light a christmas tree and high viz.
        Being a big bird helps too - with my elbows sticking out I probably take up half a lane anyway
        Most important thing that helps me all year round is eye contact with as many drivers as possible and constantly looking round.

        Ninjas, red light jumpers, headphone wearers - tazer them all along with the drones - people walking reading tablets.

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          #5
          I bought his cyclecraft book when I first started cycling.
          Basically promotes defensive cycling. I didn't think much of the plot or character development.

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            #6
            It's always fascinating when this subject periodically comes up because it just ends up in a bun fight between cyclists and drivers.

            I don't know why drivers get so wound up by cyclists, but they do.

            If a car and a cycle stop at a red light and the cycle goes through it because they deem it safe to do so, why do drivers get so enraged by that? They can't go through no matter what the cyclist does. the cyclist's decision hasn't impacted the driver's journey at all.

            And 9/10 the driver is sat at the red light enraged at the cyclist with his car inside the cycle safety box at the lights which does impact on the cyclist's journey.

            It's clear the biggest danger to cyclists is the attitude and habits of drivers and the quicker we get rid of this 'us and them' approach the better for everyone. And that has to start with drivers.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by NotAllThere View Post
              What this fails to take into account is the few knobhead drivers who will try to pass anyway, and as a result of you "hogging" the centre of the lane, will pass dangerously close.

              If it's not safe to pass a cyclist, I won't pass. It's not up to them to make that decision for me.
              Taking up more space and then pulling right to the kerb as someone overtakes?
              Originally posted by MaryPoppins
              I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
              Originally posted by vetran
              Urine is quite nourishing

              Comment


                #8
                When necessary, yes. I will take the lane when it's narrow or there are lots of parked cars (avoiding the door zone) or any time I feel there is an increased risk of close overtakes.

                If it's a nice wide lane and/or there is a decent cycle lane that doesn't run through the door done then I'll use it.

                Alas, sometimes even taking a central position doesn't discourage some idiots from overtaking you within a few feet. I usually catch up with them at the lights.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by NotAllThere View Post
                  If it's not safe to pass a cyclist, I won't pass. It's not up to them to make that decision for me.
                  Seeing as many drivers don't seem to know how to overtake cyclists property (a minority perhaps, but still enough to be significant IMO), then who can blame a cyclist from taking a defensive road position. Cyclists are not obliged to use cycle lanes or ride in the gutter.

                  You're right, you do get the occasional dickhead who will try and force their way through anyway in which case you've got plenty of room to take evasive action.

                  But in most cases, a central position on narrow roads will discourage or prevent close passes. Cycling in the gutter and leaving just enough room for a cars width (but not a SAFE amount of room) will almost always result in cars squeezing through leaving you nowhere to go IME.

                  The real issue here is the "must get in front" mentality some drivers seem to have when confronted by a cyclist. If you're driving around in city traffic, getting past the cyclist quickly is unlikely to have a major impact on your journey time - it's far more likely that the cyclist will catch you and overtake at the next set of lights anyway.
                  Last edited by TheCyclingProgrammer; 5 November 2014, 11:05.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by JRCT View Post
                    It's always fascinating when this subject periodically comes up because it just ends up in a bun fight between cyclists and drivers.

                    I don't know why drivers get so wound up by cyclists, but they do.
                    The rest of your post explains why, mainly having to with so many cyclists thinking they are immortal and above the law:

                    Originally posted by JRCT View Post
                    If a car and a cycle stop at a red light and the cycle goes through it because they deem it safe to do so, why do drivers get so enraged by that? They can't go through no matter what the cyclist does. the cyclist's decision hasn't impacted the driver's journey at all.
                    The drivers can go through has well, they just obey the law and the rules, by not doing so, unlike scores of cyclists. The law is not optional, there is no such thing as "deemed it's safe" when jumping a red light. You can apply the same logic to a driver overtaking a cyclist by a hair, just because he deemed it was safe...

                    Originally posted by JRCT View Post
                    And 9/10 the driver is sat at the red light enraged at the cyclist with his car inside the cycle safety box at the lights which does impact on the cyclist's journey.
                    The majority of the cyclists never use the jump boxes, they prefer to jump the light or at the very least stop way ahead almost in the middle of the intersection, just because they "deemed" the jump box is too far back. Which is yet another problem for the drivers, if you travel at 30mph and you see yellow light you barely have time to stop at the the old stop line, pulling it even further back means you often end up in the middle of the jump box, unless you are willing to slam the brakes, which in many cases will result in someone rear-ending you.

                    Originally posted by JRCT View Post
                    It's clear the biggest danger to cyclists is the attitude and habits of drivers and the quicker we get rid of this 'us and them' approach the better for everyone. And that has to start with drivers.
                    It's clear that the biggest danger for cyclists is themselves - frequently ignoring the law and common sense. And the "us and them" approach cuts both ways. There are as many poor drivers as there are poor cyclist it's not about being behind the wheel or the handle bar, it's in their personality, which is only expressed on the road, regardless of the mode of transportation.

                    Comment

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