Who's in the Wrong?

[Martin Scroatman]

Ok, so this morning I'm cycling in down the inside of a queue of slow moving traffic.

Car about 3 slots ahead of me suddenly takes a left turn & I have to slam on the anchors to avoid hitting him.

It was a very close shave but if the worst had happened, who would have been at fault?

Fortunately I have enough furniture up front to afford me some protection if it came to it.

[LucidDementia]

Were they signalling?

[Martin Scroatman]

Were they signalling?

Couldn't see - they were in front of a large box van

[LucidDementia]

Couldn't see - they were in front of a large box van

I blame you then. Insufficient attention to potential hazards.

We should ban you. From something.

[DaveB]

Ok, so this morning I'm cycling in down the inside of a queue of slow moving traffic.

Car about 3 slots ahead of me suddenly takes a left turn & I have to slam on the anchors to avoid hitting him.

It was a very close shave but if the worst had happened, who would have been at fault?

Fortunately I have enough furniture up front to afford me some protection if it came to it.

There is very little guidance from the courts on this. Technically filtering on the left is not illegal, but it's not good practice as a cyclist as it leaves you open to just this kind of incident. You should be filtering on the right, essentially "overtaking" the line of traffic.

This is what Cycle Scheme have to say about it.

Filtering - Cyclescheme

Filtering on the left: undertaking

Overtake on the kerb side only if the traffic is stationary and there's no room on the right-hand side. If in doubt, wait. Good road positioning means not hugging the kerb. So don't dive into a riskily narrow roadside gap, even if it's a painted-green bike lane or another cyclist has just done so. If you're next to the kerb, you have no room to manoeuvre.

Take care when passing side roads, as the rest of the traffic may not have seen you. And keep an eye out for passengers stepping off buses or out of cars.

[Martin Scroatman]

I blame you then. Insufficient attention to potential hazards.

We should ban you. From something.

To be honest, I was kind of on autopilot as I didn't sleep last night & I was feeling the 5 glasses of Croft Original.

[DaveB]

Couldn't see - they were in front of a large box van

Then you weren't paying attention. Approaching a junction, unsighted regarding traffic in front of you. You should have slowed down in anticipation that someone might want to turn left.

[LucidDementia]

To be honest, I was kind of on autopilot as I didn't sleep last night & I was feeling the 5 glasses of Croft Original.

5! Mrs Wembley would be proud.

[Martin Scroatman]

There is very little guidance from the courts on this. Technically filtering on the left is not illegal, but it's not good practice as a cyclist as it leaves you open to just this kind of incident. You should be filtering on the right, essentially "overtaking" the line of traffic.

This is what Cycle Scheme have to say about it.

Filtering - Cyclescheme

Filter on the right when you have about 1 inch between you and the stationary traffic on your left & 1 inch between you the juggeringnaut that's heading right towards you?

Another thing I find with filtering on the right is that you can get stranded out there when the traffic suddenly starts moving & nobody will let you back across.

I'm begining to think cycling in towns is dangerous.

[MrMarkyMark]

FTFY

I'm begining to think I'm too bloody dangerous, on my cycle, to be on the road.