Lane question

I don't think you should be to the left of the center of the lane.
Dangerous situation. I've found that even if you do take the lane like
the American League of Bicyclists teach, there are still those
aggressive drivers that will buzz you because you caused them an
inconvenience. They do this by only getting into the left lane as far
as they need to, but still have part of their car in the right lane.
This happens to me alot on my commute to work in Atlanta, because
drivers are very frustrated during peak hours.
I found the best thing to do is always give yourself 3-4 feet of lane
to the right. There's no way someone can pass you to the right. Also,
if you don't have a good mirror you can use to see traffic behind you,
you have to get one. It's just suicide not riding with one. When you
encounter those people that want to buzz you, at least you have 3-4
feet of margin that you can use at the last second.
Sincerely,
Jack Younkins
Atlanta Bike Commuter
www.atlbike.net

jj wrote:

On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 15:52:19 GMT, Wayne Pein wrote:
I ride on the left side of the lane in such a situation all the time.
The only "problem" is the occassional person who will honk at me and
tell me I'm supposed to be over to the right. If I ride on the right
side of the lane, I use a lot more of it than most bicyclists, who
typically ride right on the edge. By riding further out, I become a
moving impediment, and motorists generally slow down and move over. Like
you said though, it is inevitable that some jerk will pass too close and
too fast.

Act like a vehicle operator and get treated like one.

Wayne


That's cool, but have you ever had anyone buzz you, or pass you to the
right because of your left of center riding habit?

While it's important to take the lane, I just think it's a bad idea to give
them any chance to pass you on the right by being too far out into your
lane.


I've had numerous motorists buzz me no matter where within the lane I've
ridden.

But the overwhelming majority of it occurs when I ride on the right side
of the lane. Riding left of center once or twice someone has tried to
pass me on the right in a 13 ft lane, but I prevented it. Most of my
riding left of center is in lanes that are too narrow for motorists to
attempt this.


I'm somewhat anxious on a two lane each way road when I come up on a third
lane for right hand turns, knowing that some a-hole will no doubt try to go
by on my right somehow getting up to 45mph in a turn lane, just to make the
point that I'm 'in the way', even if they pass safely.


Yes, I can see how this could be a problem. Fortunately, I don't
encounter such a situation of my typical rides.

Some motorists like to harrass or otherwise abuse bicyclists by making a
point with aggressive driving, honking, or yelling. Try not to let it
bother you (easier said than done).

Wayne

C Wright wrote:


A bad idea! Continue to assert what you believe is your equal right to the
road in this fashion and eventually one of the nut cases behind the wheel
out there is going to clip you. They will either pass too close on your
left or try to squeeze by on your right, specially if they are planning on
making a right turn.
Chuck

We need more bicyclists asserting their rights, not less. We already
have virtually an entire population ignorant of its rights, and passive
to the point of detriment.

Wayne

Atlbike wrote:

I don't think you should be to the left of the center of the lane.
Dangerous situation. I've found that even if you do take the lane like
the American League of Bicyclists teach, there are still those
aggressive drivers that will buzz you because you caused them an
inconvenience. They do this by only getting into the left lane as far
as they need to, but still have part of their car in the right lane.
This happens to me alot on my commute to work in Atlanta, because
drivers are very frustrated during peak hours.
I found the best thing to do is always give yourself 3-4 feet of lane
to the right. There's no way someone can pass you to the right. Also,
if you don't have a good mirror you can use to see traffic behind you,
you have to get one. It's just suicide not riding with one.


Funny that many bicyclists, myself included, aren't dead from not
wearing a mirror. I used to have one, but I realized looking in it for
overtaking traffic made me paranoid and distracted my attention from
where it is needed: in front.

When you
encounter those people that want to buzz you, at least you have 3-4
feet of margin that you can use at the last second.

This is the mantra of some mirror evangelists, but it is simply not
true. They spend too much time looking in the mirror for the boogeyman
from behind, and performing unneccessary evasive maneuvers.

Wayne

Wayne Pein wrote:

This is the mantra of some mirror evangelists, but it is simply not
true. They spend too much time looking in the mirror for the boogeyman
from behind, and performing unneccessary evasive maneuvers.

I rely on my mirror, but not for monitoring overtaking traffic on
straightaways. I find it (a Take-a-Look glasses-mounted mirror) very
useful when getting ready to merge left, and checking for incipient
right-hookers when approaching intersections.

Trying to constantly monitor overtaking traffic all the time sounds
really dangerous to me, too.

RichC

Wayne Pein wrote:

We need more bicyclists asserting their rights, not less. We already
have virtually an entire population ignorant of its rights, and passive
to the point of detriment.

But I think cyclists need to understand when it is safe- or not- to
assert those rights. Whether right or wrong it is not fun to be
involved in a bicycle vs. motor vehicle crash.

In 50+ years of riding, mostly in high traffic areas, I have found
numerous times in which motorists acted in violation of my rights.
Luckily, I never "stood my ground" to the point of getting hit the
motorist. Being right and dead holds little interest for me.

rdclark wrote:
I rely on my mirror, but not for monitoring overtaking traffic on
straightaways. I find it (a Take-a-Look glasses-mounted mirror) very
useful when getting ready to merge left, and checking for incipient
right-hookers when approaching intersections.

Trying to constantly monitor overtaking traffic all the time sounds
really dangerous to me, too.


Yes, I think using a mirror for the purpose of facilitating left turns
is reasonable.

Wayne

gds wrote:

Wayne Pein wrote:

We need more bicyclists asserting their rights, not less. We already
have virtually an entire population ignorant of its rights, and passive
to the point of detriment.


But I think cyclists need to understand when it is safe- or not- to
assert those rights. Whether right or wrong it is not fun to be
involved in a bicycle vs. motor vehicle crash.


I cannot think of a situation where it is unsafe for bicyclists to
assert their rights.


In 50+ years of riding, mostly in high traffic areas, I have found
numerous times in which motorists acted in violation of my rights.
Luckily, I never "stood my ground" to the point of getting hit the
motorist. Being right and dead holds little interest for me.


If someone is threatening to use their vehicle as a weapon, then yes, it
makes sense to evade.

Wayne

Wayne Pein wrote:

Yes, I think using a mirror for the purpose of facilitating left turns
is reasonable.

I have no comment on the value of a mirror-having never used one. But I
do a fair amount of route planning to avoid left runs in congested
areas. I rode for many years without considering this but after
realizing that most of the high stress and high danger moments on my
rides involved left turns I set out to minimize them. As I also prefer
loop rides to out and backs it merely means that I usually ride
clockwise.

Wayne Pein wrote:

I cannot think of a situation where it is unsafe for bicyclists to
assert their rights.


If someone is threatening to use their vehicle as a weapon, then yes, it
makes sense to evade.


Not to be silly but isn't your second statement at least one situation
that you say you can not think of in your first?

I understand and to some extent agree with your general issue. My
pointis simply that one must use judgement as to be assertive, and in
the right, and injured or dead is not a good outcome. The reality of
200 lbs. of bike and rider trying to occupy the same space as 3000+
motor vehicles is that the cyclist will get the worst of the encounter.
What sort of compensation some court amy award later on -to my mind-
doesn't really "correct" being dead or seriously injured.