|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
Hiy DrRock/element3/guy/gal/physician/PhD/person:
Thanks for the invitation to clarification! Aside from the eastbound/westbound double yellow solid line, there are no lane markers on Bunker Hill at the Mission Bay Drive intersection. However, it IS wide enough for two vehicles, even two chubby vehicles, side by side. Remember, we somehow managed to fit a USPS van, an SUV and a bicycle in one undivided lane. DrLith wrote: I SNIP myself. You did a lovely job describing the scenery, but I'm not sure you ever specified how many lanes are involved! I snip DrLith. Robert Leone |
Ads |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
Dear jj:
Tempting. But is violence, even slapstick violence, the answer? Especially in front of a child who may have just been to see a medical specialist about a chronic illness? Or just had a tooth extracted? Yeah, maybe I'm taking that "sensitive male" thing too far... Robert Leone |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
In article ,
Darin McGrew wrote: wrote: Here's the setup. Making left turn at signaled intersection. Slight downhill to intersection, then flat. It's a T- intersection, the options are left, right or Rubio's Fish Taco's straight ahead (#1 for San Diego denizens). Postal collection boxes on corner at right. I'm roaring down for a left turn, but the light turns yellow while I'm about 25 or 20 feet away from the intersection, so I brake (both hands, didn't signal the stop there, my bad on that). You aren't required to signal if you need both hands to control your bike. I know I wouldn't try to brake hard with only one hand. Mom the driver then points out that cyclists turning left go "all the way to the left." I look down -- center line of bicycle is about 18 inches from the double yellow. (a) Who says they "go all the way to the left"? Well, the local vehicle code (and I strongly suspect California's is similar) says that the general rule for cyclists is this: if there's a dedicated left-turn lane, you should be in the right side of the lane (the usual "ride to the right" rule that cyclists default to). If there is no dedicated left-turn lane, a left-turning cyclist is expected to position to the left. Now, the cyclist in this case was, within any sensible definition, positioned well to the left. At 18" from the double line, her bike was pretty darned far to the left. (b) It sounds like you were pretty much "all the way to the left" to me. If she can't pass you safely, then maybe you should have been further right (taking the lane). Turning left at a T intersection like that, I'd position myself in the left tire track of the lane that allows both left and right turns. If there isn't such a lane, then I'd position myself in the right tire track of the right-most left-turn lane. FWIW, YMMV, etc. That is the correct behaviour, as I have been assured by an ICBC claims adjuster* *the word of a claims adjuster might not sound like much, but my jurisdiction has a government-run monopoly auto insurance company. They're not only the insurance providers, they're also a one-stop claim-management system, and they usually have the last word on accidents unless you choose to resort to the courts. -- Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/ "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
|
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
|
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
Paul Hobson wrote: I'm no expert here, but I ride several mile in downtown Atlanta everyday. From that experience, the *only* thing I could fault you for is being too far left for fear of getting clipped by turning vehicles cutting the corner close (I had avoided by one last second swerve to learn my lesson). IMHO, she was totally in the wrong, impatient, and you acted in the most responsible way with regard to your (well, everyone's) safety. applauds The thing that annoys me about the left-turn-lane-clippers it that they would manage to avoid doing that if you were driving a lane hogging Hummer. There is no reason they can't stay in their lane when a bicycle is present. Where this happens to me routinely I will move the front wheel over to the extreme left edge of the lane to tweak these jerks. I keep my right foot in the normal center position, through, so that I can move (or be bumped) over to the right in a hurry. |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
amakyonin wrote:
Paul Hobson wrote: I suggest that anyone riding in heavy traffic just get off the bike and do the pedestrian thing with the crosswalks. It may cost you a minute but it may save your life from an incompetent driver with a cell phone. Soccer moms in big SUVs are really bad. I took a visual survey the last few times I was riding in town and it looked like roughly 50% of the people were yakking on the phone. Even when driving with a friend we have had people in front of us talking at a red light and not notice the green. On the other hand we have seen people talking and just blow through a red light. Even in a car there is no safety from these drivers, so me and my friends who don't bicycle, drive as if every one was an idiot, since many are. Bill Baka |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Making left turn -- how far left is left?
I wrote:
You aren't required to signal if you need both hands to control your bike. Ben Pfaff wrote: I tried to track down something that says this in the California Vehicle Code once, but I couldn't find it, even though it makes perfect sense to me. Do you have a reference? Hmm... I couldn't find it either. I guess that's just part of the "cycling folklore" that's squirreled away in my brain. Or maybe it's some obscure legal precedent based on the "except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application" language. -- Darin McGrew, , http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/ Web Design Group, , http://www.HTMLHelp.com/ "Warning: Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear." |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
finally got hit by a cager today | Kyler Laird | General | 24 | September 22nd 05 04:17 PM |
Route from Holloway to Bloomsbury | Tom Anderson | UK | 30 | April 11th 05 07:52 PM |
Northern Spain (Santander) trip advice needed | Andy Lewis | Rides | 3 | February 22nd 05 12:27 PM |
Recumbents | Doki | UK | 30 | June 22nd 04 07:16 PM |
left turn law. What morons made this law? | Brink | General | 26 | November 18th 03 03:06 PM |