Rules of the Road

Much of where I ride there's a decent shoulder often with the bicycle
sign nearby. Often enough right turn lanes cross the shoulder so that
one is riding on the turn lane. I assume this is better than veering
in and out of the actual lane though by not turning right I am
technically not following the rules of the road.

"Jorg Lueke" wrote in message
ups.com...
Much of where I ride there's a decent shoulder often with the bicycle
sign nearby. Often enough right turn lanes cross the shoulder so that
one is riding on the turn lane. I assume this is better than veering
in and out of the actual lane though by not turning right I am
technically not following the rules of the road.

So what's your question?

Jorg Lueke wrote:
Much of where I ride there's a decent shoulder often with the bicycle
sign nearby. Often enough right turn lanes cross the shoulder so that
one is riding on the turn lane. I assume this is better than veering
in and out of the actual lane though by not turning right I am
technically not following the rules of the road.


The law in Colorado says you may ride at the right edge of the right
most straight ahead lane. I find this much safer then crossing right
turn lanes all the time. On a fast road (50+ mph speed limit), I'll stay
on the shoulder until pretty close to the intersection, then check for
traffic behind me and move to the right side of the straight ahead lane
when the right turn lane is clear behind me. That way any right turning
cars can make their right turns without cutting across my line of travel.

mark

On May 27, 4:57 pm, mark wrote:
Jorg Lueke wrote:
Much of where I ride there's a decent shoulder often with the bicycle
sign nearby. Often enough right turn lanes cross the shoulder so that
one is riding on the turn lane. I assume this is better than veering
in and out of the actual lane though by not turning right I am
technically not following the rules of the road.

The law in Colorado says you may ride at the right edge of the right
most straight ahead lane. I find this much safer then crossing right
turn lanes all the time. On a fast road (50+ mph speed limit), I'll stay
on the shoulder until pretty close to the intersection, then check for
traffic behind me and move to the right side of the straight ahead lane
when the right turn lane is clear behind me. That way any right turning
cars can make their right turns without cutting across my line of travel.

mark

I agree with this totally. If you are riding on the right side of the
right turn lane, you are saying you're turnng right. You should stay
on the right side of the lane going in the direction you are.

I had an interesting situation the other day. Riding on a rural road,
came to a right turn lane. Stayed in the straight ahead lane, on the
white line between the straight ahead lane and the right turn lane. A
dufus went past me on the left (in the straight ahead lane), then cut
over to make a right turn, crossing over the right turn lane just at
the turn. Another driver behind that person did what he was supposed
to and simply entered the right turn lane and was passing me on my
right progressing toward the right turn.

Luckily the guy who was doing the right thing was observing said dufus
and prevented a crash. I'm in the middle of this, and being very
cautious. He (the good driver) made eye contact with me too and we
both rolled our eyes and grinned.

"Camilo" wrote: (clip) He (the good driver) made eye contact with me (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eye contact is a very important part of road safety. Besides giving the
cyclist the assurance that the driver is aware of him, it creates a bond, so
you are not just stangers anymore. I am convinced that the glance, the nod,
or smile can actually influence how you are treated. And, if you try and
fail to establish this contact, you should consider that before you make
your next move.

On May 28, 1:57 am, mark wrote:
Jorg Lueke wrote:
Much of where I ride there's a decent shoulder often with the bicycle
sign nearby. Often enough right turn lanes cross the shoulder so that
one is riding on the turn lane. I assume this is better than veering
in and out of the actual lane though by not turning right I am
technically not following the rules of the road.

The law in Colorado says you may ride at the right edge of the right
most straight ahead lane. I find this much safer then crossing right
turn lanes all the time. On a fast road (50+ mph speed limit), I'll stay
on the shoulder until pretty close to the intersection, then check for
traffic behind me and move to the right side of the straight ahead lane
when the right turn lane is clear behind me. That way any right turning
cars can make their right turns without cutting across my line of travel.

mark

I agree that this is the correct thing to do. But I don't see a lot
of people following this rule. Personally I find that very few people
make right turns on these roads compared to people who go straight.
Also, the people turning are travelling much mroe slowly as a rule,
To me it makes little sense to go back into the staright line and
force the 50mph car to noice this rather than staying on the left hand
portion of the right turn lane and thus not impacting the majority of
traffic.

On May 28, 7:07 am, Jorg Lueke wrote:
...
To me it makes little sense to go back into the staright line and
force the 50mph car to noice this rather than staying on the left hand
portion of the right turn lane and thus not impacting the majority of
traffic.

I think we are actually doing essentially the same thing. I ride
pretty much on the solid white line that separates the right turn lane
and the right-most straight lane. Whether this is "far right in the
straight ahead lane" or "far left in the right turn lane" is, to me,
just a slight difference, functionally the same.

I think the "wrong way" I was talking about would be riding on the far
right (near the shoulder) of the right turn lane. Does this make
sense?

On May 28, 9:23 pm, Camilo wrote:

I think the "wrong way" I was talking about would be riding on the far
right (near the shoulder) of the right turn lane. Does this make
sense?
That makes sense. Since being on the far right would get in the way
of someone actually making a turn and at that point one is also more
likely to confuse any motorists coming out of the intersection .

On Mon, 28 May 2007 03:09:07 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:

"Camilo" wrote: (clip) He (the good driver) made eye contact with me (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eye contact is a very important part of road safety. Besides giving the
cyclist the assurance that the driver is aware of him, it creates a bond, so
you are not just stangers anymore. I am convinced that the glance, the nod,
or smile can actually influence how you are treated. And, if you try and
fail to establish this contact, you should consider that before you make
your next move.

i have had direct eye contact with a driver who looked straight at me (doing 20
mph on the flat, in the bike lane) passed me, and then 60 feet later pulled a
right turn right in front of me. when i whacked the truck with my hand loud
enough that he stopped, he told me that he didn't see me, even though he looked
directly at me and we had eye contact.

so now i don't trust eye contact AT ALL.

On Jun 3, 5:53 am, (Dennis P. Harris)
wrote:
On Mon, 28 May 2007 03:09:07 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "Leo Lichtman"

wrote:
"Camilo" wrote: (clip) He (the good driver) made eye contact with me (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eye contact is a very important part of road safety. Besides giving the
cyclist the assurance that the driver is aware of him, it creates a bond, so
you are not just stangers anymore. I am convinced that the glance, the nod,
or smile can actually influence how you are treated. And, if you try and
fail to establish this contact, you should consider that before you make
your next move.

i have had direct eye contact with a driver who looked straight at me (doing 20
mph on the flat, in the bike lane) passed me, and then 60 feet later pulled a
right turn right in front of me. when i whacked the truck with my hand loud
enough that he stopped, he told me that he didn't see me, even though he looked
directly at me and we had eye contact.

so now i don't trust eye contact AT ALL.

Are you sure it was a human and not a zombie?