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Originally Posted by md2020
That hasn't been my experience. The anger and road rage I usually hear about always seems to be related more to the misconception that cyclists think they "own the road" because they are taking up too much of a lane and disregard stop signs and stop lights. It's definitely counter intuitive that taking up an entire lane incites drivers less than staying to the right of a lane. The end result may be safer for the cyclist but I think that has nothing to do with driver consternation.
I definitely don't have a problem taking up a lane when there are multiple lanes available and right curb is lined with parked cars. The problem I have is when there is only a single lane available and a road shoulder with no parked cars and the speed limit is high. In that instance I would rather ride to the right of the white line in the crap than to try and stake a claim to the lane.
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Most urban roads have curbs and not striped shoulders, and I'm not suggesting we should be taking the lane when doing so holds up motor traffic for more than a few seconds, and it's safe and reasonable to move aside into a shoulder or bike lane or whatever. However, as soon as there is any kind of gap in traffic of greater length than 10-15 seconds or so, I'm back in my default primary lane-controlling position, especially if there is any upcoming intersection or midblock driveway or something. Some people understandably get the impression that this means a lot of back and forth, but it really doesn't work out that way once you get the right balance worked out. The balance to work out is between using an accommodating sharing position that is less conspicuous, has poorer sight lines and usually worse surface conditions with using the clear and conspicuous lane-controlling position but which might impede others. It's quite manageable, especially if you use a rear view mirror, and helps your mind stay focussed on traffic rather than drift, which is good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by md2020
As for your explanation of the exceptions, I understand what you're saying. I read them as independent conditions but it makes sense that they are to be taken together.
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Yeah, read them over, sleep on it, then read them again. Ride around thinking about them, then review them again. It can be an illuminating process. If any one of those conditions is true, then there is no legal obligation to keep right, and there should never be a safety reason to keep right. The only reason to ever keep right is for the convenience of overtaking traffic, which should never take a higher priority than your safety.
Quote:
Originally Posted by md2020
BTW, those CyclistLorax videos are great. Thanks for pointing them out.
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Great. They're designed to address the questions of the skeptics.
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