Why Do You Ride Like That?
Taking the Lane for Everyone’s Safety
My bicycle is my primary mode of transportation and, to hear my wife tell it, my first love. She is kidding of course, but some people are not kidding when it comes to the ire cast in my direction concerning certain perfectly legal and safe riding practices. I will try to explain these things so that everyone can understand.
The most controversial practice — and the principle subject of this article — is known as Taking the Lane. This is when a cyclist moves from a position on the right hand side of the street to the center of the lane. If that does not make this concept clear for you google taking the lane cycling. You will find many videos and articles, along with rants from the usual trolls. Here is an especially good video.
There are many excellent reasons to take the lane, as I will explain below, but the first I should point out that it is legal. In Rhode Island, the law reads as follows:
Most states have similar statutes. Note the word practicable. That which is not safe is also not practicable. We are not required to ride over the sand left from the winter snow season, through puddles (which may conceal dangerous pot holes), over debris, damaged road surfaces, etc. All of these things present hazards to life and limb if you are riding a bicycle, therefore, riding in them is not practicable. We are not required to risk serious injury or death for the convenience of motorists. This can be tricky at times because if I am approaching a hazard and I look in my mirror
and see a car close behind, bearing down on me at speed, I’m not going to swing out in front of it. In such cases I just have to slow down* and negotiate the hazard as best I can. However, if they are far enough back then I am going to take the lane in order to avoid the hazard and continue as far as necessary to get beyond the hazard.
Taking the lane is especially important in urban and suburban settings because of the frequency of traffic lights and intersections, and because cars are so commonly parked along the road.
Passing parked cars
It is very dangerous for me to pass parked cars close enough that if a driver or passenger were to swing a door open I would strike it or be struck by it. It is, of course, illegal to open the door of a car on the traffic side without first checking to see if it is safe to do so, but drivers do this all the time while complaining about cyclists flouting the law. Especially in urban settings, avoiding this problem may put me close to the middle of the lane of traffic. Because many drivers will try to pass even though there isn’t enough room to do so safely, I often need to take this one step farther in order to further enhance my safety while saving drivers from themselves. I move all the way to the middle of the lane or even farther in order to discourage such unsafe practices. If I don’t do this drivers may crowd me into the parked cars while taking absurd risks as they swing into the lane of oncoming traffic in order to pass.
You would think that when I have passed the parked car or cars and I swing to the right into what amounts to a newly created, extra wide bike lane, cars that have been following would take advantage of the situation by getting past me. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how many fail to do so, even when I wave them on. Do they think I am suicidal?
Rhode Island recently revised its safe passing distance. Instead of three feet it is “sufficient to prevent contact with the person operating the bicycle if the person were to fall into the driver’s lane of traffic” which to me seems excessive. I consider thee feet — from the end of the handlebars — just fine. In the case of a large vehicle it can be scary, but my position is that if you are going to ride in traffic you need to be nervy enough to deal with, say, a bus passing you with three feet to spare. I recently had a guy buzz me deliberately at one foot. That’s scary. I tried to chase him down to chew him out and nearly succeeded, but as I was closing in he seemed to realize what I was about and took evasive action. It’s not difficult to outrun a bicycle with a car.
Intersections
Intersections are numerous in urban and suburban settings. Most of the time, especially in suburban settings, the streets are fairly empty while and where I am riding so I don’t have to do anything in particular. However, in the case of busy streets, the very last place I want to be when moving through an intersection is to the immediate right of a motor vehicle, especially a large one. They may not be aware of my presence, and if they make a right turn I could be seriously injured or killed. In addition, I am more visible to oncoming drivers considering left hand turns if I take a commanding position.
Intersections without stop signs or traffic signals:
I check my mirror and consider the traffic behind me. In an urban setting my speed is not much different from that of the cars. If I can easily enter the stream of traffic I signal and do so, passing back to the right once I am through the intersection. If entry into the stream of traffic is not so simple, I do it anyway, with a more forceful hand signal.
In spite of my best efforts, drivers still occasionally pass me then abruptly taking a right turn. I’m perpetually ready for this so it usually isn’t a problem. Most of the time I don’t even have to apply the breaks, as most drivers seem to judge the situation fairly well. Other times they really do cut it too close, in which case it’s dangerous and scary. Motorists occasionally do odd things such as turning cutting in front of me to the point where they are already blocking my way, then, apparently realizing that it wasn’t such a good idea, stoping. So I stop. Then they motion for me to go by. Where, exactly? In front of you? You have already demonstrated that you are not a good driver so the last thing I want to do is pass in front of your car with you behind the wheel. I call out something like, “Would you just go already?” so that they will stop delaying not just me but everyone else.
Stop Signs
I handle these very similarly to the simple intersections described above, except that I perform at least a rolling stop. I observe the rule that in the case of simultaneous arrival, the vehicle on the right has the right of way. One problem with this is that many motorists want to cede the right of way to the bicyclist. If I’m rolling I just wave a thank you and proceed. However, if my foot is already down, I wish they would just go already. I’m usually taking a breath and so I don’t appreciate being pressured into restarting before I am ready.
In many cases there is a right turn lane. In this case I move to the line between it and the through traffic lane, positioning myself far enough out that I am easily seen by the driver of the lead car. This makes it safer for everyone. Drivers who want to make right turns can easily do so.
If it is a T-corner and I am approaching along the crossbar of the T from the right as you would look at it on a printed page, then, because I do not need to intersect the stream of the turning traffic, I may not stop or even slow down unless there is a bus or other large vehicle approaching up the stem of the T. Trucks often need the full width of the road in order to complete the turn, and buses are just crazy.
Traffic Lights
I have to be quite careful when going through a green light. There are two good reasons for me to take the lane as I approach:
- If I am over to the right, cars making a left from the oncoming side are less likely to see me, which could expose me to a left hook.
- Again if I am over to the right, drivers who intend to make right turns might right hook (also known as a right swipe) me.
For these two reasons I typically take the lane as described above when approaching a green traffic light. That way I am nice and visible. If the light changes to red while I am approaching it I end up stopping in a good position.
If the light is red and there are cars lined up waiting, I pass them on the right (if possible) then get to a visible position and wait for the light to change. This is either in front of the lead car (which I realize doesn’t endear me to many people, but my goal is not popularity but safety) or to the right but leading the first car by at least one car length. Once I have stopped, if the light is red but I can see that the way is clear I often proceed through, no doubt generating a surge of good old American resentment in the breasts of many drivers who have not bothered to consider how much sense this makes. It puts me clear of the intersection so that when the light changes they can make their right turns or whatever without delay. If I can’t get to the front of the line then I take the lane by fitting myself between two of the waiting cars. When the traffic begins to move remain in the lane at least until I am clear of the traffic signal.
Right turn only lanes are common in the case of traffic lights. As with stop signs I move to the line between the two. If the light is red I advance to the front and stop a little ahead of the cars so that they see me. In this way drivers can take free rights immediately and safely. Sometimes drivers decide that they need to violate the right turn only restriction and go straight. This is, of course, illegal, stupid, and dangerous, but as I have already pointed out I have to be on the lookout for drivers doing illegal, stupid, and dangerous things.
In the case of T-corners which I am approaching in the manner described above under “Stop Signs,” yes I often blow through the light, because I can, and because I can do so without interfering with the traffic entering from the stem of the T. If this fills you with bone-head American resentment I can’t help you. I can, however, send you my thoughts and prayers. I’d also advise you to consider that this puts me out of the way, making it easier for you when the light changes.
Lefts like a car
Making left turns like a car is the safest way for me to do it because it involves crossing fewer streams of traffic than if I do it as a pedestrian would. Both methods are legal. I use pedestrian style when the intersection is overly complicated or when it seems like it will be safer to do so for other reasons such as dense and fast moving traffic.
I signal and get into the left hand lane. What I do next depends on whether I am in an uncontrolled intersection, stop sign, or traffic light. At stop signs oncoming drivers often yield to me although they are under no obligation to do so. I wave a tank you and make the turn. Sometimes it is counterproductive for the oncoming drivers to wait. There may be extenuating circumstances that make it so that it is easier and safer if they would just go. In such cases I wave them forward, but they don’t always comply, apparently thinking I am suicidal. If it were up to me drivers would take their right of way and let me do what I have to do. At traffic lights, if the signal is red, I wait for the green and then see what the oncoming traffic is going to do. Drivers facing me often wait even though technically they don’t have to. In such cases it’s best to wave-a-thank-you-and-go as described above, unless there are extenuating circumstances such as other drivers who are not waiting.
Complex Intersections
Some intersections with or even without signals are quite complex. It often seems that some civil engineer somewhere let their creativity run away with them. In such cases I evaluate the situation and come up with a strategy.
I hope I have clarified a few things for those of you who may not have considered the circumstances I have described. My goal is to make things safer for everyone, but that can be tough to do. I’ve been waiting at lights and nearly drifted into because the driver was staring at a cell phone screen unaware that her foot pressure on the break was becoming insufficient. I frequently wait in a traffic jam caused by drivers clustering around the discount liquor store. I’ve had cars follow me for some distance then abruptly jump ahead and cut in front of me with a quick right turn into a fast food joint or some such. Drivers have buzzed me for no apparent reason — perhaps for the unspeakable crime of existing. Drivers have cursed me for no apparent reason, such as from a line of traffic going the other way on the opposite side of the road, demanding that I “get out of the road you moron!”, apparently unaware that the law stipulates that I can ride on any road (other than limited access highways) in any position on that road. Encounters like that make me want say fuck you all, that’s the thanks I get for freeing up a parking space, but then I’d be failing to bear in mind that hundreds — if not thousands — of drivers interact with me every time I go out in traffic, and that the vast majority are fine — in fact sometimes nice to a fault.
There are many more things I could say about the use of a bicycle as basic transportation but I would risk repeating myself. Please see my five part series of articles for more information of that sort.
*Note that in that case I have been delayed by the motorist. Although Motorists never tire of complaining about being delayed by cyclists, the example described is far from the only way in which motorists delay cyclists.
