B’ Spokes:
I have yet to see a good discussion on this subject and the article that has promoted this tangent discussion is no exception (over all I’m not impressed but with the article but there are good points in there and some thought provoking points as well.) In general the cycling safety camp is dived up into the always take the lane and the always ride far right (with some exceptions.) So who’s right? Well it just depends on road and traffic conditions… and that’s the sticky part, how to describe those conditions. My own rule of thumb for when to move further left into the roadway is if a motorist passes too close or right hooks you MTFTTL (Move Two Feet To The Left.) Over time you’ll learn a good road position for the roads and traffic conditions you ride in. And in the other direction, always look for an opportunity to be courteous to your fellow road users and move to the right when it is safe to do so.
Vigilante Vehicular Cyclists
This is my term for those who insist on always taking the lane to prevent right hooks even when no right hook opportunity exists. Even John Forester the author of “Effective Cycling” and who coined the term ” Vehicular Cyclists” says “I would not bother to control [take] the lane because there is no reason to do so.” Of course the gotcha is in the reasons why not to.
Gutter Bunnies
This seems to be the term for those who always ride far right. The point I would like to make on this is being timid in aggressive traffic is a no win situation for cyclists, you need to learn to be assertive in aggressive traffic. For that I recommend reading the links I have here: Must read for Bike Safety.
What’s generally missed when encouraging cyclists to ride far right.
With all things what is safe is a matter of degree, not absolutes and there are things you can do to mitigate issues. To that end I will point out if you ride far right the Quick Stop and the Quick Turn should be part of your defensive riding arsenal. (This is good as well.)
Points I would like to make from the article
Note this is not a point by point rebuttal but simply tangents I would like to put forth.
If you are in Howard County this is good advice, in other counties we need to get the same attention from the police as we do in Howard County. The issue is too often the police feel they must witness a crime in order to issue a citation but with too few plain clothes police officers out on bike the reality motorist can get away with assault with a deadly weapon. But in Howard County the owner of the vehicle (if you get the plate number) will get a letter from the police, this is a nice compromise position or at least it is a place to start.
The point I would like to make here is imagine what is pictured is one of Baltimore’s one way streets and instead of riding far right (position B) imagine it far left. This has two advantages 1) Drivers know where the left side of their big honking SUV is a lot better then they know where the right side is. 2) The danger from the door zone is considerably less on the left (no driver side doors opening) then on the right.
Proper response to motorist honking is better motorist education NOT cyclists should move to the far right
Too often cycling advocates feel they are limited to just talking to other cyclists while drivers seem to have no problem telling cyclists what they are “supposed” to do even if flat out wrong. Well, a bunch of cycling advocates in Maryland got an improvement in the Maryland Driver’s Handbook. IMHO This should be promoted by other cycling advocates over always promoting deferring to aggressive motorists.
The base arrticle: https://www.ibiketo.ca/blog/taking-lane-when-simplistic-advice-can-make-things-worseoldId.20120907165026402