[Closed] Commuting- overtaking on the inside Vs the outside Vs footpath Vs cyclelane

C

C

If traffic completely stationary, B.

If traffic moving slow/about to start/slowing up so I can get to the ASL, C.

Any other scenario, or if I'm too knackered to move at the speed of the traffic, A.

I'm often moving faster/as fast as traffic in Bristol anyway, so C is usually the preferred option. I find in the middle of the road I can see the traffic and the traffic can see me.

A

You'll need to breath in and possibly cut your bars down for C, its not very wide.

B

[EDIT] and A

Even with drop bars? I get fed up waiting behind stoopid wobbly MTB riders trying to filter with nine mile wide bars with all the balance and finesse of a chicken on crack 😉

Sounds like you're going to have to go for an A then scruff 😀

Whichever is safest which depends on the road. I tend to use a mix of centre and left side

B, unless too narrow/dangerous, then C, then D, then A but with impatience

personally, a combination of B,C&D and occasionally A

B, C, D, then A, normally in that order, but depending on the conditions

B or C depending on road. default is C (having been doored by an exiting passenger as i rode up to an ASL using it's cycle lane). never A or D.

Depends - mixture of A&C for me.

C if it's moving and lots of it
B if it's not moving
A if cutting past a few cars will make bog all difference (i.e.. we're waiting at a red or something)
D if I'm sat at a set of lights all by myself for five minutes and they don't change because the induction loops can't see me.

Or if I've had a crappy ride home being cut up by everyone and I've just ABOUT HAD E@****ING NUFF!!!!.....

CBDCDBCDBBDCDDBCDBCDBCD

Let's see. If this was a car diver in a hurry, you'd be moaning about how impatient they all are.

E - set off 1 minute earlier or be prepared to arrive a minute later.

F - get all Danny MacAskill and go over the top.

I only go up the inside of traffic that ain't moving and once it starts moving I tend to try and get my own spot in the middle of a lane. Nothing winds car drivers up more than being overtaken by a bike.

I ran a red light the other day, a quick sprint gets me off the dual carriageway before the traffic catches up. I wasn't counting on the guy who pulled off the dual carriageway so his wife could give me a lecture, and narrowly missed crashing into me AND getting rear-ended by the car behind him.

I'm guessing what happened was:

G - you performed D and got shouted at for riding on the pavement.

I'd go for A, then C when I got fed up/if there was room.

Usually c or a and never b professional drivers

C - do it as if you're on a motorbike. Car drivers are more likely to look on that side and you're more visible anyway.

Do B long enough and someone's passenger WILL open their door on you.

C mainly, but occasionally B.

D, then use next available ramped kerbstone to bunny back onto the road. Bunch of wusses that don't use the pavement 😉

simon's right. you wait in line unless there is no oncoming traffic, in which case you can filter - on the right - to the front. alternatively you can walk your bike along the pavement.

filter on the left and someone WILL open a door on you. and it will be your own fault. filter on the right, and not only is it legal, but you stand a much better chance of being seen. don't ride on the pavement, that's just being a kn*b.

I think riding on the pavement is dependant on where you live. I personally live somewhere that if I ride to work on the pavement ( 5 miles) 2 on pavement the chances are very slim I will meet anyone, if however I use the road I am then playing with a lot of traffic that is doing 60 mph and possibly not paying as much attention as they should. Bottom line is you know your commute then you are the best placed person on here to decide what to do irrespective of all the holier than thou you are not allowed to ride on the pavement so therefore do not do it brigade. IMHO

C or A,

C/ 99times out of 100 - take my chances head on with a driver, there is a better than average chance they will see you.
A/ only if I can see the traffic will move soon.

B/ is asking for trouble in most circumstances
D/ not until someone makes me use a cycle lane.

riding through central London most cyclists do B as C is full of scooters and motorbikes unless their doing B too 👿

falkirk-mark: I am with you on that (mine is only a mile (40-60mph limits) and will usually meet one or two pedestrians at most - who I give way to - and will even pop onto the road briefly to avoid them. BUT the OP is asking about congested slow moving traffic and I think in that case its not really OK to jump onto the pavement just to avoid the queue.

A)

I sometimes do C) when safe.

C or A. Never B (I like staying alive), couldn't be bothered to D. Overtake giving them a solid meter (a bit more than 3 feet) etween your bars and their metal/plastic boxes.
Best thing IMO, not because I do it for a living, would be to hire a Bikeability accredited instructor and do some level 3 riding. Mail me and I'll see if I can help (don't know where you are). Cheers! Kris

I ALWAYS overtake or wait. I will never undertake. Why?

Car drivers always check their right mirror, they check their inside mirror usually (if at all) for left hand turns. Think about it. I check my inside mirror as I also cycle on the road- dont expect other drivers to.

Plus, when you overtake and filter back across infront of drivers- they've clocked you and mentally noted they are near a cyclist. It all helps.

Bad habits mean driver tend to use the outside mirror more- its common sense to play to this.

Undertaking (like fast driving) saves you what? 5mins on your journey?! Scraping along in the gutter at times etc- **** that.

Depends - you can try C like I did yesterday and then take position on the white line to turn right. Then you get overtaken on the right by a complete twunt in his BMW repmobile (daft sunglasses, bluetooth headset, jacket on hanger in rear) who can't wait 2 secs behind me but is obviously that important that he has to risk my life in order to get to his next sales meeting. If I hadn't sensed him doing it and stopped turning I'd be toast.

Utter, utter ****wit of the highest order - I've got his reg, it's a small village and I'll be having words if I see it parked up anywhere. I made a point of looking behind me and getting eye contact before moving off so it's not like he wouldn't have known I was there.

Probably B or C, but impossible to say without being on that road and assessing the traffic/road junctions/conditions/previous experiences etc etc. at that particular time.

OK I've had two big accidents - one doing C - the traffic was stationary and I wized round the outside, when someone decided to make a right turn onto a minor road. Took me 6 months to get my arm working properly again. The other accident there was only one car that took me out on a roundabout. But then ridding for 40+ years this is probably an average hit rate.

OK so both B and C are risky, and D only used when doing B and the cars are too close to the kerb. Do I do A? not if I can help it.

congratulatons all those that said B you win an early coffin

A or C depending on the situation. B rarely - only if the gap is big and I have seen the sequence of the lights. D rarely, e.g. temporary traffic lights at road works.

Repeat after me... "I am not riding in traffic, I AM traffic!"

"cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles"

- John Forester

qwerty - Member
congratulatons all those that said B you win an early coffin

Oh, so you know the particular spot he's asking about then?

A at a cpl of specific traffic lights where its too narrow for cars to overtake me after lights have changed (I dont overtake here so you dont...please) Why would you want to do A otherwise? Cars dont wait behind you when you slow down goin up hills etc

B is the default setting for bikes and if someone doors you its [b]their[/b] fault not yours (how the hell can it be the cyclists fault?) but also seen some silly cyclists try B with cars indicating left.

C plenty of times and definitley if I'm travelling fast

D not if I can help it

Querty - it all depends on the situation. sometimes nearside is safest, sometimes between the lines of traffic, sometimes on the outside.

allways assume no driver has seen you. always look into each car to see if a door is going to be opened, always watch the lights for changing, always filter at walking pace.

You can only judge on what is infront of you. Its always a judgement call.

DezB - no, but i've pulled enough dead cyclists out from under vehicles and spent more hours than most cycling Londons busiest roads to know.

"Journeys by bike take a f@*k of a lot longer if you sit behind queues of stationary vehicles"

- me.

qwerty - but you've never ridden the same route as me (for the last 6 years) in to my work, so you would not know which parts are safe for me to undertake/overtake/wait/etc.
I stand by my first reply - you cannot know the answer without being in that spot at that time.

"cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles"
Nice try qwerty but if you stay in the middle of the lane all the time you will get more aggro and more people cutting you up. I'm all for cycle advocacy and making a stand but I'm more for staying alive. Get out there and take up space when you need to, roundabouts, pinch points, narrow roads etc, but dont get in others ways when you dont need to

And yes B is not always safe (left turn thing and whilst going fast) and can be risky due others idiocy but it's not an instant "go straight to the cemetary do not pass go do not collect £200".

Mainly C for me unless it is either a short queue or i have the trailer on the back which is to wide to try weaving in and out of cars in Which case it is A