I’ll give STATO some support actually – it’s a well-reasoned point he makes at least!
I tend to filter on the right rather than the left of stationary traffic as I think there’s more chance of the drivers seeing me in their mirrors.

There are times when I’ll be doing this at a red light, on the way to the ASL and the lights will change just as I’m alongside the car at the front of the queue – or sometimes just as I’m moving into the ASL, right in front of the car.

Often the driver won’t have seen me – they’re looking at the lights, which is fair enough. But this move puts me at risk from my own actions and scares the driver…

I don’t know what the solution is quite, maybe longer phases from red to red/amber to green?

The point of this being that if I can’t get to the ASL safely, I’d be better staying in the queue of traffic and waiting my turn. It does mean sucking up the carbon monoxide tho

ASLs are teh suck.

Tipping Out The Paint

I don’t know what the solution is quite, maybe longer phases from red to red/amber to green?

An “advance green light”, perhaps? Pioneered, as it happens, in Cambridge:

http://www.camcycle.org.uk/blog/2013/09/05/cycle-green-advanced-light-welcomed-but-junction-remains-hostile/

An “advance green light”, perhaps? Pioneered, as it happens, in Cambridge:

That is useful for allowing people in the ASL to get away, maybe turn right across traffic held in other direction, but there is still the issue that you can still end up stuck alongside traffic as you go through.

A good solution is to have marked lanes and space in the junctions, so the cycle lanes to continue through the junction and into the cycle lane on the other side. ASL still there to allow cyclists to right turn. They have just done this in Gosforth (Newcastle) and it works well (IME).

ASLs for turning right on multi-lane roads are silly.

“Aha, the light is red, let me get to the front before it turns green; good, now I’m here and it still hasn’t turned green (because if it had I’d be stuck on the left near the front, needing to get to the right); let me ride over to the right at right-angles to the traffic and hope it still doesn’t turn green (because if it does I risk getting stuck in front of someone who’s getting angry); phew, it didn’t, now it’s green, off I go, oh yippee I’m stuck in the middle of a junction with cars behind me and oncoming cars passing close alongside, looking for a gap to get into. Yay for ASLs!”

Yay for ASLs!”

I’ve often though they only really benefit experienced cyclists who know the phasing of the lights and are happy putting themselves in primary at the front of a queue of cars

Bingo.

ASLs for turning right on multi-lane roads are silly

I’ve seen plenty of ASLs on the right of the leftmost lane – this is a better idea, for some junctions at least.

ASLs are used as an absolute last resort in countries like The Netherlands and Denmark. They’re for when nothing else really fits, when the junction can’t be made better.

Here in the UK, ASLs seem to be the first (and usually only) piece of cycle provision. An open invitation to go up the inside of all the traffic and sit there at the front end of an F1 starting grid. If you’re really unlucky, you’ll be in a blind spot of a vehicle on that starting grid too.

Councils love them cos it’s an easy highly visible way of spending all their cycle infrastructure money without actually doing anything to make cycling safer and without taking away any precious space from motor vehicles.

I’ve seen plenty of ASLs on the right of the leftmost lane – this is a better idea, for some junctions at least.

I’m not sure I’d agree, but it’s not a discussion worth having: it’s like discussing which of two similarly large piles of dog poo looks the tastier to eat.

I quite like ASLs. When they move the cars back, rather than the cyclists forward.

Mol, I imagine you fit into the

I’ve often though they only really benefit experienced cyclists who know the phasing of the lights and are happy putting themselves in primary at the front of a queue of cars

group though don’t you? Not the average cyclist or potential cyclist for whom ASLs are at best confusing and not that useful, and at worst dangerous.

Shame if they happened to catch on a car door or wing or something on your way past, like…

Shame if they happened to catch on a car door or wing or something on your way past, like…

Surprisingly grippy on the shins considering they may as well be made from teflon coated ice the moment they get a picolitre of rain on them.

unless it’s a mandatory cycle lane with a solid white line there’s nothing the police could do

Nearish me(Mottram road, Hattersley) there are some of these that the residents park in day and night, they also park in the adjoining Chevron areas, never seen one with a ticket yet,
Also the vast majority of the motorists around the area don’t seem to have figured out what the ASL’s are and stop in them anyway so you normally end up pulling up in front of them past the lights anyway.

group though don’t you? Not the average cyclist or potential cyclist for whom ASLs are at best confusing and not that useful, and at worst dangerous.

Yes.. although they are optional. Learning how to move up a line of traffic safely is an important part of roadcraft I think. The problem is that no-one teaches cyclists what to do.

I don’t really differ the way I use the roads whether I’m on a bike or in a car.
I’m patient and considerate.

Yes, I could squeeze up the side of the cars ahead of me, same as I could use the cycle lane to squeeze past, but I don’t.

I’m sure it’s purely coincidence that the only near misses I’ve had recently have been between me and a badger.

I’ve had a lot of training on the roads, and have never been advised to overtake at junctions. 💡

The problem is that no-one teaches cyclists what to do.

No, there are two problems. One is is that people have to be taught what to do in the first place. And the other is that a lot of the stuff they need to do is stuff that many people either can’t our don’t want to do.

Fundamentally, riding a bike without having a collision is easy. A three year old can do it.