What is the safest and most courteous way to ride on a two-lane road?

Question

There is a one-mile two-lane road close to my home with no bike lane, but with a large sidewalk. I ride this road every day, and it got me curious what I should be doing. The speed limit is 35 and the roads are pretty empty except during rush hour.

Most riders either stay close to the curb like below.

And I have noticed that cars pass them on the left, and it seems very unsafe to me when there is another lane.

Other riders use the sidewalk like the below. But since there is a lot of foot traffic and trees and such you would be very slow.

And I do the below.

I hog the whole lane so no cars pass me on the left. I average around 16-18 mph on this road, and it's only a mile long. Most of the time it's fine, but during traffic I feel like am not courteous.

And once in a while there are cars parked although very rare like the below. Which I really like because the whole lane is for me, and I can go around the cars.

Answer 1

I use the method in your 3rd picture - I take the middle of the lane when there are no bike lanes. I am helped in these cases by the fact that these roads in my city usually specify the right-most lane as a shared car and bike lane.

Besides the speed issue you state when riding on the sidewalk, it is also hazardous for both the cyclist and pedestrians.

I feel that riding far to the right, while still in the lane, just invites cars to pass you even when there isn't enough room.

Taking the middle of the lane is my way of encouraging them to overtake the proper way by fully moving into the left lane.

Answer 2

I use the following rule of thumb: If there is enough space for two cars next to me, I move to the side. If not, I keep the whole right lane for myself. I do the same even if only one lane is available in the direction; if the lane is too narrow in some parts (like in the city next to the tram stops), I occupy the whole lane and do not let cars overtake.

Honestly, I know I could probably be fined for doing this in some countries, but heck, my life is more important than some stupid fine I face. It's important to send the message to the driver behind you: I'm sorry but I don't feel it safe to be overtaken here and now.

Answer 3

Stay to the right of the lane and not on the curb.

The primary problem with this is that cars may pass you too closely. This is both annoying and dangerous. I have had good experiences with mounting a "Distance reflector" which make me appear wider than I am. This alone is enough to make cars hold back and pass properly if the space is too tight. This was very useful when I had to ride a narrow road to work with heavy two-way traffic.

(picture source - http://shop.dcf.dk/Default.aspx?ino=4485)

Answer 4

First of all, you should go with what is law in your country. In my country we all learn to ride as in picture one, and all drivers learn to pass with enough space and not to pass when there is not enough space.

In the Netherlands cycling on the sidewalk is illegal for anybody over 12 years of age, and does get fined.

I must admit that I do take the lane on those roads where cars do tend to pass while there is not enough space. But in my area those are mostly single lane roads.
When I do take the lane I do get out of the way and let cars to past as soon as that is safe to do.

When there are cars parked you of course go round them with enough space not to get doored.

Answer 5

It depends on the situation.

If there is a satisfactory "sidepath" it should be used, but often any sidepath is bumpy, covered with dirt and trash, has too many inappropriate intersections, and/or is too busy with pedestrian (or slow bike) traffic to be reasonable. (Though note some US states have a mandatory sidepath law which requires you to use the sidepath, even if less that reasonable.) (But also note that bikes are often prohibited from using "sidewalks".)

If the sidepath cannot be used, for whatever reason, you should ride (assuming US traffic directions) somewhere in the right-most traffic lane (except when performing a left-hand turn).

Where in the right-hand lane you ride depends on three factors:

1. The condition of the road. Often the right-most portion of the lane is in poor condition and needs to be avoided when possible.
2. The width of the lane. With a wider lane it's reasonable to occupy just the right-most portion of the lane while still giving vehicle traffic room to pass, with minimal lane shifting on their part. With a narrow lane, on the other hand, it's unwise to "encourage" vehicles to attempt to squeeze past without executing a complete lane shift, so more of a "claim your lane" style is advised.
3. The amount of traffic. In light traffic it's more reasonable to "claim your lane", as the number of drivers you inconvenience is small. In heavier traffic you need to make more effort to not block traffic flow (though you also need to make an effort to be visible and predictable in your movements). So in heavy traffic you may need to consciously shift your lane position based on the immediate situation, pulling off onto the shoulder if possible to let large trucks past, eg.

The considerations here don't really vary that much between a 2-lane road and a 4-lane road, other than the 4-lane road makes it more practical to "claim your lane". But on a 4-lane road you need to be conscious of whether it's a thoroughfare where vehicle lane position is not a major concern for drivers, vs a city street where jockeying for lane position is a significant concern.

Answer 6

I get a lot of advice of claiming your lane, and that is your right (probably), but you can be dead right. I have been rear-ended three times in my lane in a car in the city at speeds that would have flat killed me on a bike.

You have distracted drivers and on top of that are not tuned into a bicycles. I will take my chances riding on the right unless there is physically not enough room for a bike and vehicle. I have been bumped into the ditch, but I walked away. I will ride the sidewalk if it is legal. Number one, I will pick routes with a bike lane even if it is twice as far. Number two, routes that have room.

If that picture is to scale there is room to get around so I would hug right.

I also ride a cyclocross with big touring tires so I can hug a curb or ride off the pavement if dirt rather than a curb. I race CX and can hug and jump a curb and ride dirt.

I get there are statistics of taking your lane versus the number of accidents, but my take is the reality of getting killed. In taking your lane the problem is if they are not paying attention; then you have taken away their out. Someone on the cell phone in the left lane jumps over; boom, they have no room, but to run you over. To the right, if they are hugging right and don't see you until the last second, they just have to jockey a couple of feet.

Light up - a flashing light is your best defense in my mind.

Right hand turn coming up is the most dangerous situation (even if you have a bike lane).

Rush hour is the absolute worse as you not only have more cars, but you have people on autopilot.

To the right you will have more debris and broken glass.

On my commute there is a 12-block section where I have no option but to claim my lane, and it is flat scary. Cannot ride the sidewalk in a business district in my town. There have been like six instances of car changed lanes and flat had to lock up the brakes to not hit me. If I ride the car pool lane they get mad. If I ride the non-carpool they tell me to get in the car pool. I have even had buses tail me and honk the horn. Talked to the bike police, and they told me I have a right to any lane.

In a city with a bike culture like Seattle you can typically claim your lane and will be respected. That culture is not shared by all cities. Road rage is reality and a bike is going to lose. If they honk don't flip 'em off - wave, pull over, and let them pass - my exception is if there is a red light ahead. If you are first at red light and there are only a few cars behind you then pull over and let them by. You may have a right to the lane, but you just don't have mass to defend it. My favorite is follow a bus or large truck - they don't accelerate fast and with drafting I can typically hold traffic speed. The downside is bus stops, but I use that as a rest. A lot of buses and trucks don't like you in their blind spot, but I still do it. At stop, pull out in their mirror so they know you are there. If they are turning right or left then pull back so they can see you in their left mirror.

I accept the downvotes. But I have commuted to downtown in one of the biggest cities in US for over 10 years with no major injury, but with a number of close calls. I feel like some of the close calls would have been splat if I had taken the lane.

Answer 7

I would not even consider myself a cyclist anymore, but this discussion reminds me of one of the LAST times I rode a bike on one of the single lane side streets in my part of town. I was riding towards the right of the lane trying to balance distance from parked cars with allowing cars to pass, when some fool in a full sized pickup truck zoomed by me and almost hit me with his extended right mirror.

I would not say that he "misjudged" the clearance, for I think he actually swerved towards me, and in fact he judged the distance very well: he just missed me because I was riding in a straight line, but he would have killed me if I happened to wander a foot to my left when he was passing. After he passed he moved back to the center of the street. S'truth.

By my social calculation if he had hit me it would have been a "terrible accident" (which he had set up), no legal penalty would have attached to the poor unfortunate whose day had been ruined by some thoughtless cyclist who had the discourtesy to swerve in front of his truck and force him to kill them.

When I was young and athletic I rode my bike at high speed in the city streets, and if I could not quite keep up with traffic I was at least a contender: in hindsight not a bad strategy since the few accidents I had were from hitting an obstruction in the pavement, never from being on the receiving end of a car. Now that I am older and slower I would only ride a bike in some sedate place where they had isolated bike lanes! I might feel safe if they took the damn wheel out of cunning human hands and required all cars to drive themselves.

Answer 8

Where I live motorists have no problems changing lanes to pass, regardless if it's a wide lane or a narrow lane, they will give space. I ride 6 days a week and I've been riding and "Taking the lane" for almost 10 years now, and 9 times out of 10 motorists see me and change lanes to pass. I do, however, from time to time get some bozo who feels the need to pass me closely on purpose, as to try and teach me a lesson. Those incidents are rare for me.

Answer 9

I think it's, as already said above, very much dependent on the country you're riding in. in England the "Sidewalk" is a "Foot path" and the clue is in the name! It's illegal to ride on the footpath but, due to general antipathy of officialdom, it only seems to get a prosecution if there's some sort of incident. I believe that, in USAnia, you often cycle on the hard shoulder? To me that is like being bullied off the roads and I would resist doing that as much as I could.

Answer 10

The most courteous thing to do is to make sure that an old lady crossing the street doesn't have to get her ankles wet, by covering the mud puddle with your jacket. Of course, that's an extreme courtesy, but it does leave your jacket muddy.

I've heard of people describing Internet connectivity in the 1990s. People often had a choice between reliable, fast, and cheap. They were allowed to pick any two.

• Reliable and cheap - dial-up over phone lines. (Not fast.)
• Reliable and fast - T1 lines (they were fast in the day). (Ridiculously expensive; businesses may be able to afford them. Most homes wouldn't.)
• Fast and cheap - Internet provided by the cable TV companies. (Often went very slow, or even was non-functional, at certain times of the day.)

Those were the widely available options at the time. None of them offered everything desired. Sometimes, you just have to make a choice.

In the case you're describing, you have identified possible solutions (safe, or courteous). Now you're asking for the solution that provides all conceivable benefits. Sometimes, that might not be an option. You may need to make a choice.

In your case, you can choose between riding towards the right side of a lane and letting people pass you more easily, by causing them to only swerve over by a partial lane. Or you can choose to ride down the middle/left of a lane, in which case the car will need to swerve left by 80-90% of a lane, and will probably just decide to do a full lane change. That is less courteous. It also makes them far less prone to drive so close that their mirrors touch your handle bars. If they move over a lane, and then something went awry and your wheel (and handle bars) suddenly turned left unexpectedly, the chances of a collision may be rather low, instead of being almost certain.

Are you willing to be a bit less courteous? I try to be courteous when it is sensible. I often open doors for people, at some detriment to myself as I stand outside. However, I'm more willing to let an old lady risk getting her ankles muddy, than to go through the entire rest of the day with my jacket being dirty-wet just so someone could enjoy using it as a floor mat.

For myself, I've gotten into the habit of taking up more of the lane, because I've decided that my own safety is sufficiently important. Letting somebody else feel more comfortable with moving over less far is not worth the much higher chance of me becoming permanently injured.