{"id":9361,"date":"2014-08-21T07:55:43","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T14:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=9361"},"modified":"2014-08-21T07:45:52","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T14:45:52","slug":"take-lane-veronica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/08\/21\/take-lane-veronica\/","title":{"rendered":"Take the Lane, Veronica"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was first published on Marc’s Medium page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

My friend, Veronica posted on Facebook:<\/p>\n

\n

I feel like I\u2019m a respectful cyclist. I use hand signals, wear a helmet and road ID, I ride during the daytime and have lights for dusk, I stay on the shoulder or as far over to the right as possible to allow for passing cars even though I technically can take the whole lane as a moving vehicle. I can\u2019t understand people who drive within inches from me, at normal speed, and don\u2019t give any space when there are NO cars in the oncoming lane. I know you might not care for cyclists and think that you\u2019re invincible in a car\u2026 But you\u2019ll be singing a different tune if you kill somebody\u2019s sister, daughter, mother, or wife (or anyone). Please take a few extra seconds of your day to be conscientious and create a chain reaction for the cars behind you to do the same.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"take<\/a>

This cyclist is positioned to take the lane.<\/p><\/div>\n

The problem isn\u2019t that motorists aren\u2019t conscientious\u2014most are. It\u2019s that they don\u2019t know. They often don\u2019t know how close they are. They don\u2019t know what it feels like to be passed by a car so close when you\u2019re on bicycle. They don\u2019t know how dangerous it is. They don\u2019t know they should get over much farther.<\/p>\n

And we don\u2019t do ourselves any favors riding so far to the right. It invites close passes by motorists who really don\u2019t intend us any harm and would be surprised to discover how their close passes unnerve us.<\/p>\n

Take the lane! That means riding far enough left in the lane to ensure passing motorists have to change lanes to go around.<\/p>\n

When I take the lane I\u2019ve discovered I get far fewer close passes. Do I get angry shouts from motorists who think I should be riding farther right? Surprisingly, no more shouts than I get when I\u00a0am<\/i>\u00a0riding farther right. And they are the same shouts, \u201cGet off the road!\u201d Never, \u201cRide to the right!\u201d<\/p>\n

Why? Because the typical motorist, seeing there\u2019s no room to pass in the same lane, does what they\u2019re supposed to do\u2014they get in the other lane to pass, slowing down and waiting for oncoming traffic if necessary. And knowing they have to get in the other lane, they get all the way over.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re riding farther to the right, many motorists approach thinking there\u2019s adequate room to pass. Even if they realize there\u2019s not enough room to pass safely, they may not realize it until it\u2019s too late, until after they\u2019re committed and slowing or moving left would seem an even more dangerous move to them\u2014a swerve or dangerous brake jamming maneuver. So they pass within inches. Afterwards, many are as unnerved as the cyclists.<\/p>\n

This is especially true when there is oncoming traffic. The motorist approaches the cyclist from behind. It\u00a0looks<\/i>\u00a0like there\u2019s enough room to get by, so they don\u2019t slow down. Suddenly, there\u2019s oncoming traffic and they\u2019re going too fast. In this situation, they often speed up in an attempt to get around sooner, increasing the danger.<\/p>\n

When you take the lane, the same motorist sees from a distance they can\u2019t pass without changing lanes. They slow to accommodate oncoming traffic. And they change lanes, passing with plenty of room.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s counterintuitive to think cyclists politely riding to the right result in worse behavior by motorists than the seemingly less polite and more disruptive practice of taking the lane. But in my experience, it doesn\u2019t. Taking the lane is the safest practice and results in the best motorist behavior.<\/p>\n

In general, I encounter three types of dangerous motorists while riding. There\u2019s the hostile motorist most cyclists fear. This driver doesn\u2019t want bikes on the road. Doesn\u2019t matter whether or not you ride far right or take the lane. This driver\u2019s response is the same: pass close, shout, or worse.<\/p>\n

When a cyclist is riding far right, it lets the hostile motorist buzz by dangerously close, with ease. When you take the lane, it forces the hostile motorist to move over and go around. And the mere fact they have to move over means they\u2019ll usually, even if unintentionally, give you more space! It\u2019s not so easy for them to line up from half a mile away to buzz you. If they can\u2019t see far enough ahead to change lanes, for their own safety they\u2019ll slow down and wait. They\u2019ll cuss and fume and shout when they go by\u2014just like they would if they didn\u2019t have to move over!<\/p>\n

So even the worst behaved motorists actually behave better when you take the lane.<\/p>\n

The second type of dangerous motorist is the inattentive driver. This driver doesn\u2019t even notice you\u2019re there until they\u2019re too close. This driver kills and injures more cyclists than any other. And this driver is much more likely to hit you when you ride far right. They tend to only be looking straight ahead. They drift right without realizing it. They aren\u2019t aiming for you\u2014they just don\u2019t see you.<\/p>\n

The only thing you can do to protect yourself from this motorist is to be more visible! Taking the lane makes you more visible. It puts you directly in their line of sight. Taking the lane, a flashing tail light, wearing bright colors, and anything else that makes you more visible is the best way to handle this motorist.<\/p>\n

The third, and most common dangerous motorist is the driver who just doesn\u2019t know. Doesn\u2019t know how to pass a cyclist. Doesn\u2019t know the pass is too close. Doesn\u2019t know how dangerous it is. Would be surprised to learn how you feel after a close pass.<\/p>\n

This motorist does know how to pass another automobile. When you take the lane, this motorist will know there\u2019s not room to pass without getting over. Will get over. Won\u2019t be bothered by getting over. Would have gotten over anyway had they known! They just didn\u2019t know. And by taking the lane, you make it clear.<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s dangerous to draw generalizations along gender lines, I\u2019ve noticed a pattern. When riding far right, it is often women who pass too close. They pass within inches of me, even though there\u2019s no oncoming traffic and they\u00a0could<\/i>\u00a0get over. Often, I even get a little\u00a0I\u2019m sorry<\/i>\u00a0hand wave from these ladies after they\u2019ve passed.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s because women, more than men, tend to follow the rules. These particular ladies don\u2019t want to cross that double that yellow line. If they can get past without hitting me and without crossing over the yellow line, that seems the best compromise to them. When I take the lane, these ladies choose to pass safely. I get a friendly smile and wave instead of theI\u2019m sorry<\/i>\u00a0wave.<\/p>\n

In a followup comment to her Facebook post, after I\u2019d suggested she take the lane, Veronica said:<\/p>\n

\n

I ride more in the lane while riding with groups Marc, and I know it sounds pansy-ish, but as a girl riding alone without the same strength in numbers I just don\u2019t have the same cahones. Literally.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I think female cyclists often have an advantage here. I notice when riding with my wife motorists generally give us more room. And when I ride with my five year old granddaughter on the Trail-a-Bike, we get plenty of room. Many people, men and women alike, give women and children on bikes more room on the road.<\/p>\n

There are even more reasons to take the lane!\u00a0Watch this visualization<\/a>\u00a0to see some of them. When you ride far right, leaving enough room for an automobile to pass you in the same lane, that vehicle blocks you from the view of oncoming traffic. Suppose an oncoming vehicle is preparing to make a left turn. They see the car passing you, but they don\u2019t see you. They start their turn as the car, now just ahead of you clears the intersection, and BAM!\u2014there you are! If you take the lane, you are clearly visible to both the car behind you and the oncoming vehicle preparing to turn left.<\/p>\n

Of course, some motorists will be irritated when you take the lane. They\u2019ll insist it\u2019s rude and disrespectful to do so, that it\u2019s your duty to ride as far right as possible. In fact, in the comments to Veronica\u2019s Facebook post, one did just that. But which behavior is more rude and disrespectful: taking the lane forcing faster traffic to go around, and perhaps wait a few seconds; or pass dangerously close risking the death or injury of a cyclist?<\/p>\n

A few words to motorists<\/b><\/h2>\n

The irritation you feel when a cyclist takes the lane, potentially delaying you a few seconds is misplaced. Most of the time, you won\u2019t be delayed at all. You\u2019ll be able to change lanes and continue on your way, without delay. When you are delayed, it will likely be a very short delay. You\u2019ll just arrive at the next red-light a few seconds later than you would have otherwise, and you\u2019ll wait just a bit less at that light. And because there was a bicycle in front of you that you were able to get around, instead of a car, you\u2019ll have one less vehicle ahead of you at that light so you\u2019ll get through it sooner. When you arrive at your destination, there might just be one more available parking space.<\/p>\n

When cyclists take the lane, it isn\u2019t to cause you irritation or delay. It isn\u2019t to be rude, disrespectful, or arrogant. It\u2019s for our own safety. It\u2019s because whether you know it or not, without taking the lane, we unintentionally invite close, dangerous passes. Perhaps you would give us the room we need if we rode far right, but many others would pass too close endangering us.<\/p>\n

So, please, don\u2019t be irritated. Smile and wave. We\u2019ll smile and wave back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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