hondated wrote:I say that because the first thing I learnt was to not cycle up the inside of motorised vehicles
Yet 99% of the current cycling infrastructure encourages us to do just that by placing cycle lanes on the left of the road and the highway code itself makes provision for bicycles to filter past traffic.
Personally, I don't know the answer. I've filtered on both the left and right of traffic with both of them having issues
Filtering on the left leaves you vulnerable to the dreaded left hook because of the simple fact very few drivers check to their left when turning. Filtering on the right leaves you exposed to being undertaken if the traffic moves and getting plenty of abusive shouts informing you to 'use the cycle lane' or 'get on the right side of the road'
My personal approach to filtering at junctions is simple. I will filter on the approach to a junction but only to the third car queing from the junction. That means I have plenty of time on the signal change to get across the junction without being caught coming up the left hand side of a car just as the lights change.
Essentially, I make sure that I am always in front or behind a vehicle when the traffic moves and not alongside them which is where the issues come.
The big failing though is that on several occasions I have been stationary sat behind a vehicle only for another one to come up alongside me and this is where taking primary at junctions is SO important. I never want a vehicle alongside me at a junction.
Of course, taking primary then provokes the driver stuck behind you to angrily beep their horn(especially at busy junctions with short light sequences where drivers frequently jump red lights or accelerate through ambers), shout abuse or attempt a dangerous maneuver, to claw back the 5 second delay you're causing him, safe in the knowledge that even if something fatal happens he can use the SMIDSY excuse to avoid all responsibility or legal punishment.
There is no solution any changes to law or highway code can achieve in my opinion because of the simple fact that there are no police around to enforce them and catch people breaking them so it becomes a 'your word against theirs' case which is impossible to convict on.
When I first started driving many moons ago police were on the roads pulling people over for unsafe driving, red light jumping, cutting up, not indicating, etc so you drove well because you never knew when one would be around.
Nowadays drivers only have to worry about speed/bus lane/red light camera's so all the other dangerous habits are now common place as they can't be enforced by cameras and there's no police on the road.
Another problem, and i'm not trying to be right wing here, is the amount of people on the roads nowadays who have never passed a UK driving test and got their licences in countries with almost non existent road laws and driving tests.
IMO, anyone without a UK licence driving in this country should be given a time limited 'visa' to allow them to drive. This will allow holidaymakers to drive but once the visa expires(i.e you are not a holiday maker) you should then be required to pass some form of UK test to esnure you know how to drive in the UK
... bit of a rant there!
