Close Passes & road position

[John Holiday]

There has been much discussion & comment about close passing by errant drivers.
Whilst riding & driving about, have been aware that many riders ride much too close to the kerb or road edge, & positively invite drivers to push past, rather than wait until safe to do so.
It is much safer to ride a metre or 1200 mm out, which makes you prominent and drivers have to conciously drive around you.
This also avoids all the debris,road gullies etc. which tends to accumulate at the roadside.
Obviously, if they do wait, give them a wave of thanks.
Have found this works quite well.
Will be interested to hear others thoughts.

[mjr]

I agree with much of it but not that they "positively invite drivers to push past". I feel that would mean they show a sign or make some hand signal to encourage the drivers to overtake them, which they do not.

Close passing is always bad driving, no matter the road position of the cyclist or the cyclist's refusal to ride centrally in narrow lanes (1.2m? Try 2!) to deter it.

[[XAP]Bob]

In the same way that rape is never the fault of the victim close passing is always the responsibility of the overtaking person (doesn't matter what mode of transport they are controlling).

There are however things that you can do to reduce the risk of it happening - and taking an assertive position is one of those, but we also need to be aware of when a lane is actually wide enough to allow an overtake, and to be willing to signal that you know they are there, and that the road ahead is clear when going round a corner (since being ahead we can see further than the following person).

[simonhill]

Hmmm, sometimes, maybe, not sure.

Generally, I agree about riding out of the gutter, but unfortunately, I don't think that taking a better road position always gets the desired results. It can annoy a following motorist and spur them on to pass you even closer in the limited space.

As a general rule, maybe, as an always rule, no, sometimes I like to tuck out of the way.

[DaveReading]

I don't think it's at all complicated.

Either there isn't room for a vehicle to pass without crossing the white line in the middle of the road (i.e. it's only safe if there's nothing coming the other way), or there is room (with the cyclist still maintaining a safe distance from the kerb) because the road is wide enough.

It's an unfortunate fact of life that some drivers are unable to make that judgement, so it's up to the cyclist to help them decide, by taking primary where necessary.

[[XAP]Bob]

At worst taking a wider line gives you some extra wiggle room (assuming you aren't being followed by an actual psychopath)

[tykeboy2003]

There has been much discussion & comment about close passing by errant drivers.
Whilst riding & driving about, have been aware that many riders ride much too close to the kerb or road edge, & positively invite drivers to push past, rather than wait until safe to do so.
It is much safer to ride a metre or 1200 mm out, which makes you prominent and drivers have to conciously drive around you.
This also avoids all the debris,road gullies etc. which tends to accumulate at the roadside.
Obviously, if they do wait, give them a wave of thanks.
Have found this works quite well.
Will be interested to hear others thoughts.

Quite right, have you read "Cycle Craft"? Endorsed by the Department of Transport (or whatever it's call these days)? It recommends cycling 1m to the left of traffic but no less than 0.5m from the edge of the road. Personally I ride between 0.7 and 1.0m from the edge of the road unless there's a pinch point in which case I move to primary position (centre of the lane). You should be assertive and not cower in the gutter...

[Pete Owens]

It helps to think of the centre of the lane as the default riding position. This doesn't mean you are being needlessly obstructive - just occupying the lane to make progress just like everybody else. It also doesn't mean staying there all the time - just that moving to another position. whether to the left or to the right, is a conscious decision on your part and acts as a signal to other road users.

Move to the left and you are signalling that you have decided that you are happy to share the lane at that point.

[MikeF]

I agree with much of it but not that they "positively invite drivers to push past". I feel that would mean they show a sign or make some hand signal to encourage the drivers to overtake them, which they do not.

Even without signalling it is a invitation for drivers to pass, because the cyclist has left enough space for them to do so.

[mjr]

I agree with much of it but not that they "positively invite drivers to push past". I feel that would mean they show a sign or make some hand signal to encourage the drivers to overtake them, which they do not.

Even without signalling it is a invitation for drivers to pass, because the cyclist has left enough space for them to do so.

But not a positive invitation.

[MikeF]

I agree with much of it but not that they "positively invite drivers to push past". I feel that would mean they show a sign or make some hand signal to encourage the drivers to overtake them, which they do not.

Even without signalling it is a invitation for drivers to pass, because the cyclist has left enough space for them to do so.

But not a positive invitation.

I'm not sure what negative inviitation might be. Perhaps I should have said it's an indication.

[mjr]

Even without signalling it is a invitation for drivers to pass, because the cyclist has left enough space for them to do so.

But not a positive invitation.

I'm not sure what negative inviitation might be.

Inviting by not doing something.

Perhaps I should have said it's an indication.

Perhaps, but that would still be incompetent driving by the motorist more than the cyclist doing anything wrong. Sometimes it's just not physically possible for one rider to avoid leaving space for a bad driver to squeeze past without fully changing lanes.

[DaveReading]

But not a positive invitation.

I'm not sure what negative inviitation might be.

Inviting by not doing something.

Perhaps I should have said it's an indication.

Perhaps, but that would still be incompetent driving by the motorist more than the cyclist doing anything wrong.

Sometimes it's just not physically possible for one rider to avoid leaving space for a bad driver to squeeze past without fully changing lanes.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that it is always possible.

Personally, I settle for positioning myself such that a driver thinks twice about getting past in the face of oncoming traffic.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I will take the lane at pinch points ( traffic islands etc ), I’ll ride in primary at all other times. I’ve been hit from behind more than once by aggressive drivers who can’t understand that ( even in primary ) I’m not as big an obstruction as a ( relatively) slow moving car. Their insurance companies have all paid up, I had one banned for 2 years. Unfortunately there are going to be dick drivers, you just need to remember that there aren’t that many of them. The main reason for me encountering more of them, was down to the time I used to spend on the roads. I’m not doing anything like the time / mileage anymore, so it’s much easier of late.

[Jdsk]

I will take the lane at pinch points ( traffic islands etc ), I’ll ride in primary at all other times.

I don't understand this... aren't "taking the lane" and "primary" the same position?
https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/road- ... -explained

Thanks

Jonathan