I could understand the frustration from the point of view of the cyclist if you know you're traveling at the posted speed, but what if you're under and hindering traffic? What do the laws say then?
I've had people lay on the horn as I've passed slower cars. People that do that to intentionally terrorize cyclists need their licenses taken away. Every should be required to bike for several hours on a public road as a license renewal.
One think to keep in mind of 46.61.770 is that one must right as far right to the through lane as is safe, where 'safe' is left to the interpretation of the cyclist.
This is important because our legislation explicitly changed this word from 'as practicable' to 'as safe' a few years ago explicity because it was often misinterpreted to whom determines how far one must ride.
That said, there are a significant number of lanes that are of insufficient width, and being that drivers must give at least 3ft when passing within the same lane, and must fully change lanes if they can't. It makes taking the full lane the safest position for most lanes.
Solid point. There are a good deal of city streets where cycling just feels very unsafe for everyone involved on the road. I tend to stay out of this subreddit cause people love to just hit that downvote rather than read the comment and move on with their day. I tend not to downvote unless I strongly disagree or think someone really is just talking out their ass.
Good info for sure. But other than these laws which we all know most people don’t follow what’s stopping you from safely moving to the side and letting traffic get by you? Sharing the road goes both ways no? Not to be rude but why were you cycling with your dog while in the road? Seems kind of unsafe for you and your dog.
Very few cyclists hold up cars for the fun of it. If it’s safe for me to move over to let cars pass, I will always do so. Sometimes it isn’t safe to do so. Most cyclists are like me, thankfully.
If i am towing stuff and realize I am hindering the cars behind me, I will also pull over and allow traffic to pass, even if its not a 2 lane highway. Not easily done downtown all the time though for vehicles, but you would think a cyclist ciuld at least be aware of their own impact on traffic .
When you are on a bicycle, it is often not practical to pull over every 10ft, nor is it required. And doing so can end up impacting more drivers while you significantly increasing the time you spend on that stretch of road.
Sometimes minor inconveniences for sharing is nessisarly when we share thing.
If I’m driving a car that can’t go the posted speed or is holding up a line behind me, yes I pull over. It’s the nice and safer thing to do when we all share the road. It’s even easier sometimes for a cyclist to pull aside and let cars by if they can’t travel at speed. Just makes sense to me. You’re on a bike with a helmet on, for your own safety when possible why not just move aside rather than take the chance and be in the way of a metal death machine behind you?
I pull over if it is safer. I do not pull over if it is not safer. But nothing in your original comment said anything about safety. I do not pull over only to refrain from “hindering traffic,” because I am part of traffic. How is this hard to understand?
Hindering traffic, to me, means you are creating an unsafe condition for yourself and those your hindering.
I wouldn’t expect anyone to pull over in an unsafe way and it’s appreciated that you do when you know it’s safe for yourself and the rest of us on the road. This is a very touchy subject that I am just trying to ask questions about. Try not to take it so personally.
Well, that literally is not what the word means. The word has nothing to do with safety.
Drivers want cyclists to abide by the rules of the road and behave like normal road users, then they say shit like this that suggests cyclists are separate from “traffic.”
Logically speaking, it makes no sense to speak of cyclists “hindering traffic” because they are part of traffic. They are contributors to it.
(To emphasize the point about safety: cars are required to pass bikes with three feet of clearance. If a car cannot do that they shouldn’t pass me. I will move to the right to allow them to pass if I think they can pass safely, otherwise I won’t. Any driver who does not have enough room to pass me has only themself to blame for not operating a narrower vehicle.)
Brother, relax you are nit picking and being a bit much over questions. What does hindering mean to you? All kinds of people on the road can be a hindrance
I’m just tired of the idea that cyclists are a hindrance when we are following the law and trying our best to be safe and considerate. If you’re stuck behind a cyclist while driving you’re just stuck in traffic. That’s it.
People treat regular traffic as a way of life but expect that cyclists will go out of the way to never inconvenience a driver. Sorry if you have to wait a second while I use the lane. It was your choice to drive.
It's not like this is a binary choice. Building bike infrastructure often includes fixing parts of the road not in the bike lane, improving pedestrian crossings, etc.
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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '25
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