edited: decided to change the tone of my post....

if you overtake on the right (where drivers dont expect you to be) you risk being lost in there blind spot and them pulling out on you...

also, if youre behind a vehicles numberplate you again risk them not being able to see you, and they slamming the breaks on etc... which could be bloody nasty for you...

You mean to say that motorists dont expect things passing them on their right? Youve spent way too long in america my friend.

Surely distance from the vehicle in front determines the likelyhood of crashing into someone if they slam the brakes on? Not road position. I completely dont follow your logic on that one.

3mtrs away is a complete guesstimate on my part however the distance I ride at is absolutely fine in traffic as it adjusts to suit the speed that im travelling.

If someone cant see me when I am positioned to the left of center of their car, then theyre either a panel/box van, or have no rear view mirror. If thats the case then I ride far enough back so I can see a mirror on their vehicle.

Ive yet to have an accident of my own doing with another vehicle. Ive fallen off cause I was doing something stupid (forgot to put feet down at lights for example), and Ive had an accident caused by an idiot driver who did a hit and run on me (Pulled out of a junction whilst I was riding past on a major road. I ended up on his bonnet, got off of the bonnet, and he sped off).

^^

no, what i mean is, motorists dont expect pedal bikes to pass them on there right....

Im pretty sure most other motorists are like me... if i see a (big) motorbike behind me I keep a close eye on it and expect it to go shooting past me at some point... he might disappear from your mirrors a dozen times, but you know hes there somewhere so you keep looking for him....  but i dont know anyone who watches for a pedal bike like this....

I ride my bike wherer I can, and drive where I cant - when Im in my car Im endangered and inconvinienced a hell of a lot more often by car drivers than I am by cyclists.

If everyone cycled/walked/rode a horse more, and got out of their cars a bit I think the country would be a better place.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7478823.stm

Also, Id like to add this to the discussion.

Cyclists should be forced by law to purchase insurance for road risks.

I had to follow someone 7 miles once to demand repairs to a car when they scraped up the side of it trying to squeeze by (coming off the pavement I might also add)

Ive also been hit by a cyclist before, but granted it wasnt that serious an accident.

Bring back the man with a red flag in front of cars.  3mph only please.

Quote from: knighty^^

no, what i mean is, motorists dont expect pedal bikes to pass them on there right....

Im pretty sure most other motorists are like me... if i see a (big) motorbike behind me I keep a close eye on it and expect it to go shooting past me at some point... he might disappear from your mirrors a dozen times, but you know hes there somewhere so you keep looking for him....  but i dont know anyone who watches for a pedal bike like this....

Lorry drivers dont expect things on their left.

Its a darn sight more dangerous for a cyclist to pass traffic on the left than it is to adhere to the rules of the road and overtake.

Quote from: soopahflyBring back the man with a red flag in front of cars.  3mph only please.

What I find amusing is that according to wikipedia, pre-war cyclists were campaigning to make segregated "motor-only" roads. How times change.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adLorry drivers dont expect things on their left.

Its a darn sight more dangerous for a cyclist to pass traffic on the left than it is to adhere to the rules of the road and overtake.

motorbikes yes, but not pedal bikes !

there should be room on the left for a cyclist to fit through most of the time.... like me, most people will, if they see a cyclist, leave room for them to get through the traffic (and thus, out of the way!)

also... Ive got a class 2 licence - making me a lorry driver.. the lorry driving lessons are pretty intensive, you spend most of your time looking in the morrors... you have to watch your mirrors every time you pass someone, every time someone passes you, every time you pass a T junction, every time you pass a parked car, every time you drive past a pedestrian (even the ones on the pavement) etc. etc. etc... miss an important one of them and you fail youre test on the spot...

but not once, have I ever heard of watching for cyclist passing on the right !

(unless at a junction etc.. where theyre turning right and youre going left of course)

Selective vision is no defence in court.

If you as a class 2 licence holder are trying to persuade me that passing large vehicles on the left is a good idea, I think you need a retest mate.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/death-by-lorry-in-the-spotlight-again-15267

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/experts/mattseaton/story/0,,2039864,00.html



Seems to me going left is universally recognised as bloody dangerous, and that given the last photo Lorries are now even suggesting that going left is dangerous, and to pass on the right.

So as a class 2 holder yourself, which direction would you expect to be passed by cyclists... overhead perhaps? If right is out of the question and the sign on the lorry says left is too... were all going to have to fit wings to our bikes just to get past you.

Quote from: soopahflyBring back the man with a red flag in front of cars.  3mph only please.

At least cars are all insured (Hopefully!) And it was 4mph

Quote from: Mark4mph

Steady now! no need for that sort of speed on the public road.

Quote from: sdpShould pay road tax, say like £15 a year or something and they should have insurance and MOT too and you should need a license to ride one on the roads. k 9/10 cyclists are fine without any of these but then 9/10 people are fine using ladders without falling off and claiming 50k compensation.

I almost started a new topic on this cos I changed my mind.

They should have to pay £1000 road tax, only be allowed on the road between 11pm and 12pm on a friday night. They should be legal game - shotguns and beagles Im talking. And it shouldbe the legal right of any driver to run them over and claim the car-damage money back from the government by way of compensation, plus a reward.

Im sorry, but 9/10 cyclists dont know jack about roads and the highway code or anything, theyre a bunch of dangerous idiots who are too poor and hippified to own cars.

 

Quote from: knighty

Quote from: M3ta7h3adLorry drivers dont expect things on their left.

Its a darn sight more dangerous for a cyclist to pass traffic on the left than it is to adhere to the rules of the road and overtake.

motorbikes yes, but not pedal bikes !

there should be room on the left for a cyclist to fit through most of the time.... like me, most people will, if they see a cyclist, leave room for them to get through the traffic (and thus, out of the way!)

also... Ive got a class 2 licence - making me a lorry driver.. the lorry driving lessons are pretty intensive, you spend most of your time looking in the morrors... you have to watch your mirrors every time you pass someone, every time someone passes you, every time you pass a T junction, every time you pass a parked car, every time you drive past a pedestrian (even the ones on the pavement) etc. etc. etc... miss an important one of them and you fail youre test on the spot...

but not once, have I ever heard of watching for cyclist passing on the right !

(unless at a junction etc.. where theyre turning right and youre going left of course)

This might pain...

Metalhead is right on this, undertaking a vehicle can be dangerous, chances are the driver will not be able to see you easily and on a crossroads it is even worse.

On other traffic overtaking bikes, a vehicle driver should give a bike as much room as a car. Its not just the vehicle itself but the blast of air as it goes past.

And Ive seen cycle lanes with cars parked over them, their nearside wheels on the pavement. Unless the government (police) are willing to do something about this kind of misuse the situation isnt going to be getting any better.