I also take a "dominant position" while driving by staying as far to the right against the curb as I can when stopped at a light intending to turn right, to discourage this very dangerous and potentially lethal behaviour. If I need to turn right when a cyclist decides to fly by me on the right, they'd be crushed. They can wait their turn like everybody else.
(07-09-2015, 12:48 PM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]I also take a "dominant position" while driving by staying as far to the right against the curb as I can when stopped at a light intending to turn right, to discourage this very dangerous and potentially lethal behaviour. If I need to turn right when a cyclist decides to fly by me on the right, they'd be crushed. They can wait their turn like everybody else.
I have done this myself in cases where I'm concerned that the cyclist might not realize that I'm planning to turn right. Otherwise, including when I'm the one on the bicycle, I've never seen any danger in moving up on the right, apart from the risk that the passenger door might fly open in front of me (it happened to me once - quite unpleasant).
(07-09-2015, 12:48 PM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]I also take a "dominant position" while driving by staying as far to the right against the curb as I can when stopped at a light intending to turn right, to discourage this very dangerous and potentially lethal behaviour. If I need to turn right when a cyclist decides to fly by me on the right, they'd be crushed. They can wait their turn like everybody else.
Failure to do this seemingly-dominant thing is apparently
grounds to fail your driver's licensing exam in Japan.
It's a shame most cyclists seem to ignore the danger of the right hook. I'm often hanging behind cyclists when I drive and intend to make a right turn and they give me the finger or something like I'm tailgating them. I'm just waiting for the cyclist to clear the intersection before I make my turn
A driver should only make a right turn when the path is clear and thus it's the driver's responsibility not to crush cyclists. The cyclist can only legally pass on the right if the way to do so is clear so it's the cyclists responsibility to ensure the path is clear and not get in the way of the driver making the turn. I believe most intersections don't really have room for cyclists to safely pass on the right and it's not something I generally do. The HTA doesn't really have a clearcut answer on this from my quick reading of it.
As long as we're consistent, I would say. If I'm in a single lane that's wide enough, and I'm going straight/turning left, with people who want to turn right/go straight, I pull to the left side of the lane on the principle of not holding up traffic unnecessarily.
I leave space on the right when driving, for bicycles to similarly save space. If there are five cars and five bicycles all wanting to go straight, and enough time for five to get through the light, either we all travel single file due to right side proximity, or we all get to make it through on the same light by sharing the road. Lexington going East at Davenport is a spot where I've cycled by the curb, and had a line of traffic with stopped motorists pulling into the curb from a stop, just to try and stop me, even without a road on the right to turn into.
The obvious spot for caution is that hook, and it is incumbent upon the cyclist to not go straight when seeing a driver signaling from the front of the turning queue, but also on the driver to not hit anyone, either. A driver has to look back as is, to make sure no one is about to step into a crosswalk from the near side, and it is a great time to check for cyclists as well.
(07-10-2015, 10:49 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: [ -> ]The obvious spot for caution is that hook, and it is incumbent upon the cyclist to not go straight when seeing a driver signaling from the front of the turning queue, but also on the driver to not hit anyone, either. A driver has to look back as is, to make sure no one is about to step into a crosswalk from the near side, and it is a great time to check for cyclists as well.
So few drivers signal turns, especially right turns. Even fewer look behind and to the right before turning.
Are you willing to bet your life that you can identify those morons and read their minds?
(If so, how did you manage to reach adulthood?
)
A friend bumped a cyclist after he had taken the dominant position all the way to the right, even half turned. The cyclist insisted on going straight through, under some god given right to overtake on the right, while sitting on the blind spot of the car.
(07-10-2015, 10:57 AM)ookpik Wrote: [ -> ]So few drivers signal turns, especially right turns. Even fewer look behind and to the right before turning.
Are you willing to bet your life that you can identify those morons and read their minds?
I would hesitate to say that it's getting worse, but certainly failing to signal turns is extremely common, and you're right that right turns are even less frequently signalled. It's a frequent issue for me when on foot, and on bicycle you there is the added risk in speed (you are harder to notice by someone who is not looking, and longer to stop). It's very common for motorists to take right turns very quickly without signalling, while watching to their left for oncoming traffic rather than to the right and behind for people biking and walking. It's worst when a turning radius is such that they barely have to slow down.
BuildingScout, you mean to say that your friend hit someone with his car. Even a "bump" can be pretty serious for someone whom that might cause to fall off a bike. All the more reason that cyclist shouldn't be behaving that way.
More likely the cyclist hit the car, in the described scenario.
As someone who doesn't drive and thus spends a lot of time walking, I am absolutely opposed to cyclists being on the sidewalk.
In the case of little kids, sure. I have no problem with that. And I do understand why some cyclists prefer to ride the sidewalks rather than the busy streets. But I can't begin to count the number of times I've been passed by a cyclist coming from behind or towards me and they refuse to deviate off the sidewalk as they pass me (and other pedestrians).
Aside from small children, if you want to bike, get on the road. If the roads are too challenging or scary to bike on (which I can understand they are in some places), then walk.
(07-10-2015, 01:30 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: [ -> ]If the roads are too challenging or scary to bike on (which I can understand they are in some places), then walk.
This kind of "not my problem" is especially unhelpful, IMHO. For I think a fair portion of the less confident cyclists out there on the sidewalks, biking is how they can afford to reach employment opportunities. That doesn't excuse poor behaviour when sharing space, but I think understanding why people behave as they do is crucial to fixing issues like these.
That's all fine and good, but it often is the case that I find people (adults/teens) biking on sidewalks along streets that aren't terribly busy. Case in point, Lincoln Rd. Hardly a main artery teeming with traffic. Nevertheless, I frequently see people biking down the sidewalks. Often times they are young people (early teens) who seem to want to flout the helmet law.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for cyclists and agree with the idea that there should be much better infrastructure to accommodate cyclists.
But I don't think it's fair to make pedestrians have to go off the sidewalk because a cyclist doesn't want to use the road, for whatever reason. As I see it, sidewalks are primarily for those on foot, or those using mobility aides. If you feel that sidewalks should also be a space for cyclists, then we better start making sidewalks wider.
I would also add that I believe there is a law about biking on sidewalks based upon wheel size. I think that is adequate but should be enforced.
Out by Homer-Watson and Ottawa there's no way I'd ever bike there... neither on the road nor sidewalk. I know they're building 2 massive roundabouts there, but does anyone know if there are plans for either protected bike lanes or a multi-use trail in this area?
(07-08-2015, 06:13 AM)rangersfan Wrote: [ -> ]Take an example like Queen st from the Iron Horse Trail heading towards Highland, you have a bike lane until it abruptly ends now you have a single lane rd, that grows to 1 left lane, 1 straight, 1 right at the intersection. If the cyclist continues the path they were on when the bike lane ends, they are now technically creeping up. It is the same for roads that don't bike lanes.
That white lane painted literally right next to the curb that is called a "bike lane" on Queen between Courtland and Highland is pathetic. I take the full lane down that entire stretch; too many cars try to pass cyclists even when there are boulevard's/pedestrian islands/oncoming cars narrowing the road width. To me, the sharrows on Queen, between Joseph and Courtland, and these bike lanes should be switched.
I believe the proliferation of stop signs and traffic signals and the removal of yield signs is one of the reasons people are having trouble grasping the roundabout concept; they have no practice being present and using their own judgement and are just on autopilot
(07-10-2015, 05:52 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: [ -> ]That's all fine and good, but it often is the case that I find people (adults/teens) biking on sidewalks along streets that aren't terribly busy. Case in point, Lincoln Rd. Hardly a main artery teeming with traffic. Nevertheless, I frequently see people biking down the sidewalks.
Lincoln Road is wide and fast, and has buses travelling on it. It doesn't matter that it's not busy with cars - having a car or truck or bus fly by you at 60 km/h is scary enough to push many people to the sidewalk.
(07-10-2015, 05:52 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: [ -> ]But I don't think it's fair to make pedestrians have to go off the sidewalk because a cyclist doesn't want to use the road, for whatever reason. As I see it, sidewalks are primarily for those on foot, or those using mobility aides. If you feel that sidewalks should also be a space for cyclists, then we better start making sidewalks wider.
The current situation is neither fair for people on bikes nor for people on foot, and we desperately need infrastructure as good for biking as sidewalks are for walking or roads for driving.
(07-10-2015, 10:56 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: [ -> ]That white lane painted literally right next to the curb that is called a "bike lane" on Queen between Courtland and Highland is pathetic. I take the full lane down that entire stretch; too many cars try to pass cyclists even when there are boulevard's/pedestrian islands/oncoming cars narrowing the road width.
It isn't a bike lane - I believe it's a misguided attempt at traffic calming by making the car lane appear more narrow. But it's terrible precisely because it gets mistaken for a bike lane.