06-12-2017, 11:01 AM
(06-12-2017, 09:51 AM)Rainrider22 Wrote:(06-12-2017, 07:53 AM)MidTowner Wrote: Should I be riding on the inside or outside of that line? If it's the "edge line" of the lane, shouldn't I be in the lane and not outside of it?
I get what you guys are discussing, but really, Anyone on a bike that wouldn't ride in that false lane is putting themselves at more risk then necessary. Riding a bicycle on roads is always a risk, many drivers don't know the rules of the roads, like many cyclists. FYI, I have been doing law enforcement for over 21 years, I have been involved in my fair share of pedestrian and cyclists deaths investigations. So I have a different perspective on it. In an ideal world every major arterial road would have a bike lane. As along as we have motor vehicles sharing the road with cyclists and pedestrians we will have accidents.
As far as the Debbie Downer comment, sorry. I was trying to insert some humor. Clearly this forum does not respond well to it and I will refrain from it in the future.
Actually in an ideal world every major arterial road would have a segregated cycle path, and that "ideal world" is the Netherlands.
As to the question, you should ride where it is safest. Sometimes that would be safest to ride outside the edge line, sometimes it is not. If there are obstructions (sewer grates, potholes, gravel, car parts, etc.) in that lane riding out of it might be better. If they're making a left turn ahead. If the line ends ahead. If they are moving at the speed of traffic. If the false lane is narrow and there isn't room to safely pass.
Where it is safe to ride depends greatly on context, and it's often something drivers won't even notice--and that's a problem--but it doesn't mean using that lane is necessarily safer. Most drivers aren't actually homicidal, and won't run you over even if they're angry.
I didn't mean to "not respond well to [the comment]", perhaps I take things too seriously. Sometimes humour doesn't come through in text, but generally, I think this is a good place to discuss issues in detail without getting overly defensive, is not my intention to be so.