I’m regularly overtaken adjacent to bollards-saves seconds but is hazardous.

[night cycler]

When I’m cycling, my average speed is apparently about 13mph. Now I’m not a mathematician but surely the time it takes me to pass by a set of bollards in the centre of the road must be just seconds. Yet on just about every cycle ride it seems to happen. Surely I’m not the only one?

I guess the first question is how wide is the road. I’m talking about a standard road width, which is reduced by the bollards, and by me passing them, and cars still squeezing through at least 20mph instead of waiting for me to clear them. This evening a 38 tonne arctic tried to go for it, then had second thought at the last few seconds. Madness.

I remember an advert that used to be on TV for motorcyclists, and the punch line was think bike! The cyclist it seems is insignificant. I remain in cycle lanes where present, but maybe I should ride in the middle of the road on approaching the area near the bollards for my own safety.

 

[snorri]

maybe I should ride in the middle of the road on approaching the area near the bollards for my own safety.

Middle of the lane is the answer, and get out there in plenty of time, no last minute swerves!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

^^^^ this ^^^^ cycle lanes aren't necessarily the best place to be and invariably aren't thought through by cycling minds.

you need to control the space you're in and that often means being a lot further into the lane than cycle paths offer

 

[night cycler]

It will be middle of the lane from now on when going through stretches of road with reduced width. I`ve tried to be as accommodating as possible to other road uses but they just take the p#+$

 

[mjr]

Yes, you need to be AT LEAST to the right of the left hand wheel track of vehicles when approaching a pinch point, probably getting into position 5-10m before the last point a motorist in a car could start to overtake and complete safely. Check over your right shoulder before pulling out. For this and other road survival techniques, get cyclecraft out of the library or buy a copy.

Also, make contact with your local cycling campaign. We've had some of these devils removed from the KLWNBUG area, such as the A1122 just west of Downham Market.

 

[ianrauk]

maybe I should ride in the middle of the road on approaching the area near the bollards

This.

Doing this is for your own convenience and safety.

 

[summerdays]

Yes, you need to be AT LEAST to the right of the left hand wheel track of vehicles when approaching a pinch point, probably getting into position 5-10m before the last point a motorist in a car could start to overtake and complete safely. Check over your right shoulder before pulling out. For this and other road survival techniques, get cyclecraft out of the library or buy a copy.

Also, make contact with your local cycling campaign. We've had some of these devils removed from the KLWNBUG area, such as the A1122 just west of Downham Market.

Problem is, that though they can be a pain for cyclists they do help pedestrians.

Back to the OP, you don't necessarily need to be in the middle... just as long as there definitely isn't enough space to fit a car to your right.

Mr Summerdays is generally a good driver in my eyes and certainly more cautious than me, if there was one point I would criticize then it would be that he occasionally goes through wider pinch points at the same time as cyclists (still got room but I just don't see why he doesn't wait that extra 2 seconds to have more room and I tell him).

 

[mjr]

Problem is, that though they can be a pain for cyclists they do help pedestrians.

As a pedestrian myself, I don't agree. When I've asked, it's rarely even a reason given for their installation: more often they were a flawed attempt at traffic calming, with several pinch points in a short stretch, or sometimes an attempt to appear as a boundary across the road. They're not good for walkers because many are too small to use as crossing refuges and/or don't have dropped kerbs (like https://goo.gl/maps/ToWR2JRHoKq ), they help able-bodied pedestrians who can cross quickly more than others, and even if they're the usual 2m width to be marked as an official crossing refuge, many pedestrians prefer to avoid to crossing halfway and stand essentially unprotected in the middle of the road between two lanes of fast traffic - which is probably wise given that motorists have demolished a bus stop and a house far from the edge of the road!

If a pedestrian crossing is merited (and they often are, much more often than they are provided), it should be a real crossing - a zebra or pelican/puffin - and not that dangerous crap, especially outside urban areas. I live on a 40mph-limit road where the AVERAGE speed is 39.5mph, despite daily peak time queues (which means... ) and would love a proper crossing but would oppose one of those refuges.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, riding further out in the road usually works but I have had some drivers behave even more aggressively to make sure that they got in front and then swerve back in at the very last moment.

The most ridiculous example was when the driver realised that he had left his intended swerve too late and was forced to overtake on the wrong side of the bollards into oncoming traffic! (I had someone else adopt a similar tactic when I was using a pedestrian crossing and he almost ran over my feet!)

 

[summerdays]

As a pedestrian myself, I don't agree. When I've asked, it's rarely even a reason given for their installation: more often they were a flawed attempt at traffic calming, with several pinch points in a short stretch, or sometimes an attempt to appear as a boundary across the road. They're not good for walkers because many are too small to use as crossing refuges and/or don't have dropped kerbs (like https://goo.gl/maps/ToWR2JRHoKq ), they help able-bodied pedestrians who can cross quickly more than others, and even if they're the usual 2m width to be marked as an official crossing refuge, many pedestrians prefer to avoid to crossing halfway and stand essentially unprotected in the middle of the road between two lanes of fast traffic - which is probably wise given that motorists have demolished a bus stop and a house far from the edge of the road!

If a pedestrian crossing is merited (and they often are, much more often than they are provided), it should be a real crossing - a zebra or pelican/puffin - and not that dangerous crap, especially outside urban areas. I live on a 40mph-limit road where the AVERAGE speed is 39.5mph, despite daily peak time queues (which means... ) and would love a proper crossing but would oppose one of those refuges.

I quite often use traffic islands when crossing the road, I like the fact that I cross to the middle, as long as there is the space to wait there (there used to be one on a cycle route where the space wasn't enough for the bike - at traffic lights, but they fixed that one), it's much easier than waiting for it to be clear both ways. I don't want to walk miles out of my way to a traffic light to cross, I'm more likely to take a risk and cross anyway
All of these drop kerbs no raised island etc. I don't like the cycle lane but one of those has since been removed.

 

[summerdays]

Yes, riding further out in the road usually works but I have had some drivers behave even more aggressively to make sure that they got in front and then swerve back in at the very last moment.

The most ridiculous example was when the driver realised that he had left his intended swerve too late and was forced to overtake on the wrong side of the bollards into oncoming traffic! (I had someone else adopt a similar tactic when I was using a pedestrian crossing and he almost ran over my feet!)

I do have a problem at one set that includes overtaking on the wrong side regularly, and it's an area I see lots of different poor driving including no seat beats, kids not strapped in etc
This double set: (currently out of action due to temporary traffic lights)

 

[martint235]

I have sets like that on Shooters Hill. As it's a stretch of road where I can easily be doing 40mph I move over entering the first set and stay maybe a foot inside the dashed line until the end of the sets (there are about 6 stretching maybe half a mile)

 

[glasgowcyclist]

maybe I should ride in the middle of the road on approaching the area near the bollards for my own safety.

You've answered your own question. I always do a shoulder check and throw out a clear arm signal as well, even if I'm only deviating by a metre.

GC

 

[Drago]

Yes, check six then take the lane, move back to primary when the road opens back up. You seem to already know this so I cant understand your angst.

 

[ColinJ]

Council planner #1: Okay, we are going to put a pedestrian refuge on the Burnley Road at Portsmouth [CJ: near Cornholme/Todmorden!] to help parents get their kids across the road to the playground in safety.

Council planner #2: Wait a minute ... cyclists will get in the way of cars in both directions. Drivers would be forced to slow down for a few seconds and wait until they have passed the refuge before being able to overtake!

Council planner #3: Hang on ... how about building a 50 metre cycle path on the playground side of the road to get those damn cyclists out of the way? Cyclists coming the other way could be dumped off the road to the parking area in front of the houses and then re-enter Burnley Road 50 metres further on, beyond the refuge!

Council planners #1 and #2: Eureka - make it so!

Local parents: Er, so parents and children coming out of the playground might be mown down by cyclists on the cycle path, and ditto in the parking area on the other side!

Local cyclists: And we clearly do not have a right to be on the road so we have to f**k off out of the way of impatient motorists, be brought into conflict with parents and children, and then have to fight to get back onto the road again after our 50 metre detours!