Cab said:
He isn't a car. Cars cannot filter through traffic like that, it is not safe to do so, it is therefore not allowed.
Bikes can. Its allowed, it is not rude, it is not unreasonable, and it adds nothign to the journey time of other road users, nor does it increase risk for them.
You would find it discourteous? Change your viewpoint then, because it is not supported by law, common sense or utility.
Cab, I was not referring to Magnatom filtering up between the two lines of traffic, but to his cutting in front of the vehicle that later overtook him. I was using the example of being in a car and leaving a car's length in front (for safety) and then having another car come along and cut in front.
In similar circumstances, if I wished to cut in, I'd have made eye contact, simply as a matter of courtesy.
Assumption:
- the driver waits at the lights, leaving a smallish gap in front of him
- filtering (nothing wrong with that) cyclist drops into that gap
- then, when the lights change, sets off more slowly than the driver would have done, tho' he only loses a few seconds
- driver gets annoyed and overtakes far too closely in order to express that annoyance or, alternatively, is simply a plonker with no consideration
One common belief I've seen expressed is that is a dog-eat-dog world and cyclists have to ride accordingly. If that were the case, then traffic wouldn't work at all, but, in reality, the vast majority of road users co-operate with each other. Admittedly, not on every occasion, but sufficiently to enable traffic to flow reasonably smoothly.
While Magnatom has every right to regard that piece of overtaking as appallingly and dangerously close, I am of the opinion that his own riding contributed to the circumstances of that overtaking (assuming that I'm correct in assuming that the driver was expressing his/her irritation - if I'm not, then the overtaking was simply the driver being a plonker, as I've said), even tho' the assumed reaction was wrong.
I've done a few pretty stupid things in my time, because of impulse or lack of concentration, and I've had to thank the alertness and care taken by a driver with various reactions ranging from eyes-to-heaven to fluent anglo-saxon.
I had a fairly similar road set-up on my pre-retirement commute and I usually stayed in the lane-splitting position, unless I could move in without creating the kind of "delay" which the more immature/ill-tempered driver would respond unfavourably to. I behaved like that, not because I believe that I shouldn't ever annoy a driver, but because it made the flow of my ride smoother and safer.
On a very few occasions, I did stick my ground when a driver was being impatient/ignorant/stupid, because I have always believed that we should cycle assertively, but within a broad framework of give-and-take, since courtesy costs nothing.