Doubling Up On Road

[User169]

Not legal in Belgium, apparently.

 

[freecyclist]

Yes, the group I cycle with tends to double up. It deters motorists trying to squeeze past and also shorten the distance required to pass. We single out when the road requires it.




No

When does the road require you to single out ?

 

[freecyclist]

Not legal in Belgium, apparently.

Sensible.
Cyclists riding single file - seen to be fitting in with other traffic and everybody fitting in with everyone else as best they can.
Not the cycling militancy that prevails on this forum - were cyclists and we'll do what we want and f anyone else.

 

[Dan B]

Isnt it up to motorists to decide if its safe for them to overtake ?

Given that the vehicle ahead (i.e. the cyclist) has a better view of oncoming traffic and very likely a better sense of his own speed, I cannot think of any reason this decision would be better made by the motorist instead. Can you?

 

[User169]

Sensible.
Cyclists riding single file - seen to be fitting in with other traffic and everybody fitting in with everyone else as best they can.
Not the cycling militancy that prevails on this forum - were cyclists and we'll do what we want and f anyone else.

? Not sure I really see that very much at all on this forum.

 

[adscrim]

When does the road require you to single out ?

We single out on narrow/back road to allow other faster traffic through. Where is the inconvenience in cyclists riding two abreast?

 

[Origamist]

No, it means leave the same space between the car and vehicle it is passing

No, it really doesn't. Try looking at the picture that is provided to make this crystal clear to anyone. (I won't show it again as it's already in two posts in this topic.)

The picture is clear in my mind.

Replace the bicycle with a car and the passing car would be far too close to the passed car.

Therefore, the "room", "space" (whatever the HC says, cant be bothered to look it up) must mean space, gap.

I am currently involved in a protracted correspondence with the Driving Standards Agency (an executive agency of the Department for Transport) about this very question. When I have collated all of the information, I will post it up. However, it will take a while...

 

[freecyclist]

Given that the vehicle ahead (i.e. the cyclist) has a better view of oncoming traffic and very likely a better sense of his own speed, I cannot think of any reason this decision would be better made by the motorist instead. Can you?

Yes . The motorist has a better understanding of what his car has the capacity to do than a cyclist in front.

 

[Origamist]

Depending on the size of the group of cyclists and the road/traffic conditions, sometimes it's better to ride two abreast, other times it's better to move into single file.

 

[freecyclist]

We single out on narrow/back road to allow other faster traffic through. Where is the inconvenience in cyclists riding two abreast?

Ok you ride single file on narrow/ back roads to allow faster taffic through. Thats good.
How do you ride on a single carrageway road that dosnt qualify in your understanding as a narrow/back road ?

 

[adscrim]

Yes . The motorist has a better understanding of what his car has the capacity to do than a cyclist in front.

In all instances, the best course of action is to wait until is it safe to pass. If that means sitting behind cyclist riding two abreast then so be it. When you're driving, do you immediately pull over when a car travelling faster than you approaches from the rear?

 

[snorri]

The motorist has a better understanding of what his car has the capacity to do than a cyclist in front.

You have more faith in the "understanding" of the average driver than many cyclists do.

Assertive positioning by the cyclists assists the dithering driver in making a clear decision to overtake or not, to the benefit of all road users .

 

[freecyclist]

In all instances, the best course of action is to wait until is it safe to pass. If that means sitting behind cyclist riding two abreast then so be it. When you're driving, do you immediately pull over when a car travelling faster than you approaches from the rear?

When your driving you let the car behind you overtake you when he decides. You dont take it upon yourself to decide for him by deliberately blocking him.

 

[Dan B]

Yes . The motorist has a better understanding of what his car has the capacity to do than a cyclist in front.

They go along roads and around corners and are probably capable of speeds in excess of any legal limit in the UK. Some of the less capable models have "indicator" lights at each corner which are used to signal the drivers intentions to other road users. They go better on tarmac than on ice or grass. They don't go up kerbs or over bollards very easily.


Unless you're driving a car with a magic teleport button or a local gravitational field manipulator, it is unlikely that it has much capacity to do anything in any way relevant to overtaking safely that I as a cyclist don't have a pretty good working understanding of already. But it's a nice thought

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Replace the bicycle with a car and the passing car would be far too close to the passed car.

Yes, it is a bit close, but I've seen many a driver passing this close to a cyclist, let alone another car. OK, it's not quite as much room as they would (or rather should) give a car, but it's near enough.

On the other hand, if the driver passed a car with the same amount of clearance as the one in the picture is giving the cyclist, they would be at least half on the grass verge and may well have collided with the lamp post. Now that is patently absurd.