jimboalee said:
There are two types of sportsmen. Those with natural talent and those who need a book to tell them how to do it.
The same applies to cycling in traffic. There are those who recognise danger and ride in a position well away from it, and those who ride ‘to the book’ but take so much time deciding if they really are ‘to the book’, they end up being a nuisance.
So you are saying that no matter what the reason, it is wrong for a cyclist to hold up traffic, even if he/she is doing it for their own safety?
You make great assumptions and generalisations, fwiw, my defensive riding style came from years on motorbikes and that was nearly fifteen years before I came to read cyclecraft. The book confirmed that I was doing the best for my own safety. Be seen, make eye contact, signal clearly and pull over when it is safe to do so.
If drivers actually drove in the knowledge of how a cyclist is allowed to use the road none of this need be a problem.
A yoof on a BSO riding up the middle of the road, no hands and talking on a mobile is a problem, yes.
An experienced cyclist taking the road for mere seconds to ensure their own safety is not.
Any driver who bullies a cyclist off the line at an ASL needs re-educating(maybe not by the cyclist in question)and not the cyclist who needs to get out of the way.
We've not even touched on the subject of priority.