How many cars....

[Amanda P]

OK, I'll be the first to admit that, when approaching an obviously red light that ain't going to change any time soon, a car squeezes past at the last minute and takes position in front of me, THEN I'll filter and wait in the ASL in front it.

Childish, maybe, but there it is. I can, so I do.

 

[summerdays]

OK, I'll be the first to admit that, when approaching an obviously red light that ain't going to change any time soon, a car squeezes past at the last minute and takes position in front of me, THEN I'll filter and wait in the ASL in front it.

Childish, maybe, but there it is. I can, so I do.

Well I was going to say much the same - that if a car accelerates just to get past me to get to the light first I will then overtake it and put myself in the ASL - though preferably with another car between me and them. Today I waited behind one car - but I was in skirt mode and feeling more pootly that normal, I don't have a problem waiting in line in primary position, but its normally to my advantage to get to the ASL due to the fact I can accelerate quicker across the junction. But I won't bother filtering if I'm not sure how long the lights have been red.

 

[hackbike 666]

Don't really know...It depends on the situation so it varies immensely.I don't really make a point of trying to get to the front now.

Im no BentMikey that's for sure.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

It really depends..

Sometimes the probability is that 1 in 3 cars will be turning right and as most drivers seem not to indicate at lights until the light turns to green, then on that junction I'll filter past 3

Sometimes the road is always busy 400-800 yards ahead and narrower than at the ASL so in that case I will filter past 1 or 2 as it makes it easier

Sometimes it won't so I may leave 4 or 5 cars

I don't apply inflexible "rules" (other than the obvious red lights/pavements/law)

 

[Cubist]

I've had a good think abut this one, as there are two considerations at play. Yes, I want to be first in the queue, but as my commute is all downhill except for one roundabout, then I will filter, or outright overtake wherever possible.

The chances of holding up a car driver for me isn't an issue (except when I shed a chain the other morning but that's a different matter!) On one roundabout the cycle lane splits the approach, so that you have a lane for traffic turning left, a cycle lane, and a lane for straight on/turning right. I'll therefore get to every set of traffic lights, every junction and two out of three roundabouts generally faster than the cars anyway.

On the last set of lights onto the ringroad I'll pretend there's an ASL and go to the head of the queue. I always make sure I get away as quickly as I can, and we turn right onto two lanes anyway, so I'm not holding anyone up.

 

[BentMikey]

Don't really know...It depends on the situation so it varies immensely.I don't really make a point of trying to get to the front now.

Im no BentMikey that's for sure.

I nearly had one of your bus moments on Saturday, btw. I didn't let myself quite as far into the hole, but it was quite similar otherwise. I was in the offside lane passing two buses at a stop, and went to filter past the queue of cars in the offside lane, except the last one nipped left without looking or indicating. I'd like to think I'd have anticipated that anyway, but your vid certainly brought it to the front of my mind at the time. Thanks!

 

[D-Rider]

I generally don't bother to filter if it's just one or two cars but as others have said, it really depends on the situation.

I'm with HLaB if I get a bad overtake in the lead up to the lights I will try to filter past the offender just out of badness. Likewise if someone is sitting in the ASL I like to filter in front of them just to make a point.

I won't filter at all if the gap is too narrow / conditions are dodgy.

One set of lights on my commute I always filter to the front even if there's only one car there because I need to be in the right hand lane shortly afterwards and it's the easiest way to get there (I actually hope to catch these lights at red every morning). Another set has a very short time on green so if you sit even two cars back you're unlikely to get through.

 

[Matthames]

There are not many ASLs around my neck of the woods and certainly not any on my commute.

Having said that there are times I have to get across town from where I volunteer to the town centre. There is one part that has an ASL that I would use all the time, no matter how many cars are waiting at the lights. The main reason is that immediately after turning left at the junction I turn right. Pretty much following the path of the red car in the street views bellow

Heading towards junction
Junction on the green

Getting into the ASL gives me a safety net as I am able to be in the right position to negotiate that particular junction.

 

[1987Witherspoon]

One set of lights on my commute I always filter to the front even if there's only one car there because I need to be in the right hand lane shortly afterwards and it's the easiest way to get there

Ditto for me.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Imagine the scene.
You are approaching some lights and there some cars sat at the lights. You know it will be about 1 minute before the lights change. There is an ASL at the front which you could filter into (safely). There are x cars between you and the ASL. What is the minimum number of cars there would have to be before you filter to the ASL?

Depends on the ASL.

I only really come across 2 day-to-day.
One I will filter at around 2-3 or more cars.
The other I will not filter at all because it is crazy... didn't stop a motorbike trying to filter up the middle though when I was just starting to move off, budging me out of the way, peanut. Told him to **** off too, sadly not having wide angle you don't get to see the retard half an inch from me.

 

[400bhp]

There isn't a b&w answer.

It completely depends. I'll do whatever I feel is safe and will give me the best progression.

Generally I will filter. I prefer being in front of a line of traffic than sat somwehere in the middle. More control & more visible.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

It depends....

If I will not get the light green without filtering, I will filter, be it one car or twenty.
If I'm turning right, I will filter.
If there's a cycle lane on the left anyway, I will filter.

Otherwise, I generally stick it out wherever I am, with the exception that if someone has pointlessly overtaken and/or is sitting in the ASL (and is not a bicycle) I will probably overtake, and if there are a lot of busses or other large vehicles around where I'd rather be in front (and visible) than not (this is very junction dependent before anyone comments) I'll filter.

Most of my commute has a cycle lane on the left so generally I do filter up the inside (using the cycle lane). At one point I turn right and there is a school to my left, so there I filter up the right (too many doors opening on the left) and get to the ASL to turn right.

 

[jimboalee]

I must be one of the luckiest towrags around.

In the morning at five o'clock, I can count the cars on one hand.

In the afternoon, I ride through Warwick just as the schools are turning out and the traffic is at 15mph tops.

I don't intentionally count cars at junctions. If there is a safe opportunity to go past a queue ( "Filtering" is the wrong word here. Filtering is joining a moving stream of traffic in ANOTHER lane. A cyclist usually LEAVES a fast moving lane to 'Filter' into a slower moving lane ), I'll take it.

I regularly 'Filtered' out of the fast moving lane over Lancaster Circus in Brum, so I wasn't heading onto the A38(M) Aston Expressway.

I regularly 'pass slower traffic' every day, either on the offside or nearside.

So add another option to your list.... "Don't care".

 

[on the road]

If I know the lights are going to change within a minute then I wont bother filtering, but on the other hand, if the lights only stay on green for a few seconds then I will get as near to the front as I can get.

 

[DrSquirrel]

Being behind also gives you chance to draft them...