primary line,etc - explanation please

[Virtual DBP]

apologies if this is an obvious question (and having ridden powerful motorbikes for about 16yrs now i know all about defensive driving and road position where there are junctions etc)

...but i am quite new at cycle-commuting and therefore while i can guess, i'm not sure what people mean when they talk about road position with primary lines and the like.

Could someone who knows about these type of terms give me a quick run down of what they all are and what they mean please?

Cheers,

Cam

 

[palinurus]

The primary position is essentially the centre of the carriageway. Recommended wherever you need to discourage following traffic from overtaking, like at the approach to junctions, width restrictions, when passing left turns etc. I expect you do all this stuff already.

 

[upsidedown]

Hi Cam and welcome.

While not an authority on the subject, my interpretation is this:

Primary position - middle of the lane, cars cannot pass on normal single lane roads, use when passing queueing right turning traffic, other pinch points, move to secondary once clear. Try to anticipate this well in advance to avoid the appearance of swerving erratically.

Secondary position - ride to the left of the road, where a car's left wheels would be, roughly 1 metre from the kerb. This will leave you clear of drain covers and most utility roadwork repairs.

Try not to adopt a weak primary where you are not in one or the other, this leads to confusion and indecision in the driver's mind, and will inevitably lead to an act of vehicular muppetry.

Hope that helps, if you survived riding fast bikes all those years this should be easy.

 

[Virtual DBP]

thanks folks, that is what i do at the minute but just wanted to be clear on terminology so i could understand other posts.

quick question, if you are travelling along a road and there is a side street junction on the left and a car is there wishing to join or cross your lane, would you adopt a position outside of primary if you were going at a decent speed and the road was quiet, i.e. ride where the cars right hand side wheel would be in order to maximise visibility or would you say primary is far enough out?

 

[Tynan]

I sometimes go even wider to give myself a little more room in case they go, they're usually poking into the lane anyway

 

[Origamist]

Hi Cam and welcome.


Secondary position - ride to the left of the road, where a car's left wheels would be, roughly 1 metre from the kerb. This will leave you clear of drain covers and most utility roadwork repairs.

It's prob better to think of the "moving traffic lane" as not all roads have kerbs.

 

[jonredhornet]

quick question, if you are travelling along a road and there is a side street junction on the left and a car is there wishing to join or cross your lane, would you adopt a position outside of primary if you were going at a decent speed and the road was quiet, i.e. ride where the cars right hand side wheel would be in order to maximise visibility or would you say primary is far enough out?

Definitely. I'm a motorcyclist as well, have been riding since 1997. For me on a cycle taking primary position is both about self defence and visibility. In the case you mentioned above, I always check behind me and if there is a car near me at the junction then I will stay in secondary ('backup' car if you like). Most of the time though I will pull into primary for visibility and to give myself some breathing room if somebody goes to pull out.

I always take primary when approaching or entering roundabouts and also when I cycle past pedestrian traffic islands (or try to).

 

[MacB]

I use a primary/primary+ position on couple of stretches where roads join from the left and cars are known to join at speed, with a quick look. so far this has gotten me seen and several cars have slammed on the brakes. But I'm also covering my brakes at the same time.

I'd also advise being aware/cautious when using primary, for some drivers it's red rag to a bull. Be prepared to need to swerve back into secondary, or worse. You can usually tell by engine noise or 6th sense, take any opportunity to let these idoits past and away from you.