Quote:
Originally Posted by Happinow
Since you are talking about riding a bike, we were on Morse yesterday headed towards the intersection of Morse and the intersection of 466A when we came across a pack of bikers (8). They were all riding in the car lane. It frustrated me that all,of,these bikers were not riding on the side of the road, but directly in the middle of the lane as if they were a car. What is the proper lane, if any, that they should be in as not to hold up traffic and not be such a danger on the roadways??
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A couple of observations. As the poster above states, the bicyclists have as much right to the lane as autos. I have seen bikes riding to the right side of the lane and cars pass them in the same lane by not giving them the three foot clearance the law requires. This is very dangerous. So, I can't blame them for riding nearer the center of the lane. When I learned to ride a motorcycle, I was taught to never ride in the center of the lane because that is where a lot of oil from vehicles can accumulate making it potentially slippery. The area where the tires from cars and trucks hit the pavement tends to have less and is safer. I would expect bikes to do the same.
A few days ago, I was behind a group of cyclists turning from 466 to Morse. The last cyclist in the group pulled out and rode near the lane marking on the left. At first I was annoyed, but then realized they probably had experienced cars crowding them in their lane and this was a way to keep cars in the other lane and safely away from the bikes.
So, some of the things you see cyclists doing may be more self-preservation than designed to annoy. That said, cyclists have to remember that if they want the rights to the road, they have to obey the same rules, including stop signs and yield signs. And that a group of cyclists is not a single vehicle.