[tuccillo]

Go back reread the posts. Both the police and bike clubs talk about "owning the lane" in situations where doing otherwise will put the cyclist in danger. Why this is such a difficult concept to understand is truly a mystery.

Originally Posted by outlaw

They are more than welcome to drive their cars on the road and "own their lane".

Every vehicle I use on the road helps pay for that road, which is fine since I am using the road. When I ride my bike on the road, that bike isn't contributing to the building or maintenance of the road. It's a "free benefit for me. I always yield to autos. I find being extra courteous to motorists while cycling along the road, moving as far left as SAFELY as possible, usually results in the motorists giving plenty of room as they pass. But by all means, "own that lane" at your peril. And don't forget to step off of the curb into that pedestrian crosswalk without looking to see if that car is going to turn into you. After all, you are in a pedestrian crosswalk and it is up to the motorist to yield to you.

[tuccillo]

I have read the law. Buena Vista is not wide enough for a car and bike in the same lane with 3 feet of clearance. You should move over the left hand lane when passing, just as you would for a slower moving car. Cyclists do not "hog" the road - they are allowed by law to use the roads, just like cars.

Originally Posted by Justus

Read the law!!! This time, don't interpret it to your advantage. Apparently, to cyclists who hog the roads and hold vehicular traffic behind them, Buena Vista and 466 are not "wide enough". If an automobile did that, they'd be ticketed for obstruction of traffic. Again, READ THE LAW!

[tuccillo]

There is no minimum speed limit on Buena Vista. A car can drive well below the speed limit, say 15 mph, legally.

Originally Posted by Justus

Read the law!!! This time, don't interpret it to your advantage. Apparently, to cyclists who hog the roads and hold vehicular traffic behind them, Buena Vista and 466 are not "wide enough". If an automobile did that, they'd be ticketed for obstruction of traffic. Again, READ THE LAW!

[tuccillo]

The concept of "owning the lane" applies to situations where you need to prevent a car from "crowding" you in a lane and putting you in danger. As I previously pointed out, the classic example is a curve on a 2-lane road. Under those situation, cyclists are advised to move into the middle of the lane to eliminate the possibility of being "crowded" by those who don't obey the 3 foot clearance law. When approaching roundabouts, it is also a good idea to move to the middle of the lane.

Most cyclists I know ride within about 3 feet of the curb on roads such as Buena Vista. Hugging the curb is dangerous because of debris near the curb and catch basins. This does not leave sufficient room for a car since the lanes are too narrow. In other words, even though most cyclists are as far right as is practical, the lane still cannot accommodate a car and a bike. The vast majority of drivers apparently have no problem swinging into the left hand lane to pass when it is safe to do so.

Originally Posted by outlaw

They are more than welcome to drive their cars on the road and "own their lane".

Every vehicle I use on the road helps pay for that road, which is fine since I am using the road. When I ride my bike on the road, that bike isn't contributing to the building or maintenance of the road. It's a "free benefit for me. I always yield to autos. I find being extra courteous to motorists while cycling along the road, moving as far left as SAFELY as possible, usually results in the motorists giving plenty of room as they pass. But by all means, "own that lane" at your peril. And don't forget to step off of the curb into that pedestrian crosswalk without looking to see if that car is going to turn into you. After all, you are in a pedestrian crosswalk and it is up to the motorist to yield to you.

[rustyp]

What's needed here is a 3 foot rubber stick mounted to the centerline of the bike sticking out perpendicular to the left. The bike club can keep a tally of how many wack-o-las there are on an on going basis. There is all kinds of interesting data that can be gathered. Wack-o-las per time of day, wack-o-las Vs. how many lanes, wack-o-las Vs. neighborhood, wack-o-las Vs. vehicle type etc. Gather all this info and hand it off to the authorities and sit back and observe how they deal with the wack-o-las.

[outlaw]

How about a compromise; ban all bicycles from BV and Morse Blvds except in the MMP lane. We don't allow bicyclists on interstates for their own safety. The same should apply on these blvds, especially with the roundabouts. There are plenty of country roads around the villages that the bicyclists could ride on.

[tuccillo]

Do you realize that Buena Vista and Morse are county roads and "The Villages" (neither the residential or commercial CDDs, nor the Developer) doesn't have any say in the roads? If you want to spend your time tilting at windmills in Tallahassee, go for it.

Originally Posted by outlaw

How about a compromise; ban all bicycles from BV and Morse Blvds except in the MMP lane. We don't allow bicyclists on interstates for their own safety. The same should apply on these blvds, especially with the roundabouts. There are plenty of country roads around the villages that the bicyclists could ride on.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by outlaw

How about a compromise; ban all bicycles from BV and Morse Blvds except in the MMP lane. We don't allow bicyclists on interstates for their own safety. The same should apply on these blvds, especially with the roundabouts. There are plenty of country roads around the villages that the bicyclists could ride on.

So in other words, kick all the bicycles off of TV roads and relegate them to country roads that are also too narrow to pass within the lane. Make it someone else's problem, and not yours.

You can't rewrite the laws to suit your own purpose. The only thing you can do is work to change them. And I imagine that wouldn't work, as bicycles have been legal on roadways since their beginning.

[TheVillageChicken]

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