Road ID Safety Commercial - Disagree

[Deborajen]

Road ID has been running a commercial during TDF coverage that has safety tips for riding in traffic. Most of it is pretty good, but there is one point that I strongly disagree with.

They show a group of riders coming up on a line of traffic that's stopped at a red light, and they say the riders should pass the stopped cars on the right and position themselves at the front. I think this is specifically against the law, at least in Kansas, and as a driver it perturbs me when cyclists do this because 1. I have to pass the slow moving traffic again, and 2. I can't always see the bike coming up beside me.

Did I miss something in the commercial, or are laws different in other parts of the country?

[zoom-zoom]

I thought this was a no-no, too.

[TsPoet]

Haven't seen that one. We all run in to watch the Bobke Road ID adds, love them.
So, without seeing it - what about cars turning right? I often don't do this as I'm afraid of the right hook. I'd stay just behind the rear bumper of the last car in line.
With a big bike lane and really good visibility, I'd move on up, though.

I believe this is the one you are talking about. I've never seen or heard of this 'bike box' thing, either

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh542...feature=relmfu

[Velocivixen]

We have bike boxes in Portland at dangerous intersections. Very handy.

[PamNY]

We have bike boxes at a few intersections in NYC. I don't think I've ever seen an auto driver respect them. They are useful only if the bike gets there first.

What the video describes is common (at least in Manhattan and Brooklyn) and I think legal in New York.

[Crankin]

I am not sure if it's legal here, but most cyclists do it.
If it's a dicey situation, lots of traffic, hardly any space and chance of a right hook, I take the lane. On roads around here that I am familiar with and there's lots of cyclists who do this, I will ride alongside the cars.
My DH does this in situations that are dangerous, in my opinion. He has good handling skills (excellent, really), but I don't like it. He doesn't do it when he's with me, though.

[Oneriver]

Like some of the responses, I take the lane of the direction I am going. But I would not pass stopped cars to take the front of the lane. Taking the lane instead of hovering to the right no matter what direction you are going does not allow then drivers to know your intentions.

[Ritamarie]

I agree, I just act like a car, and get in whatever lane is right for the direction I am traveling, behind the cars in that lane.

There are several roads near me where there is an on-off ramp to an interstate (I'm not on the interstate but on a road where there is an entrance ramp TO the interstate). Again, if I am able, I take the lane with the traffic going straight if it's not a high speed road. If not, I do what the cyclist in the video did and that's to watch for traffic behind... ride very defensively in this situation.

[Deborajen]

Here's a link on laws for using the Interstate:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm#question15

In Kansas, bicycles are prohibited from using the Interstate. However, there are still some four-lane divided highways, U.S. highways and State highways, where bicyclists can ride. There is also a major interchange in my hometown that involves an Interstate, a Kansas highway, and a major city street which we've biked through (on the city street - which gets the least and the slowest traffic). Going through (and not using the off ramps) is scary, especially when the car traffic behind us doesn't signal, but the drivers don't usually seem to know what to expect from the bikes, either. We usually either stop on the shoulder (giving the stop signal) well back from the off ramp, or if there is a break in traffic we look over our shoulders, give a left signal, and move into the right through lane. If we're lucky, there is little or no traffic behind us and fortunately, that is often the case there. Besides the area with that interchange, I avoid that kind of riding.

[colorisnt]

The only one that I can think of is on the Missouri/Illinois border where there is no alternative and cyclists have to cross the grate with no shoulder. There is a sign when you cross into Illinois that the need to exit at the next exit.

[lph]

This may be neither here nor there, but where I bike there are the occasional bike lanes, but they are not marked through intersections. Instead they fade out before the intersection (yeah, brilliant, I know...) In that situation I will fairly often move to the front of the line, passing stopped cars on the right (NOT moving cars, which is a whole other ball game), position myself visibly in front, and then "sprint my tail off" as mentioned when the light changes. That way I'm seen, and safely across and in the bike lane before car traffic catches up to me.