Public Service Safety Annc.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I agree that public service announcements about cycling safety are a great idea. But your description of the circumstance brought up a question in my mind - when you say the postal worker refused to pass in the other lane, that kind of implied to me that your group of cyclists was taking up the entire lane. Is this what you meant? I hope it isn't and I hope that I read your entry the wrong way. And I apologize if I am out of line with my comment - I just feel very strongly about riding safely and about sharing the road.

I ride far enough out into the driving lane to be safe, and while a vehicle that wants to pass does need to swing out to pass me, the passing vehicle does not need to totally pull into the next lane.

I live in Massachusetts, and the vehicle code here says (among other things) that

Operators of bicycles shall be subject to the following regulations:

The operator shall ride single file on any way except when passing.

I often see folks out on club rides who are clearly ignoring this. My rides are mainly solo affairs, but on the occasions when I ride with others, we do ride single file. If you're looking for the vehicle code relating to bicycles in your state, here's a good place to start: http://www.massbike.org/bikelaw/statelaws.htm. I think there are two parts to respect on the road - driver's respecting cyclists, and cyclists respecting drivers. We need to co-exist out there!

--- Denise