Ignorant or Acceptable?

[Eden]

but back to the original question; yes, I think it's rude. The law says you can do it, but common courtesy during heavy traffic would suggest that they go single file.

Hang on now..... I have to disagree a bit here... we don't know all the details.

If traffic was heavy were the cyclists going as fast/nearly as fast as the cars? How many lanes is the street? Could traffic pass easily by simply moving over into the next lane? Were the cyclists really together - many people assume just because there are two that they are together, but he could have just been passing her. Is the bike lane a safe one? Would the second cyclist possibly/probably not have chosen it even if he had not had a companion?

I don't think it was necessarily rude at all..... it could have been that the cyclist not in the bike lane may have chosen that position regardless of whether or not he had a companion for the ride. If he was solo and still chose to not use the bike lane, would you condemn him?

From what I can see, he was riding in a way that is perfectly legal (well, up until he ran the red at least), rather than say he shouldn't do that because motorists might get upset, why not say educate motorists so that cyclists can do things that are legal without being harassed?

[pll]

@Eden: The original poster mentioned "rush hour, with lots of traffic around, on a one way street." In that situation, unless the bike path is full of debris or cracks, I agree that it is rude, just as I would also think it is rude for cars to park or otherwise stop on the bike lane.

[skhill]

My .02$: it's never OK to run a red light. And when I go on red when there's a defective sensor, I'm not running the light; whether you're travelling by car or bike, when you encounter a defective light, you're supposed to treat it as a stop sign, stopping then proceeding when it's safe to do so.

I agree, if the bike lane was usable, it would have been better for the rider to use it, except to pass. But at least around here, a lot of bike lanes aren't usable. Sometimes they keep you in the door zone of parked cars, sometimes there's gravel and broken glass and other trash. Sometimes there are cars (and one notorious porta-potty) illegally parked there.

[Brina]

I don't think it was necessarily rude at all..... it could have been that the cyclist not in the bike lane may have chosen that position regardless of whether or not he had a companion for the ride. If he was solo and still chose to not use the bike lane, would you condemn him?

Yes, I would condemn him. The town south of me did a massive road reconstruction about 2 years ago. They dug down to gravel, re-leveled, did all the sewers, etc and then built the road back up. They put in a bike lane in each direction. The road is two lanes, one north, one south and two bike lanes. This is a beautiful, new asphalt road. The bike lanes are kept free of debris. Most of us use the bike lanes. And then there are the assholes who choose to ride in the lane. You cannot pass them without pulling across the dividing line and depending on time of day this cannot always be done. Close to the speed of traffic is not the same as the speed of traffic, so often you will see a big back up of cars behind the guy who just sees himself as too good for the bike lane - yeah, it is almost always a guy. This is not just a situation where a cyclist pulled into the car lane to pass, these are guys who just ride in the car lane. To me, this is a case of being an ******* and making it harder on your fellow cyclists.

[Eden]

Hm - I choose to not use bike lanes often, and always for good reasons, whether or not from your car you can tell why. It's nice to know that I'm being judged in that manner.....

@pll - the fact that it was rush hour and a one way street, around here (and the OP and I are both in Seattle) doesn't mean that the street is not a)more than one lane or b) full to capacity. If it was full to capacity, traffic wasn't likely to be moving any faster than the bikes were going.... Our bike lanes also tend to be pretty awful. 90% of them are dangerously narrow and close to parked cars. (and note the OP mentioned the bike lane was not wide enough for 2 cyclists.... if it was next to parked cars, that indicates to me that it is probably not wide enough for one who doesn't want to be doored) We also are not required to use them just because they are there. IMHO it is no more rude to legally use a lane on a bike and potentially hold up a motorist for a few seconds than it is rude to stop to make a left hand turn and potentially hold up a motorist for a few seconds... City streets are not highways - there is traffic of all types on them and if you are using them, you need to not expect to never have to slow down...

[Biciclista]

well, Eden, your points are all good and since neither of us were there, I guess we can only imagine.

[Eden]

well, Eden, your points are all good and since neither of us were there, I guess we can only imagine.

Exactly - from the described circumstances we can only say until the red light, he wasn't breaking any laws here in WA. I think people are too quick to judge without knowing any of the why's. There are places that I will never use a bike lane even it it is provided and cared for -for example steep/long down hill - I just will not limit myself to 3 or 4 feet of pavement for a 35mph descent. I want the whole lane when negotiating a corner at that kind of speed.

[Kathi]

From Colorado Department of Transportation.

"When to take a lane
A bicyclist may take the travel lane where traffic is slow
and the lane is narrow, there is no shoulder or bike lane,
when approaching an intersection, or if you are moving
at the same speed as the flow of traffic. Moving to the
center of the lane establishes your position and prevents
motorists from passing until there’s enough room."

Also, bicyclists may ride 2 abreast only if they are not impeding traffic.

I do habitually run a red light but it is during the low traffic time of day, rarely does a car show up to trip the light so I stop, make sure there is no traffic then proceed thru the light to the bike lane.