Is my road positioning safe please?

[HJ]

As you approach the road showing a right start repeatedly looking over your shoulder, this should give the driver a wee bit extra warning that you are about to signal. Then as to pass the road sign give a clear signal to the right and move over to the centre line as soon as you can. That way the drivers can be no doubt about your intentions, if they sound the horn just ignore them, they are in the wrong not you.

Another thing you could try is putting a Give Cyclists Room sticker across the back of your jacket, just to remind them of their responsibilities.

Oh and as one else has said it so far, check out cyclecraft.

 

[Arch]

Hi Charlotte. I can quite understand your dilemma - in the heat of the moment with a stream of cars behind you (like in that clip), you can find yourself running out of room to move over, no matter how early you try to start moving. And it does take confidence to treat yourself like traffic when you're new to it.

I think everything's been said really, and I'd second Hairy Jock's suggestion of looking behind frequently before the turn. In fact, do it all the time - even just a very quick turn of the head gives you a good peripheral vision glimpse of what's behind, and gives a following driver the idea that you've made eye contact - I think this makes them see you more as a person, than a thing. I don't have any proof of that, it's just an idea, but worth a try. In town, I glance back (well, it's more a glance right, but it gives me a peripheral view) almost as often as I'd look in my rear view mirror when driving - every half minute or less.

And yes, get Cyclecraft if you haven't already!

 

[Tetedelacourse]

I don't see anything wrong with pulling over to the side of the road and waiting until it's clear to cross. If you're happy with that and if it would cause you more anxiety to do as others have (rightly) suggested, then stick to what's right for you. The main thing is that you feel confident and aware on your bike in traffic and if that means pulling over for you then so be it.

 

[HLaB]

I don't see anything wrong with pulling over to the side of the road and waiting until it's clear to cross. If you're happy with that and if it would cause you more anxiety to do as others have (rightly) suggested, then stick to what's right for you. The main thing is that you feel confident and aware on your bike in traffic and if that means pulling over for you then so be it.

I face a right turn across several lanes, uphill, shortly after a previous junction and I prefer to filter accross but sometimes it isn't possible to do it safely then I pull off to the left and wait for a gap.

 

[Arch]

I don't see anything wrong with pulling over to the side of the road and waiting until it's clear to cross. If you're happy with that and if it would cause you more anxiety to do as others have (rightly) suggested, then stick to what's right for you. The main thing is that you feel confident and aware on your bike in traffic and if that means pulling over for you then so be it.

I was going to say that, and then thought people might shout me down over it... I'd use it as a last resort if I'd found myself with no gap to pull out into - like in the clip, where it seems there was a steady flow of a few cars behind Charlotte just before the turn.

It would depend to some extent on how well you could see oncoming traffic from the verge - in some cases a bend or hedge might make it very difficult to see enough to cross safely...

 

[squeaker]

Agree with what others have said about positioning etc. for the right turn. (BTW, since riding a recumbent - where using a mirror is really a requirement - I have come to realise how much they can help in traffic on an upright bike - maybe you should try one?) Also interesting that the motorcycle was the only one to indicate when it overtook you, and that the last 2 cars clearly ignored Highway Code Rule 143 regarding overtaking on the approach to a junction - a vehicle could easily have done a left turn from the one that you were going to turn right at. But then all cars have 180degree forward facing radar these days, don't they? (Well the ones that regularly overtake me on blind bends must do.....)

 

[BentMikey]

I've sometimes pulled in left and waited to turn right, when I've run out of road and not been able to negotiate out to the right.

 

[goo_mason]

I've sometimes pulled in left and waited to turn right, when I've run out of road and not been able to negotiate out to the right.

Me too. There's having confidence in pulling to the right with a stream of high-speed traffic behind you, and there's attempting suicide... No matter how early you begin to signal your intentions sometimes, there's just never a safe moment and it can be better to pull in and wait than risk getting yourself into mortal danger !!

 

[Charlotte_C+ :-)]

Thank you so much again for all your wise advice

i really appreciate it!

yep ive got a mirror, & find it very useful. but i now understand that i must also frequently look behind!. so where could i get hold of those "Polite Cyclist" vests from plz?. as would i be able to have one in size small-extra small?. as like you say, at least all this cycling keeps me fit & healthy!. unlike that presumably fat driver!

also prob silly question but, what size Give Cyclists Room sticker should i wear then?

Thanks again for all the encouragement!, as i now feel a lot better knowing that i do have the right to be on the road, & shouldn't be bullied by lazy, impatient, ignorant drivers!

 

[Arch]

I have a 'Polite' hi-vis vest, which I got from Padbeat, of the C+ forum. I think he may be away on duty at the moment, he hasn't surfaced here yet... maybe worth pinging him on BikeRadar? He had a limited number made up, so I don't know if there will be any left.

You might find that you can just get a plain one and have a local tee-shirt printing company put whatever you want on the back...

I have seen equestrian vests with "Please pass wide and slow" on the back. Mine would need a comma: "Please pass, wide and slow!"

 

[Tetedelacourse]

I have a 'Polite' hi-vis vest, which I got from Padbeat, of the C+ forum. I think he may be away on duty at the moment, he hasn't surfaced here yet... maybe worth pinging him on BikeRadar? He had a limited number made up, so I don't know if there will be any left.

You might find that you can just get a plain one and have a local tee-shirt printing company put whatever you want on the back...

I have seen equestrian vests with "Please pass wide and slow" on the back. Mine would need a comma: "Please pass, wide and slow!":wink:

I would need to replace the "a" in pass with an "i".

 

[Tynan]

what the others have said natch but I try to plan routes that avoid right hand turns if possible, they're not only fiddly but time consuming, get on the big roads and stay there as they have better layouts, when you're going slowish is when you're most vulnerable imho

 

[HJ]

also prob silly question but, what size Give Cyclists Room sticker should i wear then?

I would say the smaller one , far be it from me to suggest that your back end is as wide as a bus...

 

[Arch]

what the others have said natch but I try to plan routes that avoid right hand turns if possible, they're not only fiddly but time consuming, get on the big roads and stay there as they have better layouts, when you're going slowish is when you're most vulnerable imho

That must mean you either do some pretty big detours, or you only ever visit half your county...

Big roads have better layouts? Maybe if you intend to get off at junctions and walk on the pavement anyway, but given a choice of the back roads to Selby or the A19, I think I know which I'd choose, no matter how many right hand turns there were...

 

[Joe24]

There are some people in cars that will only turn left, and they plan everything around turning left.
At the top of my road when its rush hour its better to go left sometimes and turn right into a car park and rejoin the traffic.

There someone that rides a horse near me with ' Drivers beware, stroppy mare' wrote on her back.