Oncoming cyclist - pass which side

[IBarrett]

Its driving me nuts.
Is there an international rule we are following?

We drive on the left, so we pass on the left surely?
About half of the cyclists I see coming toward me on my 12mile commute want to force themselves down my left hand side, which to me - as a car driver - means we are passing on what I consider to be the wrong side.

I even had someone this morning pull over so she was riding straight at me, so I duly moved over to the right of the cycle path to avoid her only to find her turning onto another cycle path to her left, straight across my path and forcing me to brake or run into her.
The cycling equivalent of that berk of a car driver we all see who swings out to the right before taking a left turn.
My ghast was so flabbered I didn't even mutter a word !

Sorry. Rant over. Feeling better now.

 

[Spinney]

I would have said follow the same rules as driving too!

 

[Drago]

Veer left. In the event of an oncoming vehicle the convention is that everything from speedboats, racing cars and aircraft should veer left, and that is what most peoples brains will try to do. Hence driving on the left making us less likely to have head on smacks than our continental cousins.

However, does oncoming Johnny Spottiebum understand the convention?

 

[Milkfloat]

Rather than rank at us, rant at the perpetrator. It is rare I have to do it and often it is too late, but a 'Keep Left' shout on a cycle path me tends to work for me (unless school kids are involved, in which case it is a lottery).

 

[IBarrett]

Oh blimey Milkfloat, don't even get me started on school kids.
Or gormless clots messing with their phones. I nearly ran one of them over yesterday as he stepped out across a cycle path straight in front of me.

 

[Ian H]

I once had cyclists do this to me on the road. My remonstration was met with cross, worried looks.
I think there is so little public awareness about cycling that a substantial number of folk think 'pedestrian on wheels'.

 

[jefmcg]

Veer left. In the event of an oncoming vehicle the convention is that everything from speedboats, racing cars and aircraft should veer left, and that is what most peoples brains will try to do.

Glad we have you to explain that to us.

Do be a dear and tell the international maritime community, as they have got it into they fluffly little heads to make rule for passing on-coming vessels "port-to-port" (basically keep right).

OP, I'd stick to the left of the path in the UK, NZ, Japan, Australia etc, and use my words to tell them to do the same. If an oncoming bicycle is on my left, I would assume that they are not concentrating and moving right might be just the thing to wake them up and remind them to move left. <CRASH>

 

[mjr]

Its driving me nuts.
Is there an international rule we are following?

We drive on the left, so we pass on the left surely?

Yes, pass on the left. I've written my method a few times before, so I'll just quote a summary this time:

I signal to oncoming cyclists, but it's a subtle unofficial signal that seems to work 95+% of the time: hand open, palm forwards, fingers to the left, on top of the left handlebar.

It's not international - ride on the right in most countries. The only international rule is look behind you, signal before turning or moving out and it's probably your fault if you hit someone from behind so use the flipping brakes and bell.

About half of the cyclists I see coming toward me on my 12mile commute want to force themselves down my left hand side, which to me - as a car driver - means we are passing on what I consider to be the wrong side.

Are you on a two-way roadside cycle track? That is one situation where I know of a rationale for right-side passing which is that if you pass on the right, the cyclist nearest the carriageway is disrupted less by the disturbed air of passing lorries. However, I think it has to be a pretty narrow track for that to outweigh the ride-on-the-left convention - if the track's wider than 2m, just keep to your half rather than trying to skim the kerb.

I even had someone this morning pull over so she was riding straight at me, so I duly moved over to the right of the cycle path to avoid her only to find her turning onto another cycle path to her left, straight across my path and forcing me to brake or run into her.
The cycling equivalent of that berk of a car driver we all see who swings out to the right before taking a left turn.
My ghast was so flabbered I didn't even mutter a word !

At least conservation of momentum by leaning into turns means it makes a bit more sense on a bike than when a car does it! She should still signal - and I would probably do an alarmed ring of the bell (you'd know the one: diiing-ding-ding-diiiing) when she pulled over to my side and prepare to stop suddenly (and probably say a few words if it was that close...). Then if she still hit me, rather than a moving cyclist who might be knocked off, I'd be a six foot lump with both feet flat on the ground and the front handbrake applied on a large dutch bike... and therefore about 98% confident that she'd come off worst from any collision.

 

[mjr]

I once had cyclists do this to me on the road. My remonstration was met with cross, worried looks.
I think there is so little public awareness about cycling that a substantial number of folk think 'pedestrian on wheels'.

Not just "folk" but some flaming developers too. You just reminded me that on leaving some cycle parking today, rather than use my usual exit onto a cycle track, I went the other way onto the retail park road, where the cycle route bypassed a speed hump (good) but left me on the right-hand-side of the road with no chance to get across the stream of cars entering (bad). So I rode out of the retail park on the right and turned left across traffic turning right in. The motorists did seem sufficiently unsettled by someone cycling on the right that they let me get out but I think I'll do three sides of a square rather than use that exit again!

 

[IBarrett]

I'm going to try this one MJR, thank you..
I signal to oncoming cyclists, but it's a subtle unofficial signal that seems to work 95+% of the time: hand open, palm forwards, fingers to the left, on top of the left handlebar.

 

[I like Skol]

I once had cyclists do this to me on the road. My remonstration was met with cross, worried looks.
I think there is so little public awareness about cycling that a substantial number of folk think 'pedestrian on wheels'.

I think this is probably the main issue here. A high proportion of bike users either don't drive or don't equate cycling with driving (mind you, in my experience there is a good proportion of car users that are little more than pedestrians on 4 wheels for all intents and purposes!).

 

[KnackeredBike]

It doesn't matter what side you pass, we are cyclists and civilised enough to share a space and take and cede priority without the rules and clutter that motorists require.

 

[mjr]

It doesn't matter what side you pass, we are cyclists and civilised enough to share a space and take and cede priority without the rules and clutter that motorists require.

In general, I agree, but sadly we too often do not have enough width of tarmac to negotiate our way past each other in time. I rarely use my passing-on-the-left signal on the 5m and 9m width cycle tracks - then it's fairly simple just to either follow another flow of riders in the same direction or simply avoid the head of an oncoming flow - but I do on the standard 3m and the substandard 2m... on Highways England's horrendous 1.2m stuff, whoever has the side with the raised kerb is stopping or whoever has the verge is riding on the grass.

 

[MontyVeda]

general unwritten rule in these parts is keep left. I'd guess a mere 1/20 haven't read this rule.

 

[KnackeredBike]

In general, I agree, but sadly we too often do not have enough width of tarmac to negotiate our way past each other in time. I rarely use my passing-on-the-left signal on the 5m and 9m width cycle tracks - then it's fairly simple just to either follow another flow of riders in the same direction or simply avoid the head of an oncoming flow - but I do on the standard 3m and the substandard 2m... on Highways England's horrendous 1.2m stuff, whoever has the side with the raised kerb is stopping or whoever has the verge is riding on the grass.

I still find in general that with cycling it just works - in general those who are first or fast take priority, but people are willing to hang back to allow groups through at a time.

There is a wide, busy cycle path on my commute where you have to squeeze through a gate a quarter a width of the path. If it was on a road you would have bad tempers and blocked gateways where people push through in their blind rush to be first. Whereas on a cycle path there is egalitarian compromise. It impresses me how well it works every time I pass (although it is still a bloody stupid place for a gate.