Taking the lane

Most motor mechanics will tell you that its nearly always the near side shocks that go first. If you've ever driven along the gutter you'll now why. That's why on a bicycle its best to avoid the hazards of the gutter - the drains, the potholes and the little bits of glass - and ride further out in the road.

Keeping out of the gutter has another advantage, it puts you in line of sight of vehicles coming up from behind. This means when the driver makes a decision they're much more likely to take you into account. Even better if you manage to make eye contact because you then become a person and owed some fellow human consideration.

Scientifically there's evidence that the sense we have of ourselves has a variable physical boundary. What's known as our peripersonal space doesn't just include our physical bodies but also any tools that we might happen to be using. The axe head, the screw driver or the club becomes a temporary extension of yourself. A driver will react to a threat to his or her car as though it were made to him or herself; perhaps wincing at a near miss. And, just as we're quite good at not bumping into things as we wander about, so too are motorists. Put yourself ever so slightly in the line of fire and they're much more likely to notice that you're there and respond accordingly. Hide in the gutter and you're readily ignored.

Now keeping out of the gutter is all well and good, but what happens when the road narrows so much that you'll block the traffic? Well, there's a simple answer to that one, and its approved by the AA (A major UK motoring organisation) as well as Transport for London and other authorities, don't pull over. That's it. You've got every right to be there and if you move to the edge you'll only encourage risky overtaking.

Indeed, the advice gets stronger. Not only should you keep out of the gutter but also there are times when you should move out even further and actively prevent vehicles from attempting to overtake.  I tend to think of it as being like a slow speed Michael Schumacher (let's hope he gets well) using position on the road to control what goes on behind. 

The name of this manoeuvre is "taking the lane" and today, having found myself out and about with a tape measure, I decided to do a little case study and see whether I should or shouldn't be "taking the lane".

The case is me, on my bike being overtaken by a car rather like my own, though obviously with someone else driving, going through the second chicane on Seamer Road.  Like the picture below, but about where the car is.

Here are my results

I tend to ride with my wheels about 0.8m from the edge of the road. My handlebars have an overall width of 0.6m. The recommended minimum safe passing distance in France is 1.0m. My car has an overall width of 2.1m. The kerb to kerb width of the chicane is 3.6m.

Here's a diagram 

You'll notice that this implies that you should probably "take the lane" for any road less than 4.2m wide and even if I rode only 0.5m from the edge of the road -with my handlebars nearly overhanging the kerb - you'd still need a width of at least 3.9m for someone to safely pass. 

The chicane on Seamer Road simply doesn't give drivers enough room to pass safely and I'd advise everyone that cycles down there to get out of the gutter and take the lane.

Postscript: I've just (April 15th) come across this http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/community/how-to/road-positioning