This morning's commute and other commuting stories

@photoben Not as good as the front seat of the DLR. I maybe wearing a suit but still try and shotgun the drivers seat #bigkid

ALWAYS sit in the right hand seats... Then you don't get moved out of your seat when the 'driver' wants a sit down...

I'm at the front top deck pretending I'm driving

as long as you dont pretend to be texting whilst driving, you are fine.

but how will he get out, buses dont have doors to their right side?

Scenario:

I'm filtering on the right up to an ASL past stationary traffic.

The light goes green literally as I'm on the right of the front-most lorry, who's indicating right.

I'm on his right as he moves off to turn right.

What am I supposed to do, not be there?

Happened to me today and I think I might have been in the wrong position but not 100% sure what to do in that situation.

I'd stay behind it unless I know I'll get past before the lights change.

What am I supposed to do, not be there?

The convention is that you don't attempt to initiate a pass on the side with the flashing lights or the arm sticking out. You can be cheeky if you are sure the vehicle cannot proceed, but you do not have right of way and there is enormous personal risk to yourself if you get it wrong. As you nearly discovered.

Yeah of course. Makes sense put that way. I knew I was wrong but thought maybe cyclists were guaranteed safe passage into the asl 😥

What about the same situation but on the left, if you have a filter lane to the asl. Same right?

Exactly the same. The existence of an ASL doesn't necessarily mean it's safe for you to head into it at any time, and you have no priority when you're heading for one while filtering.

It's a shitty bit of infrastructure that encourages lack of forethought, basically.

No one is guaranteed safe passage anywhere, especially when filtering. A filter lane is a filter lane, it doesn't give you priority over left-turning vehicles.

Ignore ASLs. Far as I'm concerned they don't exist, I just stop where I stop.

^ this.
Once had a guy on a motorbike tell me repeatedly to get to the front (the ASL) because it was safer. For my own good, like. I was in the middle of the lane about 2 cars back from the lights - approaching Old Street roundabout and I don't see how that can be any less safe. I prefer not being at the front when the lights go green because of red light runners (who often either don't see small things like cyclists or think they're unimportant) and that's even more so at a roundabout.

Also, I get the impression that if there's another vehicle in front of you, the car behind tends not to be so impatient about having a bike "in their way". Otherwise all they can see is that little patch of road just in front of you. Sometimes.

Best advice out there, especially if there's 2 or 3 cars in front of you, might as well wait behind it.

I get the impression that if there's another vehicle in front of you, the car behind tends not to be so impatient about having a bike "in their way".

^this

If there is a right-indicating vehicle close to the front of the queue, I don't filter by it on the right.

Same here, unless I've just seen the lights change to red and know the vehicle will be there for a good while (long enough for me to get into a position where I'm easily visible anyway).

Thanks for the input. I should have thought really.

OK, while we're on this kind of topic: you're cycling down a marked bike lane with free flowing traffic to your right. A car "overtakes" you, indicating left about to turn into the side road 100m to your left. Now that looks like a classic left hook but what defines that exactly?

What if you have ample braking time to let them do it? Does their left turn count as moving across a lane? It seems like a grey area.

Not really, it's still a classic left hook, even after you perform an emergency stop.

Highway Code 182 and 183 are the relevant bits - they should not overtake immediately before turning and give way to cyclists in a cycle lane (from both directions).

So if they cause you to brake (however sharply) they're in the wrong?

Again, makes sense.

Genuine question, have you taken a driving test before? or drive?

Drivers are always in the wrong.

/thread

Highway Code 182 and 183 are the relevant bits

cough, 162-163...

Yeah but most taking part in that are just going to shout "learn the highway code 168 bitches!!!!!!!!!!!"

A car "overtakes" you, indicating left about to turn into the side road 100m to your left.

100m is roughly the stopping distance for a car travelling at 70mph. Hopefully, you will not be riding that fast in traffic.

Rain. :(