Traffic Islands - A cyclists enemy?

BentMikey

The important point is to move out early, then you won't have as much conflict at the pinch point. Add a fear wobble and that almost indefineable element of "I win", and they won't come near you. As soon as you make the move slightly late, or with anything less than utter confidence, they will sense weakness and go for it, at least in my experience. This sort of thing is as much a lesson in your own character as it is in herding car drivers.

I would guess drivers are much more reluctant to scoop you with their bonnets than they are to sliding you along the sides of their cars, and imagine some think the sides of their vehicles come with free teflon. Haven't had any experience of either though.

Cunobelin

Approaching a tight island on the A27 at Portchester, when this prat ovaertakes at the last second, and cuts in so steeply he goes across the cycle track, A few yards ahead and I would hae been in real trouble as opposed to simply annoyed at his stupidity!

adifiddler

I know that road very well.

To be fair you are in the wrong position for that traffic island. I position myself in the area of the blue european union badge on his registration plate in your image to go through that traffic island. Then i am in primary position and dominate the traffic from behind. I move to this position well in advance of the location you are in when you took the image.


The position you are in in the image is about the position i cycle on that piece of road without the traffic islands. That can be a busy road in rush hour so if you struggle to get into the primary position for the traffic island then put on a short right hand signal with a good look behind before moving out this often detours anyone from passing you.

I will say once i was going through that traffic island and someone decided they were going to overtake and at the last moment they realised i was not going give in so they attempted go around the wrong side of the island in the path of an on coming police traffic car. The police stopped him and i stopped to so i could say this guy was an idiot. The guy was blaming me for not riding correctly but the police were adamant that i was in the right and he was charged with driving with undue care and attention. He was not happy and became very aggressive towards me and the police. The police threatened to arrest him if he did not calm down, he kept saying he was an advanced driver and drove for a living but could not see that i was in the right he said i was riding as if i was on a motorbike!

dondare

This arrangement of cycle-lane and island is the worst possible. If you stay in the lane, motorists will overtake even though to do so is not only unsafe but illegal as they cannot give you the "wobble room" that they are legelly obliged to. The fact that an advanced driver did not know this is worrying; the fact that the police did understand it is more encouraging.

Flycatcher

Fair play to the Police on this occasion.

In the picture just what has that idiot gained at all. Slamming on his brakes just to get in front of the bike. Total moron.

Yorkshireman

At least you got a cycle lane with red paint Cunobelin. We got bu88er all here (in Lincoln)

(but we did get some white paint on the footpaths about 12 months after the central islands were put in place) :roll:

Cunobelin

I hear what you are saying about the primary position, and agree fully.
I usually take this chicane bang in the centre.
I "was" actually further out, I had signalled and pulled out,. However I realised that this guy was not slowing and had pulled alongside. Discretion was to brake and move back in to avoid him!

sbullett

There's a couple of islands on the A62 out of Huddersfield, from Cooper Bridge towards Roberttown, quite a steep hill at this point, I'm usually managing 9-10mph.

There is only just room for a bus / lorry to squeeze through even without a bike on the road. After 18 months of commuting this road I now take the primary position if I hear any traffic approaching from behind and. to date, and a great compliment to the early morning drivers of West Yorkshire, I've never had any abuse for it.

Interesting thing is that for the first 6 months or so, when I was gaining confidence at this road riding thing again after 15 years on a MTB, I stuck to the adjacent, appalling, shared foot / cycle path which is so bumpy it's like riding a roller-coaster. Luckily the signposting for the cycle path is so bad I don't reckon most drivers know it's there so they maybe give me an easier ride....

The local council's Bike user Group send consultations round on new traffic schemes from time to time and nearly all of them include cycle lanes and traffic islands now - unfortunately they almost always give cars priority over cycles and never provide enough room for cars and bikes to go safely through together.

I'm also a pedestrian with young kids on accasions, so I appreciate the need to islands to make crossing safer, but they should be designed with signage and road marking making it clear that bikes have right of way. Does anyone have a photo of such a design i could forward to the BUG?

Yorkshireman

sbullett wrote:

There's a couple of islands on the A62 out of Huddersfield, from Cooper Bridge towards Roberttown, quite a steep hill at this point, I'm usually managing 9-10mph.

There is only just room for a bus / lorry to squeeze through even without a bike on the road. After 18 months of commuting this road I now take the primary position if I hear any traffic approaching from behind and. to date, and a great compliment to the early morning drivers of West Yorkshire, I've never had any abuse for it.

Interesting thing is that for the first 6 months or so, when I was gaining confidence at this road riding thing again after 15 years on a MTB, I stuck to the adjacent, appalling, shared foot / cycle path which is so bumpy it's like riding a roller-coaster. Luckily the signposting for the cycle path is so bad I don't reckon most drivers know it's there so they maybe give me an easier ride....

The local council's Bike user Group send consultations round on new traffic schemes from time to time and nearly all of them include cycle lanes and traffic islands now - unfortunately they almost always give cars priority over cycles and never provide enough room for cars and bikes to go safely through together.

I'm also a pedestrian with young kids on accasions, so I appreciate the need to islands to make crossing safer, but they should be designed with signage and road marking making it clear that bikes have right of way. Does anyone have a photo of such a design i could forward to the BUG?[/quote]

Like the red triangle surounding a pictogram of a bike from The Highway Code?

Sample shown here

is to give cyclists priority over cars that are allowed to park on the section between the road and the path as seen here

(in theory at least).