Inside or outside??

paulieeye

Before I ask this, please dont get bogged down in a discussion on what the law is and is it legal to do x,y,z. I'd like to hear peoples opinion purely from a safety point of view taking everything into account, cyclists, pedestrians, traffic.

In heavy traffic on a normal 2 lane road in the city or suburbs with a lane going in either direction which is safer in your opinion and why?...riding in the cycle lane or riding in the opposing lane of traffic and filtering through?

Personally I'm not a fan of the cycle lane. Normally I would filter along a stationary line of traffic in the opposing lane but in recent times have seen many pedestrians and cyclists stepping out looking the other direction for oncoming traffic. But in the cycle lane, cars and peds would seem to check along the cycle lane as they would expect bikes to be coming there anyway...so I wondering if the cycle lane is not safer all things considered?

RosieJoe

I tend not to use the cycle lane even if it means that I get delayed. Between all other road users, pedestrians and Gardaí it just isn't worth the hassle. Mind you, most of my commute involves bus lanes that I use all the time

Wonda-Boy

I would prefer to use the outside lane....no real surprises unless a car is turning right. In a bus lane its a free for all TBH.

paulieeye

If there's a bus lane then happy days.

Saw a guy getting knocked off a few years back on the outside by the car turning right, car gunned it to skip the traffic and didn't look. Almost hit a cyclist myself last week who popped out. I was on the outside filtering thru. Gots to have your wits about either way!

jameshayes

the cycle lane is just not safe. too many variables - let alone illegal.

Outside lane is both legal and safe (as long as you have an escape route)

When on the outside lane I now limit myself to 20kmph in standing traffic, this sounds slow but it has kept me from being t-boned for over 8 years commuting in and out of town daily(loads of near misses, but no contact). (same with the bus lane, I max out about 40kmph in standing traffic)

Cienciano

Both. Sometimes the cycle lane is better, sometimes to the right is better. If there's cars coming towards you in the opposite direction, then the cycle lane.

Skill Magill

Don't use cyclelanes if I can help it, got done years ago for same. I would overtake stationary traffic by using the other side of the road,if it was clear.

designbydan

On my daily commute I use both, in some places the cycle lane is a much larger space to ride in than the legal side with oncoming traffic due to how tight the cars are together.

A lot of time I'd end up at a junction trapped behind tightly packed cars turning right when I'm going straight if I didn't use the cycle lane to get past the traffic.

In all cases though I drive as slow as I can as people will appear from stationary traffic on both sides, **esp bloody junkies who just hold their hand out to the traffic like their Neo stopping Bullets in the Matrix !**

I always use bus lanes too, but if there's traffic in the regular lane I go slow and keep my eyes wide open. I've grown to like staying ON my bike while it's moving

For what it's worth I drive through the middle of Dublin city every day I'm not sure if that has effected my driving habits or not. .

Plopli

As other said, it depends.

If there are pushbike on the cycle lane, I usually avoid it.
If I catch up a slow one, I keep a good distance behind and keep slow.
If a fast one catch up with me, I merge into the traffic to let it pass me.
Always fairly slow on the bike lane, even if there are no bike.

If the right if free or if I know I will turn right later, I filter on the right.

Always use bus lane if they are available.

On a daily commute, you quickly learn where the tight spot are, where cars are more likely to turn into you (left or right) or cross the line and adapt what you do.

Cienciano

TBH, I don't see much of a difference in dangers by passing on the left or the right. Pedestrians will pop out between cars on both sides and not look. As long as you're not acting the dick and driving up the arse of a cyclist, or holding up a cyclist in the cycling lane, it's grand imho.

designbydan wrote: »

On my daily commute I use both, in some places the cycle lane is a much larger space to ride in than the legal side with oncoming traffic due to how tight the cars are together.

A lot of time I'd end up at a junction trapped behind tightly packed cars turning right when I'm going straight if I didn't use the cycle lane to get past the traffic.

In all cases though I drive as slow as I can as people will appear from stationary traffic on both sides, **esp bloody junkies who just hold their hand out to the traffic like their Neo stopping Bullets in the Matrix !**

I always use bus lanes too, but if there's traffic in the regular lane I go slow and keep my eyes wide open. I've grown to like staying ON my bike while it's moving

For what it's worth I drive through the middle of Dublin city every day I'm not sure if that has effected my driving habits or not. .

That's the most important thing. If you're driving past a line of cars in the city, take your time. We've all seen motorbikes flying past a lane of cars, I've seen them flying past long lines of cars that are even across junctions, so a car pulling out and turning right would take them out of it.
Just take your time, especially when passing vans or trucks.

jameshayes

Cienciano wrote: »

TBH, I don't see much of a difference in dangers by passing on the left or the right. Pedestrians will pop out between cars on both sides and not look. As long as you're not acting the dick and driving up the arse of a cyclist, or holding up a cyclist in the cycling lane, it's grand imho.

No offence - but there is a massive difference. When on a cycle lane, 90% of the time there is a curb of at least 2 inches, on the outside there is no curb. You're stuck in a box on the inside, at least you have some escape route on the outside

Cienciano

jameshayes wrote: »

No offence - but there is a massive difference. When on a cycle lane, 90% of the time there is a curb of at least 2 inches, on the outside there is no curb. You're stuck in a box on the inside, at least you have some escape route on the outside

It depends on how you drive. I wouldn't be passing cars fast on either side. I'd be hitting the brakes to stop rather than swerve, slowing down again when I can't see past the traffic if there's a truck/bus/van I'm passing.
From my experience, the easiest way of getting hit in this situation, even if being careful, is a car doing a u-turn without notice. This won't effect you on the left.

RosieJoe

To me the biggest difference between inside and outside is how you can handle pedestrians. At least on the outside you have some sort of ability to see where they are and where they are going. On the inside they are only a fraction of a second from stepping out in front of you. Plus, passengers getting out of cars tend to not care about looking over their shoulders as they open doors.

jameshayes

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d2b_1395935374

Outside FTW

Cuddlesworth

95% of the time, outside. The inside seems like the easy safe option, but it really isn't. The cars and pedestrians will not check for you there and the mirror is further from their vision.

The only time I used the bike lane was in Renelagh with a unbroken white line and zero space to filter down the outside. I went far slower than the bikes and pulled in to allow them to go ahead if needed.

arybvtcw0eolkf

After years doing courier work everything is open for me, cycle/bus lanes, outside or filtering left to right and even a bloody foot path if its clear and I'm in a hurry.

Although these days I'd mostly avoid footpaths (except this morning I had to because I was late for a hospital appointment).

Referring back to the wheelie thread ~ the red grippy surface in some cycle lanes is great for wheeling when the other road surface is wet & slippery.

Cienciano

Do whatever you feel is the best for each particular situation. Sometimes left is better, sometimes right is better.
I never had an incident or even a close call using cycle lanes, and I've been commuting across town daily for over 10 years, so I'm happy enough using them.