QUESTION: I’m fairly new to road cycling, and I have been told by fellow riders that on roads heavy with traffic, I should “take the lane” instead of staying near the curb. But the one time I tried it, I had drivers blasting their horns at me, and one gave me the finger when he finally got to pass. How can pissing drivers off possibly make me safer on the road? —Bill T.
RBR’S STAN PURDUM REPLIES: For the benefit of readers not familiar with the “take the lane” terminology, it refers to a practice intended to keep cyclists safe on roads where there is no paved shoulder and the lane is not wide enough to permit motor vehicles to safely pass cyclists riding near the edge of the road. Taking the lane means riding in the center of the lane, which forces overtaking vehicles to wait to pass until there is no oncoming traffic and they can swing into the other lane.
Taking the lane is legal in many places and when we do it, careful drivers will wait until there’s assured clear distance and room to move over into the opposing lane before passing, but as you’ve observed, some drivers dislike that you’ve slowed them down momentarily and will behave like jerks.
The late John Forester was a primary advocate of taking the lane. He was the father of the vehicular cycling movement, which held that cyclists are safest when they operate their bikes like any other vehicle — riding in the same lanes and manner as motor vehicles rather than in bike lanes or separated infrastructure. He even opposed bike lanes because he felt that the special accommodations could result in bicyclists being treated as second-class road users, and possibly even being prohibited from roadways altogether.
The League of American Cyclists has adopted many of Forester’s cycling principles, but not all cyclists and not all cycling organizations agree with Forester when it comes to taking the lane as one’s default position on narrow roads.
But while it may feel safer to ride near the curb, it increases the chance of drivers coming dangerously close as they try to squeeze by you or even of them not seeing you at all.
Personally, I do take the lane occasionally when a narrow lane and the traffic count make it my safest option, but I don’t make it a standard practice otherwise. I consider it merely one arrow in my quiver of cycling techniques. But with the prevalence of road-rage incidents these days, I don’t want to build a queue of annoyed drivers behind me. So when I can safely move to the right side of the lane, I do. And when I’m cycling known routes, I avoid narrow roads during high-traffic times.
On the other hand, forcing drivers to slow down for a few moments is not the only thing that riles some of them at cyclists. I’ve occasionally had vehicle occupants blast their horns and throw things at me when I was riding near the right edge of the road and not hindering their passage at all. And in one case, it was a guy on a lawnmower who spewed venom at me. So on a narrow lane, if the choice is between getting knocked off my bike by a vehicle passing too close or taking the lane — and some may be pissed at me no matter what I do — I’m going to take the lane.
Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.
Taking the lane has a simple premise: “As a cyclist, my safety is more important than your convenience.” It is better for me to be safe, even if it means you are inconvenienced. And I stand by this.
However, there’s another part of this: “As a cyclist, my convenience is NOT more important than your convenience.” Which means if you’re going to take the lane–and inconvenience others–you need to be prepared to inconvenience yourself for others.
For example, when you get to an intersection, you pull over, stop, and let everyone pass. If there’s an open parking spot, you might pull in there, stop, and let everyone pass. You might even need to pull over into a side street, let others pass, and then come back.
In other words, you need to think about others. Yes, by taking the lane, I’m safer. But at the same time, I need to look for places where I can let others pass. Otherwise, they’ll get annoyed.
Imagine, for a moment, a pedestrian walking down the middle of the shared-use path and blocking your way. How would you want that person to react?
I agree. I take the lane when I must for safety and I ride on the shoulder, use turnouts, etc when possible so vehicles can safely pass.
As I like to say: share the road is a two way street.
This is called “control and release” where you take the lane to prevent unsafe passes (control) and then when there is space you stay to the side (release). This is a great technique for those spots where a shoulder disappears for a bit then resumes etc.
i do it quite often – it is safe
if you have a mirror, it may increase your confidence
a car blowing its horn is at least seeing you..
i may also do ‘the wobble’ – start acting a bit incompetent – it uusally makes them drop back
The wobble is incredibly effective!
I will take the lane on hills/corners where I can’t see the oncoming traffic on narrow roads without shoulders. If I can’t see if there is oncoming traffic then neither can a following driver. In addition blind hills and corners are almost always no passing zones for safety purposes. I have had a school bus with children onboard attempt to pass on a double yellow lined uphill blind corner and then choose to have a head on collision with an oncoming car they couldn’t see or force me off the road. The bus driver forced me off the road.
Whether you take the lane or not, at least one bright tail light and bright clothing are essential.
… at night. In the daylight a brightly colored jersey makes one’s tail light superfluous
I generally try to to ride on shoulder, most of the time they are marked. One significant caution is that in upstate NY, the right shoulder tends to get beat up with road debris, chunks of pavement missing or damaged due to winter weather cycles, and or snow accumulation.
So,, be careful, since there is little escape room on the right shoulder.
On narrow 2 lane roads & streets, I take the lane if there is either no or oncoming traffic. If there is traffic approaching from behind and no oncoming traffic, I move to the side. If a driver honks at me I move closer to the center.
I often take the lane when approaching an intersection to prevent vehicles from cutting me off by turning in front of me. It usually works, but last week in a span of about two minutes I had two different cars pass me within 100 feet of a red stoplight and a stop sign. The first one raced by and slammed on his brakes, forcing me to do the same, and the second took the oncoming lane. These are people who would not even have seen me otherwise, so I’m still glad I took the lane in both instances.
I have found that control/release is the best practice and 99.99% of drivers are at least begrudgingly patient. Many drivers though who would otherwise wait for oncoming traffic to clear when you’re blocking them wouldn’t think twice about squeezing past you if you’re at the curb. And there will always be outliers who won’t respect the bike regardless of where it is, which is exactly why you need to take the lane.
One other major advantage for taking the lane is that it allows plenty of space to bail out away from passing traffic when that one idiot tries to outrace the oncoming car and swerves in front of you to avoid the head-on. If you’re riding the curb, there’s usually no place to bail out.
Taking the lane makes you relevant — if the driver behind you is leaning on his horn, that means (s)he sees you, which is a good thing.
The group I ride with uses the “take the lane” concept a little differently. We use it as a notice to the group when it is time to take a left turn and move as a group to prepare for the turn and move to the appropriate lane or position on a single (each way) lane road to turn.
In New Jersey (where I ride most of the time), our cycling regulations state the following:
>> Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway is granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver. <> Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable <<
I believe the rules are the same or similar in every state. I do try to ride as far to the right as is practicable, "practicable" being defined in my mind as "as far to the right as is safely possible." So I move out into the lane for debris, obstacles, parked cars, and bad road surfaces. I like to afford the courtesy to drivers that I would like them to afford me, so I try to make myself as unobtrusive as possible, within the bounds of staying safe.
Having said that, I have generally found that New Jersey drivers ARE fairly courteous to me when I'm riding — they stop to let me cross intersections, they give me a wide berth when passing, they follow behind me quietly and safely when I do need to get in front of them, etc. As much as I love Florida, I have had a lot more difficulty along these lines with Florida drivers.
The concern I would have is that you have to move into the lane to avoid those things. What if there is a car approaching from the rear when you encounter an obstacle? If you stay to the right, you’ll hit the obstacle. If you move into the lane, you may be hit by the car (who doesn’t see the situation you are in). I imagine this is where you see incidents where “The cyclist swerved right in front of me!”
It’s better to take the lane. If a car approaches from behind, you can move to the right to allow them to pass if there are no obstacles. If there are, they can wait until it’s clear.
Lots of good discussion here! I resonate especially with Peter and Alex.
I would add this: if I’m going to take the lane, I feel the need for a rear-view mirror. Actually, I won’t ride on the road without a mirror in any case. 🙂
I take the lane when having to make left turn at a local light, because I have been cut off when I don’t. Hand signals are essential in executing this move.
Many good and useful comments here. Thank you!
I always ride with a Garmin Varia and a mirror (actually two). Our group rides several routes that have pinch points (a traffic island with a single lane on either side with no shoulder as an example). When I am riding sweep and especially when we are strung out for more than 100 feet, I will take the lane from the back and call it out “Taking the lane” and if a vehicle is closing on us, “Car Back”. This is done tentatively when traffic is approaching. The Varia gives me a sense of how rapidly the vehicle is closing and how far back they are. I ALWAYS confirm with a mirror, even if the Varia does not report any traffic closing from behind. The idea is to provide predictable movement to overtaking vehicles and get their focus on the whole group
In my opinion, these actions promote safer riding conditions and co-operation with most drivers. However, you must always be alert for distracted drivers (on their phone being one of the most frequent offenses) that simply are not looking at you and don’t see you no matter how many lights, bright jerseys, neon socks you wear. And then there are the entitled drivers who are just rude, late for church on Sunday morning, going to miss their tee time, we all have met a few of those.
Bottom line, every time we hit the road we take a risk. Think about how to make it a more acceptable risk.
99% of my rides are on small rural roads, lots of blind hill and corners, often no fog line. I regularly ‘take the lane’ for all of our safety including the idiot the wants to pass and the poor guy who may be coming the other way. There is a blind corner just before I get home. Even when I take the lane I’ll still get people that blast by me. One this summer barely managed to come under control and with the cooperation of the oncoming vehicle we all made it home safely! The person that passed got an earful , arm waving and major upset face from me and was obviously mortified… In town, I don’t tolerate passes near intersections or many other places unless I feel really safe.
Pa Supreme Court case to be decided this Spring: Linton Vs Commonwealth of PA
July of 2021, Brendan Linton was riding on Evans City Rd, a two-lane road in Butler Township, when a police officer pulled him over. The cop claimed that Mr. Linton was impeding traffic and issued him a ticket. The case was taken to the highest court where justices will decide on our rights to the road.
https://bikepgh.org/2024/10/22/pa-supreme-court-debates-bicyclists-right-to-take-the-lane-when-they-choose/
Bike Pittsburgh submitted an amicus curiae brief to support cycling.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PK0n4XzfDuQ9oawtbtcbszSlzAI-4k1B/view
I use to ride in major cities, Los Angele, San Francisco, Dallas, Detroit, and Chicago, and when riding in the city I aways took the lane. But in doing so, those cities do have laws that state that cyclists are to ride as far right as practical, however, the word practical is left open to interpretation. If riding far right will endanger you then it isn’t practical! You don’t want cars passing you with an inch to spare just so you’re riding within an inch of the curbing, and they can’t cross the white line due to traffic, so they’ll try to squeeze by you. In those situations you have no choice but to take the lane.
Problem with today’s society is that drivers are much more impatient in cities, and road rage is all the rage now, so if your taking the lane I’ve read where cyclists got hit from behind on purpose by outraged motorists who obviously don’t give a damn about a person life or the law. I’ve had motorists scream at me that I don’t belong on the road and to ride on the sidewalk!
Most of the time in congested cities you should be able to travel at the same speed as a car. What upsets a lot of motorists is cyclists acting above the law themselves, they will cut in and out of cars, speeding through red lights, all illegally and in the process endangering themselves, then these cyclists will respond with the one finger salute when people blast their horns at them. If we, as cyclists, want to be treated with a higher degree of respect, then we need to follow the rules of the road just a car must, but unfortunately our impatient and road rage society also extends to cyclists who will act the same way.
I am an LCI and picked up this concept a while ago: Omnes Viae in Partes Tres Divisa Est
1. All motorists, and I do mean ALL, you included, have been taught that the road’s centerline is a pane of glass and and God forbid that you should ever break that pane of glass.
2. The natural consequence is that if a motorist has even the vaguest impression that they can pass you without breaking that pane of glass, then they will do so. They will squeeze between that pane of glass and you even if it means squeezing within an inch of you or hitting you (many imbeciles have no clue where the right side of their vehicle might be).
3. That said, if the motorist passes the rider by crossing the centerline, thus breaking that pane of glass, they most often do so by going wide and giving you the three feet to which you are entitled under law.
4. Conclusion (and what I teach newbies): On a narrow road, convince the motorist that they cannot pass you without crossing the centerline.
5. Which is why: Omnes Viae in Partes Tres Divisa Est. All roads are divided into three parts. I own one of the three parts.
a. If there is a real shoulder (one that is smooth, clean, at least a handlebar wide, and continuous), then I own that shoulder. But I still make myself very very visible there.
b. If there is no real shoulder, then I own the rightmost portion of the travel lane and I will be at least where the motorist’s right front tire would be and sometimes in the middle of the lane.
c. And I will always be replete with flashing lights, bright clothing, and, often, camera, to convince the motorist to break the pane of glass and pass me wide.
6. Do not take this to extreme, it’s really a dance of “catch and release,” i.e., hold up traffic if you must for your own safety, then let them go if you can do so safely; helps to have a mirror to know what the hell’s going on behind. Climbing hills during rush hour is a good way to piss off a lot of folks.
So, if there is no real shoulder (one that is smooth, clean, at least a handlebar wide, and continuous), then I have every right to be safe, and I am in fact safer, by not surrendering una pars mea of the road until I deem is safe for ME to let the traffic pass.
Well put
I echo the comments above that:
1. Being courteous and letting cars pass as soon as possible is the best practice
2. We should all be riding with mirrors – we wouldn’t drive a car without a rearview and sideview mirror, so why would we ride bikes in a far more vulnerable way and not have a mirror?!
Keep right except to pass.
I routinely took the lane in my neighborhood, getting back to my house, in a 55+ community. I found that if I stayed in the shoulder, the people coming out of their side streets, didn’t look far enough to the left to see that a cyclist was there.