Turning in traffic

[Canaris]

Okay I sometimes do this as well, okay not completely, but what I do do at red lights is come a bit into the centre of the road IN FRONT OF THE CAR, so that the driver takes note of my presence before he takes off at all speed. It is part of assertive awareness.

[ShortLegs]

Ok this is slightly different to Sequoia's original quirk.

 

I'm pretty confident and experienced in traffic and most situations require a quick judgement call, in your situation I would (and did this morning) stay on the left of the straight lane drifting about 1m into the left-turn lane and when a car came up the left-turn lane, they were forced to slow down for me and wait for me to go straight across the intersection. This helps when the straight-lane are trying to break the land speed record before breakfast aswell.

 

Crossing over the flow of straight flowing traffic is never a good idea, but I stand by what I said previously in that if that situation arises, the motorist can and should wait 1-2 seconds of their precious time to allow you to cross safely.

[linnega]

Depends whether the right lane was for right turning traffic only.  If so, then turning from the left of the rightmost lane would be the safest.  If the lane was for straight or right-turning traffic then anywhere from from the middle of the lane to the right would be safest (ie force cars in the queue behind to wait).

Generally, I would recommend forcing all cars to wait behind you until you have completed the turn.  There is no reason that vehicles should be overtaking a cyclist until he/she has completed the turn.

linnega2007-12-11 04:31:02

[Canaris]

all depends on who is driving the car, really.

[Sequoia]

 

Crossing over the flow of straight flowing traffic is never a good idea' date=' but I stand by what I said previously in that if that situation arises, the motorist can and should wait 1-2 seconds of their precious time to allow you to cross safely.

[/quote']

 

ShortLegs, I agree with your point on what SHOULD happen. We SHOULD be given the respect we deserve.  But we are not.  Full Stop. We have had many threads bemoaning just that point.

 

That is not going to stop me from getting on my bike and riding to work, though.

I have commuted for years. I ride my bicycle everywhere.  I currently commute through Maitland and the Koeberg Interchange on a daily basis.  I've been taken out on two occasions and have been pushed off the road more times than I care to remember. And yet, I love it. Getting to work after a near-miss incident makes me feel alive. It sure beats fuming in the M5 traffic when we are going nowhere because everyone is pushing in at the front.

 

The bottom line, as some of the others have said, and I'm sure you will agree to,  is situational awareness and I think that is something that comes through experience, a bit of common sense and a healthy dose of luck.