Personally I’d Find A Different Route
This video appeared on Cyclelicio.us a few days ago. It shows that you’re far, far "safer" to take the lane on a dual carriageway than to ride along the hard shoulder. In so doing, the overtaking traffic gives you a much wider berth than if you’ve already marginalised yourself to the edge of the road:
There are several roads a little like that near here - The Coast Road, the A19 south of the Tyne Tunnel, the Spine Road to Ashington, etc. And I’ve pretty much decided that none of them is safe for cyclists. Few roads in the UK have actual hard shoulders (a kerb in town, or a ditch out of town seem to be the norm), except motorways. The speed limit on those is 70mph, and even if it weren’t ilegal to ride your bike along these roads, you’d be nuts to try.
Back to the point though. If you ride in the "Oh I’m sorry for daring to be on the road" position at the edge of a road with fast moving traffic, then you’re out of the direct line of sight. Drivers will either squeeze past without leaving their lane, or you run the risk that because you’re not right in front of them , they just won’t see you. This might not result in a direct hit, but a wing mirror across the buttocks at 60mph can still be pretty lethal.
If you assert yourself and take the lane (as a tax-payer, it’s your right after all), then you run the risk that drivers’ perception of speed is severely warped. Most of us are really bad at judging how fast we’re approaching a narrow, near-stationary object, and before the driver’s brain has had time to calculate the approach speed and relative vectors of their own and your motion, they’re driving over your rear wheel. This assumes of course that the driver is paying attention to the road ahead, and not fiddling with the stereo, shouting at the kids in the back, sending a really important text message, closing some really really important deal on the phone, or freaking out at the cup of scalding coffee they’ve just tipped into their lap. If any of these things are going on, then they won’t even see you before they hit you.
So you’re pretty much damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The only way to win these kinds of games is to choose not to play. No, I don’t mean take the car instead, I mean find an alternative route to cycle. In the UK, these are invariably a little less direct than the nice straight routes that are built for Important Motorists. But as a result they’re also a lot less convenient for motorists, and so tend to be quieter. Sometimes you can even hear the birds singing.
Of course, if we had a sensible government, maybe we’d end up with something like this, shown by David Hembrow in the Netherlands:
I don’t like high speed limit roads.
There’s a 50 near me that I can take to work - it is “safer” if you take the lane, but it’s bloody nerve wracking, and about 20% of the motorists can’t be bothered to give you a safe passing distance (and will be travelling at 60, at least).
The exit road from Dover is a bit like that too, with drivers mystified that you’re on “their” road. (A complete contrast to the very similar roads in France, where drivers are routinely careful & considerate around cyclsts). The whole experience here tends to feel like an accident (or rather, a predicatable, preventable collision) waiting to happen.
“…A complete contrast to the very similar roads in France, where drivers are routinely careful & considerate around cyclists…”
That’s because in France, being a civilised country, has a “Strict Liability” law. See http://bit.ly/bxMAQ5 . When such a law was mooted for Britain it was howled down by the mob of reactionary thugs that seem to hold such a sway over the spineless decision makers.
The best thing to do for those of a more civilised disposition who find themselves stuck in such unpleasant company, especially when, like me, one has got totally fed up with pissing against the wind, is to get out and leave them to it.
Even if they’re not dangerous, those fast roads are unpleasant to ride on and often infested with multi-lane roundabouts and slip roads and other nasties - I agree, find a different route.
I’ve been to Holland a couple of times and the cycle system looked very well thought out! I didn’t get to use it, but had a good look at the sections of it near where I was.
Out here in the US I have little choice but to take several roads that have a 55mph limit and there’s a 50/50 split between those with shoulders and those without. When there is a shoulder I use it! I’ll tend to ride just on the shoulder side of the line, rather than way out at the edge almost into the verge/ditch/swamp.
I know people who ride around here that are of the opinion that they have the same rights as any motor vehicle, and whilst this is technically true there are common sense limits. Drawing the ire of a redneck wielding 2 tons of steel (average pickup truck) doesn’t win you any prizes. What difference does it make if you had the right of way if you’re no longer around?
So, when are we all moving to Holland?
Mistahsinclair: As you know, I’ve already moved. The system really is very well thought out, and it does work extremely well. It’s never necessary to cycle as shown in the first video. While I used to “take the lane” often in traffic in the UK, fairly frequently accompanied by car horns and shouts from drivers, I’m quite happy that I no longer have to.
When conditions are as shown in the first video, most people don’t find a different route, they find a different means of transport. The alternative that most people are taking to cycling along that road is to drive along it.
The relative success of the two approaches for encouraging cycling can be judged by counting the number of cyclists in the two videos.