Turning Right At A Light On A Two-Lane...

[jbrough7]

So you're riding along on a quiet two lane road just to the right of the centre line.  You come to a red light and you want to turn right (or even if you want to keep on going straight).  How much should you move over to keep command of your lane?

I've recently had guys trying to nose in where their noses are not wanted.

[Sven]

I'm not sure why it matters whether I am riding "just to the right of the centre line" or fully in the middle of my lane.  I'm also not sure whether you mean you're being crowded by other bikes or by bigger vehicles.

Either way, I would practise (or is that "practice"?  Damn you, childhood reading Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell!  Must remember, it's not a car park, it's a garage!) the same courtesy I would in a car.  That is:

If I am going straight, and someone behind me wants to turn right at the corner, if I can safely move up and far enough over to let them pass, I would do it, just as I would hope they would do it for me.

If I am going straight and so are they, there is not likely enough room for a car to sit next to me in my lane, but another bike is welcome.

If I need to turn left, I am probably gonna position myself in my lane to safely make my turn and protect my space.  In my mind, that is fairly center, I don't want cars scraping past me on my right, I'd rather they HAVE to stop until I turn.  (But I can see the arguement for positioning to the left and hoping someone going straight and doesn't see you won't hit you...but I think my reasoning is better.)

Not too long ago on my way to work, a guy on a HD stopped at the in left position, and gave me room to pull up on his right.  We nodded real friendly like.  Light changed, and I left him in my rear view mirror.  I sort of felt bad, but nobody forced him to buy a bike with lousy acceleration!

[jbrough7]

Sven:  My fault and I apologize - hard to explain without showing you diagrams like Da Vinci used to draw up!!

In our drivers ed. courses for bikes up here, a big part of their teachings is that you must take control or command of your side of the road, or otherwise cars in your lane will walk all over you.  So if I'm going to turn right, I'm not sure how far to the right to go as then a car can squeeze in beside me when I don't want the sucker there.

Any clearer?

jim

[Sven]

I guess I stand by my previous answer:  Use the same courtesy as you would in a car.  When I turn right, if the lane is wide enough that the car behind me can pull up next to me to go red when the light changes, I haven't been concerned.  If the lane is a little narrower, I tend to position myself a little more center-lane to discourage someone from trying to squeeze in.  So, yeah, I have a strategy and I use it.

So:  Be courteous to cars (or bikes, or whatever), be safe, and I agree, take command of your lane (to the extent that you would in a car).

[jbrough7]

Cool. Thanks for your response.  I gotta do my final M license soon so that worries me a bit.  They're sticklers for being on the proper side or your lane all the time....AND they don't allow any red wine during the test!

jim

[Sven]

I assume they preach the same stuff about lane positioning you see here, which is basically, after dividing the lane into three positions (right, left, middle), pick the SAFEST position.  That is:

When passing a vehicle to your right, use the left position.  When stopped at a light behind another vehicle, use the left position.

Other tidbits:  When crossing an intersection where a vehicle is to your right, move across the lane away from them to give yourself more reaction space and to give a longer path of travel, supposed to make you more visible.

And then:  when pulling up behind a vehicle at a light, chose the side thier exhaust is NOT on (I added this one from personal experience).  

Also, the middle position is often greasier, supposedly.  I find that the middle position is sometimes the smoothest ride if the left and ride are rutted, but sometimes, it's humped and cracked and the left and right are better.

I don't know if there is a CORRECT answer to any of this, as far as a test would go.

[Desolation Angel]

Seems like I was taught to be in the RIGHT tire track position (where a car's right side tires would be) at the moment of a right turn.  However, I don't often do it that way because of rude/dangerous drivers thinking for some reason that they are allowed to be sqeezed in next to me on the left.

So, assuming there is no horrible oil slick, I position myselft dead center in the middle.  If the center is all oily, I have to avoid it however I can.

[stormi]

alright,.. here's one I can't seem to work out.

You're supposed to dominate your lane, right?  So what I learned in class was, if you're in the left lane, ride in the right track.  Right lane, left track.

What if you're in the middle lane? (Meaning more than 2 lanes in one direction) Since riding the middle is discouraged, bacause of leakage from other vehicles, I assume not the middle.

Do you just watch the drivers, and guage for the driver that appears to need the most babysitting?  

Most of the time I just switch lanes.    But I do like the middle lane, for it's somewhat lower ratio of turning drivers.

[Sven]

Book answer:

The new (JUNE) issue of AMA's America Motorcyclist sez:  You're in the right lane, ready to turn right when traffic is clear...stay in the CENTER of the lane with your turn signal on.  If you too far to the left, right-turning cars will try to slip in thinking you don't really intend to turn.  If you are too far to the right, cars will try to line up next to you so they can go straight.

So, funny you should ask!