Many of Russ Roca’s observations are in line with my speculation.

His observation of club riders is instructive.

The good news is, the paint doesn’t contradict what we teach. But it’s not going to replace education. And if you have to educate people anyway…

And my overall point was that sharrows can be effective in SOME cases, with placement being key (not in the gutter). Being new to the blog/list I’m not as familiar with everyone’s positions on various issues so I apologize if I’ve gotten your dander up. After reading your further nuanced comments we pretty much agree. Like you, I adapt my riding style to the conditions I’m faced with, and I’m a pretty defensive/assertive cyclist.

“At what size lane do you become comfortable sharing a lane with traffic — including occasional commercial vehicles and trailers?”

Kevin’s answer:

It depends upon the traffic. I’m comfortable sharing most lanes with other bicycle traffic.

But I’ve never been in a lane that was wide enough that I felt comfortable sharing it with large commercial vehicles and trailers.

“I’ve also made mistakes, moving over to allow a car or two to pass and then discovered that there were 4 or 5 and as they increased speed I got pinned and buzzed.”

Kevin’s comment:

This is why if the vehicle doesn’t have a siren and flashing lights (or a funeral cortege or public transit vehicle) I never, ever budge from the primary lane position.

Odds are that there will be a safe opportunity to pass in only a few minutes. If not, that’s not my problem.

“And don’t forget that motorists have rights, too. They have a right to travel from one place to the other without aiming for the lowest common denominator when it comes to speed.

If you won’t move over and let them past because oncoming cars will not allow them to cross that double yellow, then you are forcing them to travel at whatever speed you think they should.”

Kevin’s comment:

In Florida law, passing is a privilege, not a right. A privilege that only may be exercised when it is safe to do so. I presume that the law elsewhere is the same.

I remember driving fully-loaded five ton gravel trucks
to and from quarries in Wisconsin along winding two-lane roads. When loaded, the trucks had a rather long stopping distance, so when I was in a town I would never driver faster than 25 MPH; 20 when raining. Same when I was in a rural area and couldn’t see around a curve due to trees or a hill.

Although I was going rather less than the speed limits, I felt no desire whatsoever to “pull over and let them pass” when cars approached me from behind.

All of us truck drivers took the same approach. Car drivers can follow us until it is safe to pass. And a few elementary laws of physics dictate that if a car driver does anything stupid around my fully-loaded five ton gravel truck, I will crush him like a bug.

Car drivers seemed to understand this. They didn’t need any form of sophisticated education. They didn’t harass us. As far as I could tell, none of them seemed to think that we were “forcing them to travel at whatever speed you think they should.” they seemed to understand that we were just doing our job safely, getting the gravel to where it was going.

Same with bicycles. When I’m taking the lane, I’m not “forcing” anyone to do anything. The car driver can follow behind me until it is safe for him to pass. Odds are it will only take a few minutes until that happens. Or he can turn at an intersection and go another way.

Exactly! And vice versa. The trendy 3 foot passing laws miss this point since they only specify minimum passing clearance, not maximum passing speed.

“I’ve also made mistakes, moving over to allow a car or two to pass and then discovered that there were 4 or 5 and as they increased speed I got pinned and buzzed.”

Been there, done that. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a reliable lane position or signal that communicates “okay to squeeze past, but slowly”. Maybe an unbent clothes hanger sticking out the left side of the bike?

“And don’t forget that motorists have rights, too. They have a right to travel from one place to the other without aiming for the lowest common denominator when it comes to speed.”

There is no such right. The slowest user at a given point IS the defacto safe speed. For example, a stopped delivery vehicle requires others to stop or change lanes.

“If you won’t move over and let them past because oncoming cars will not allow them to cross that double yellow, then you are forcing them to travel at whatever speed you think they should.”

Often states have impeding laws that specify a number, such as 6, of vehicles that are held up for a spell that requires the slower driver to pull off the road when safe to do so. So bicyclists should be held to this as well. When bicyclists are held to share their lane that is very different and amounts to selective discrimination.

Wayne

For comfort, I’d prefer 16 ft if there is commercial traffic. I have shared 13ft lanes to allow motorists to pass (but I don’t maintain that position as a default, I move over based on my assessment of what’s back there). A few times, I’ve allowed small cars to pass me within a 12ft lane when the situation warranted it. I’m OK with less clearance at slow speeds.

I’ve also made mistakes, moving over to allow a car or two to pass and then discovered that there were 4 or 5 and as they increased speed I got pinned and buzzed.

It’s difficult to define this in a concrete lesson form because I make lane-sharing decisions based on many years and miles of experience. And I still make mistakes when I’m feeling tired and timid.

Suspect we have a wider range of differences on this than we do 4 lane roads or low-volume 2-lane roads …

Maybe someone can work up a new post on that instead of continuing here ………..