yugyug wrote:I tend to claim the right lane, but if I'm overtaking the right lane queue from the left lane and the lights change or I'm otherwise caught out with left turning cars stuck behind me, I'll position myself dead in front of the car at the front of the right lane queue. This is illegal, cos I've gone past the line, but I'd be comfortable explaining to a cop why I did it for my own safety. ...
I emphasised the part of your post I thought was interesting.
Are you sure what you are doing is actually illegal? I'm pretty sure (at least in Victoria) that there was a clarification of the rules a couple of years back that meant that motorists must stop before the first stop line on the ground, but cyclists must stop behind the
second line on the ground before an intersection and can ride past the first stop line, meaning that if cars do as they are supposed to, then there is space to plonk you and your trusty bicycle in front of the car at all intersections and you're still not entering the pedestrian crossing section of the intersection. If you're doing this I believe you're acting legally but I can't be bothered reading the road rules to confirm so someone is welcome to prove me wrong.
It is why bike boxes have two stop lines - the first for the motorist and the second for the cyclist. Where there aren't bike boxes the second line is the first line for the pedestrian crossing area.
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MM story of mine was a happy ending (for everyone) last Friday morning.
I was first at the Bourke St lights, on Elizabeth St. As the lights changed a cyclist overtakes me and all the other cyclists waiting in the queue because he is clearly faster than me. Whatever, I'll let that go because I wear a skirt. He is wearing very a nice black and pink Rapha cycling jersey and matching knicks.
Anyway, as he passes me and approaches the Elizabeth/Little Bourke Street intersection right in front of me he is almost t-boned by a right turning car who failed to give way to him. Lucky for the cyclist that he was also turning left into the same street the car turned right into so the collision was avoided. The cyclist was right at the passenger door. Mr Cyclist didn't retaliate on the breaking of the road rules as he's probably used to that (riding a bike in the CBD and all). I'm pretty sure that MM didn't see the cyclist whatsoever. Unfortunately (or fortunately, really) for the motorist he happened to park in the exact building I park my bike so I politely explained to him that he'd almost cleaned up a cyclist. He thought I was referring to just outside the building we park in, to which I told him "No, you remember you turned right from Elizabeth into Little Bourke?" "Yes" "Well there was a cyclist that you failed to give way to there". To which he apologised. I think that is a good outcome. If you are that Rapha wearing cyclist, the motorist got his karma.