Interesting article about aggressive riding

[petie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8296971.stm

not sure if it's a re-post but thought it was a good read.

[rustychisel]

I'm not sure your topic header does the subject justice, but I suspect there is a kernel or two of truth to be taken from the assessment. I know the number of HGV deaths in the UK is considerable, and mostly female riders, and also note road and traffic conditions in the UK, especially London are somewhat different to here.

Even so, forceful riding with clear intent has always worked for me. Aggression, to which I sometimes seem to stoop, is akin to stupidity.

[dynamictiger]

I found this article interesting and there are some thoughts there I had held privately on the subject of road accidents involving cyclists.

One issue I am currently mulling is the benefit or otherwise of sitting in the middle of a lane at or approaching traffic lights. In thinking about this, and to some extent practicing it, one of my thoughts was as a driver we are programmed that items on the left of the road are parked, e.g. parked cars, trailers and the other parrots vernacular we come across every day. Therefore logically if I am cycling slowly on the left, on a glance could I be mistaken for parked? This is an example of cycling in a positive manner that I think would be in keeping with the intent of this article.

I must admit one of my fears is a vehicle - car, truck, bus what have you, turning left as I want to go straight ahead, and neither of us realising what the other is doing. My only advantage is it is more likely the car will come off worse than me, if it hits me, not so sure about a truck though they tend to be more solid than cars. Again my strategy of sitting in the middle of the lane solves this issue.

Intersting read none the less.

[petie]

I'm not sure your topic header does the subject justice, but I suspect there is a kernel or two of truth to be taken from the assessment. I know the number of HGV deaths in the UK is considerable, and mostly female riders, and also note road and traffic conditions in the UK, especially London are somewhat different to here.

Even so, forceful riding with clear intent has always worked for me. Aggression, to which I sometimes seem to stoop, is akin to stupidity.

Yeah my title was more trying to allude to the difference to defensive riding. Although now I think about it, maybe the truth lies more in active defensive riding than either passive or aggressive riding. Very good point and something to think about!

[__PG__]

I agree with much of that article. I've also developed a rule of thumb over the years which is the faster you ride, the further away from the kerb you should be. Especially w.r.t. oncoming traffic doing right turns of you, as car drivers will scan the middle of the lane but will not look to the edge of the lane towards the kerb. Also, riding further from the kerb help separates you from parked cars and other background clutter.

Once you own the lane you also cannot be cut off by other cars turning left in front of you.

[il padrone]

I'm not sure your topic header does the subject justice, but I suspect there is a kernel or two of truth to be taken from the assessment. I know the number of HGV deaths in the UK is considerable, and mostly female riders, and also note road and traffic conditions in the UK, especially London are somewhat different to here.

Even so, forceful riding with clear intent has always worked for me. Aggression, to which I sometimes seem to stoop, is akin to stupidity.

Yeah my title was more trying to allude to the difference to defensive riding. Although now I think about it, maybe the truth lies more in active defensive riding than either passive or aggressive riding. Very good point and something to think about!

A better term for it would be 'assertive riding'. May also be called 'vehicular cycling' as advocated by John Forester.

None of the principles involved would outlaw defensive riding in the circumstances that demand it. Your life should always be defended - it's just a question of what is the best method in the circumstances you face at any given moment.

[fitz]

Another issue not discussed is situational awareness. How many people run up the inside of a turning truck completely unaware of what is required by the driver to get the truck around that country. Are women more ignorant in this regard? It would be interesting to find out.