GogglesPaizano
Transplant
Hey all,
New to the bay area but I've been on two wheels for about 18 years on and off. I sold my last bike a few years ago, but since having moved to the bay area and dealing with traffic from Tracy to Fremont, seeing all the bikes passing me by got me itching for another one. I usually avoid the highways on my way in and home and take the back roads. I'd regularly see bikes driving up my right side while I was in standstill traffic waiting forever to get to a stop sign or red light. It didn't take much convincing after that to get back on a bike
Anyway, I've scoured all of the lane splitting/sharing/filtering discussions and haven't been able to come up with an answer to what I'm wondering. When I finally got on my bike an started to tackle the traffic on my way home, I realized that not everyone was so kind to leave room on the side for a bike. Some moved over to give you space an others you could see blocking you out a ways ahead (priuses are the worst for some reason). I do my best to stay in the lane, but there's always a car or two or three that just doesn't want to play ball. I know it's technically "illegal" to leave the lane and pass on the outside, but I don't see any of the other riders stopped behind a car when there isn't room, they just cut into the bike lane real quick, or on the shoulder after making sure it's safe to do so.
On the rare occasion, I'll see some other rider sitting in a mile of standstill traffic because he doesn't want to even consider getting outside the fog line.
Just a bit of added info on this as well...I'm rarely doing more than 10mph over traffic even at a standstill. It's one lane in each direction and I make sure to stop at all cross streets just to be sure nobody is turning into them although the roads I take don't usually have any (Tesla Rd, 84, etc.) I'm only doing this when traffic is not moving and not when it's just slow.
So, the question is, what's the consensus? What is everyone doing? Are they weaving out of the fog line to get around those few cars that are making it difficult or are you sitting in the mile long line at the stopsign because, by gosh, it's the law and that's that?
Thanks for any advice.
New to the bay area but I've been on two wheels for about 18 years on and off. I sold my last bike a few years ago, but since having moved to the bay area and dealing with traffic from Tracy to Fremont, seeing all the bikes passing me by got me itching for another one. I usually avoid the highways on my way in and home and take the back roads. I'd regularly see bikes driving up my right side while I was in standstill traffic waiting forever to get to a stop sign or red light. It didn't take much convincing after that to get back on a bike
Anyway, I've scoured all of the lane splitting/sharing/filtering discussions and haven't been able to come up with an answer to what I'm wondering. When I finally got on my bike an started to tackle the traffic on my way home, I realized that not everyone was so kind to leave room on the side for a bike. Some moved over to give you space an others you could see blocking you out a ways ahead (priuses are the worst for some reason). I do my best to stay in the lane, but there's always a car or two or three that just doesn't want to play ball. I know it's technically "illegal" to leave the lane and pass on the outside, but I don't see any of the other riders stopped behind a car when there isn't room, they just cut into the bike lane real quick, or on the shoulder after making sure it's safe to do so.
On the rare occasion, I'll see some other rider sitting in a mile of standstill traffic because he doesn't want to even consider getting outside the fog line.
Just a bit of added info on this as well...I'm rarely doing more than 10mph over traffic even at a standstill. It's one lane in each direction and I make sure to stop at all cross streets just to be sure nobody is turning into them although the roads I take don't usually have any (Tesla Rd, 84, etc.) I'm only doing this when traffic is not moving and not when it's just slow.
So, the question is, what's the consensus? What is everyone doing? Are they weaving out of the fog line to get around those few cars that are making it difficult or are you sitting in the mile long line at the stopsign because, by gosh, it's the law and that's that?
Thanks for any advice.