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Comment by apierre | Hacker News Reader

While I appreciate Boris'Superhighway, I think driving during rush hours with dozen of cyclists coming from every way, driving in the middle of the road is just insane.

I am a very careful driver, I respect cyclists but some of them really think the road only belongs to them. I sometimes feel I am in a middle of a flock of birds and that is dangerous.

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Here's the problem: if you ride on the side and there's not enough space drivers will come very close to you or try to squeeze past in between oncoming traffic. If you ride too close to parked cars you are liable to get doored, which has happened to me (in Kensington of course, by some upperclass twit stepping out of a cab who's probably never ridden a bike or driven a car, but I digress). A friend of mine almost had his trachea punctured by the corner of an opening door.

So, no, if there's not enough space, cyclists should absolutely get out in the middle where cars can see them and respect them.

That said, London rush hour is not a place for slow or casual cyclists unless you really know your routes through side streets. We're still a long way from Holland.

A lot of the time "assertive cycling" (cycling in the middle of the road) is safer for the cyclist. It means cars are forced to stay behind then. If you cycle on the side of the road, a car can try to squeeze past you, sometimes at speed.

People aren't just making these decisions based on thinking "they own the road", personal safety comes into it too.

Plus, sometimes what drivers consider to be the "middle of the road" is actually just "avoiding the various drain grates and potholes".

I do agree that there are a large number of road users (pedestrians, cyclists, car-drivers) who are stupid, selfish, and lousy.

I'd be interested to see research on attitude. Do cyclists suddenly forget what it's like when they get in a car?

Imagine being a cyclist stuck in a pack of roaming wolves.

I'm not saying cyclists can't be asshats (they can, I've seen plenty), and most drivers are perfectly fine around cyclists, but being on a bike on a main road with traffic streaming past you inches away can be pretty terrifying. A lot of drivers slip into auto pilot mode, or don't have the best spatial awareness, or get distracted, or they've had a long day and are slow to react. If you're in a car and a cyclist hits you it's annoying, if you're a cyclist and a car hits you it's life threatening.

I completely agree with you. I do cycle sometimes as well and since I am an occasional driver as well, I try to anticipate motorists behaviour.

I think it is all about understanding each other ecosystem and mutual respect.

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