jeromephone

I ride in an area that has very little traffic some days only 5-6 cars in a 15 mile stretch. The only problem with cars that I have had is that on every ride it seems somebody has to pass on the double yellow. I have one section that has a 15 mph posted speed limit and is a narrow lake road with double yellow the entire length and without fail I get someone passing me when they cannot see any oncoming traffic. I just don't get it I have witnessed two near misses and I ride so near the right that they could almost pass in my lane. If double yellow means you are blind to the oncoming traffic what difference does it make if it is a car, bike, motorcycle or person in that lane. Is this a local deal or does everyone see this on their rides.

1989Pre 

I see this all the time, especially since my state began a "3-Foot" law: The car must pass a bicycle no closer than 36". People used to pass me at or near this distance. Now, because of this unnecessary and dangerous law, drivers are over-compensating, and passing me from a lateral distance of 6-12 feet. It is ridiculous, and, under the circumstances that you have described, is going to get someone killed.

genec

It's not a bike thing, it's an impatient driver thing. It's motorists that "left too late," and figured their car was a time machine... but they are wrong.

I see the same thing out on the rural highways where I am currently towing a camper trailer... the roads are marked at 70mph (which in of itself is rediculous, as this is rough two lane blacktop with barely a shoulder) and I have seen drivers pass on blind curves and blind rises, across the double yellow as if oncoming traffic could not possibly exist... but it does.

Just impatient dumb drivers, looking to become yet another white cross on the side of the road.

deapee

They should wait until they can see ahead and pass when safe. When it's unsafe, I ride in the middle of my lane. When it's safe, I'll move over a bit.

canklecat

Just a human nature thing. Some folks have poor judgment in motion. I've seen faster cyclists pass me on blind curves on the narrow paved MUP, where heavy foliage and shade obscured the view. They could have waited only 15-30 seconds for a safer pass. But, nope.

If there are no consequences -- accidents or law enforcement -- the phenomenon I call the arrogance of experience reinforces bad practices ("I've done it this way for xx years and yy never happened, therefore it's safe.")

My theory is that the sensation of motion feeds into our pleasure centers and folks who have addictive tendencies don't like to interrupt that pleasurable sensation, even briefly, so they'll do needlessly reckless things. They aren't necessarily hostile or indifferent to the safety of others. But the need for speed clouds their judgment.

FenderTL5

Unless you are riding really slow (such as going up a steep hill), there is absolutely no reason why anyone should pass you in a 15 mph zone.

shipwreck

I read this a lot, and it makes me wonder where you ride that you can do this. It is simply impossible to control the lane this way out on the rural highways of North West Arkansas. To many drivers simply do not wait or even really slow down regardless of speed limit, curves, or blind hills. If I am in the middle they pass. If I am on the shoulder they pass. So on the whole it is safer for me to ride to the right, as it gives me more reaction time in the event of a drivers swerving back into me when they meet an oncoming car on a blind curve or hill. Thats hard experience talking.

There is a percentage of drivers who will pass you even if you are doing 20 in a 15.

mconlonx

In my state, when they enacted a 3' law, they also revised the statute regarding legal passing to include passing over a double-yellow line, when safe to do so. Perhaps the drivers are making a different judgement call than you are when considering a safe pass?

You could take the lane which might make drivers reconsider the safety of their pass.

You'll also find those here who might argue that the only safe pass is one where the car is completely over the line, in the other lane while passing, which would also explain cars all the way in the other lane to give you all the room, even though they only need to give you 3', which could be accomplished by passing only half in the other lane.

deapee

hrmm...country roads with farms all around. All the people that live back this way wave at cyclists from their porches and give us thumbs up when they're in their cars.

JoeyBike

Common across the entire USofA by my observations. I have cycled in/through 40 states/provinces. I am always prepared to ditch the bike. If a large vehicle appears in the opposing lane with a large vehicle straddling the yellow near my position, guess which way the line-crosser is going to go? Not into a head-on collision with a lumber truck going the other way, that is for sure. The motorist passing me is going to jerk right over and into me. So I am always looking for a soft spot to ditch or just slap on my brakes.

And NO...I am pretty much never going to "take the lane" under rural circumstances. Take The Lane is an urban concept exclusively IMO. Cars going faster than 35 mph can have the lane. (I know you said 15 mph in your instance but generally I don't cycle on 15 mph roads with double yellow lines so I can't speak to that).
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indyfabz

That is part of PA's 4' passing law as well. You are expressly allowed to cross the double yellow line but only when you can ascertain that it is safe to do so.

baron von trail 

Cars pass me on double-yellow all the time. I never really give it much thought, but there have been two occasions when the fool almost hit someone head on.

I ride within 6 inches of the white line. So, most DY passes are only partially in the opposite lane. I'm even OK when they slide by without crossing the line. There's enough room. The most danger is the guy who goes clear into the oncoming lane on a blind hill or curve. That spooks me a bit.

mr_bill

Aren't you both from the same State?

In MA, we don't (yet) specify what a safe passing distance is.

But we do say:
-mr. bill

mconlonx

Why yes, we are! In fact, they are even teaching about this in driver's ed classes and have done a few TV ad PSA awareness campaigns.

Personally, I give cyclists more than 3' when passing with car or motorcycle, and am usually all the way over into the other lane to do so. If it's safe, no worries. If it's not safe, I'll defer to 1) car, hanging back a good distance from the cyclist until safe to pass at 3'+, or 2) motorcycle, pass within the lane only if I can do so with safe distance, i.e. cyclist is hugging the fog line, within a painted shoulder, FRAP, etc.

In most cases, if it's safe to pass a cyclist by taking half the oncoming lane, it's usually safe to pass by taking the whole lane.

KD5NRH

This; there's a hill near here alongside a park where I can easily hit 25+ in the 20 zone, and yet I get passed there all the time. Local cops used to sit behind the building at the bottom and hand out 35-40 in a 20 zone tickets as fast as they could write them.

Out of town, OTOH, most drivers are used to tractors, and will hold well back on a signal and wait for a wave-around. They know that when I'm standing on the pedals I'm taller than most cars, and can see over the gentle rise that's the reason for the double yellow in a lot of places. Quite a few of them have also seen the results of crossing the centerline on those when it's not clear, as one of my favorites used to be the back way to the next county when this county was dry, and saw a lot of head-ons involving people coming back from the beer store while getting a head start on their drinking.

shipwreck

Its amazing how much less broken beer, whiskey, and boones farm bottles there are on the roads around a nearby county that was voted wet a few years ago. I feel slightly safer driving or riding on those roads now.

KD5NRH

We still get some of that from underage kids drinking along the back roads and ditching the empties so they don't get caught. In fact, a couple months ago near the corner of my mom's place, I found a few rusting 16oz Budweiser flat-top cans that appear to date to the 1940s. Looked like the ones that were still intact enough to tell had been opened with a pocketknife rather than a proper church key, which would also match with kids drinking beer they'd swiped from their dad's stash. Interesting counterpoint to the pile of Keystone cans nearby that still reeked of cheap beer.

Chris0516

I live in a town of 500+ inhabitants. The entire residential part of the town has a 15mph speed limit. Drivers used to pass me without a care in the world. About how they were putting my life at risk. There are no sidewalks in town, and the full width of the road. Is smaller than the standard width of a road. Because of the speed limit, and smaller width of the road. I only let on-coming traffic pass me.

Now, In town, there is not a situation where the on-coming traffic can't be seen. But, Right outside of town. There is a 30mph two-lane county road. That has a stretch where on-coming traffic cannot be seen. Every time I am on this road. I 'take the lane'. To make sure they don't try to pass me on that one small stretch. Even though they can't see on-coming traffic. They have no problem risking my life. Because they don't like a cyclist being in front of them.

leob1

They should, it would be the smart thing to do.
I've seen many close calls from people passing me going into a blind corner, on a 35 mph speed limit road. Which mean they are usually going over that. I've tried taking the lane, but they just go all the way over the double yellow to pass me. One day there will be a head on crash, and I'd bet my last penny that they would try to blame me for forcing them into on coming traffic.

Number400

All that I ask for is consideration. A lifting of the throttle, or braking while assessing the pass. I dislike the people who pass with limited sight lines and without hesitation.


If I think it's not safe, I cover the lane a bit until I can tell it's clear. If using more of the lane makes them hesitate then job done and I will move over and wave them by. If they still do not hesitate, I stay more towards the center and that leaves me some escape room to the right.

deapee

I've often thought about this while out...and I guarantee a car decides to side swipe a cyclist when presented with that option or taking an oncoming vehicle head on.

mrodgers

I think it is a bicycle thing. I was in town last night. It wasn't a double yellow, it was 2 lanes of one-way traffic going down hill. At the end of this stretch the road is closed in that the last light you have to turn right and travel a detour around a bridge that is being redone. A guy behind me had to pull over into the left lane and pass me, which is fine and dandy and normally safe as there is a whole other lane and he moved fully over into the other lane. What he realized after he pulled over was that I was doing 10 mph over the speed limit down through this slight downhill half mile or so. When he realized I was doing 35 mph in a 25 mph, he then pulled back in behind me and followed up to the point where we all had to turn right.

I was cruising around the lake one afternoon. Speed limit 25, single lane one way. Car behind me just had to go by me. There is plenty of room, he passed me by safely and was ready to go on his merry way. Problem was, I was riding faster than he eventually was driving. After he got around me, he did 20 mph going around the lake where I was doing about 27 mph (again, downhill, I'm no internet superman on a bike) prior to him just needing to get around a bicycle. I ended up needing to apply the brakes to keep from rear-ending his car.

Chris0516

Ditto
Crossing the double-yellow didn't become absolute here. Until the Maryland legislature finally allowed cyclists' to 'take the lane'. Prior to that, the state just had the '3' foot passing law.