Originally Posted by
prj71
Most of the shoulders in my area are paved and 12" or more wider.
I'm telling ya...riding in the same lane as cars around here (even though it is legal) will get you honked at by angry motorists who then roll down the window and yell at you to get off the road.
A reasonable option, where there
are any shoulders. Assuming, of course, one is willing to ride over every bit of sharp and crash-causing detritus that typically collects in such areas. But, yes, safer than in the primary part of a roadway in places where there is a high incidence of criminally dangerous driving happening.
In my area, there are numerous roads without shoulder of any sort, with ditches, without alternatives along that stretch. Safest, by far, is to be another vehicle in the lane, clearly seen, where
every motorist understands that another vehicle already occupying a lane has every right to be there in that safest of spots.
Of course, obviously, "safe" is relative. Every road's different, as to how poorly it was engineered to accommodate anything other than fat-bodied, mindlessly-driven motor vehicles that run perfectly down the center of a lane. Sadly, where I live, being such an old city there are numerous roads that don't really hold up well with today's knowledge of proper roadway engineering principles. Certainly not when viewed from a cyclist's perspective.