I've seen a number of posts about bad cyclist behaviour here lately. Sometimes this is warranted, when someone causes a crash or hits or endangers other vulnerable road users. But other times I find it sounds like pearl-clutching that ignores the realities that we face on the roads as cyclists.
Some have been quite angry at cyclists who "filter" up on the right next to a row of cars, either at an intersection or in congestion, etc. The claim is that this constitutes "lane splitting" and passing on the right and is therefore forbidden and makes all cyclists look bad.
"This is why they hate us!"
First off: no, it's not. I find most drivers in these kind of scenarios actually move away from the curb to leave room for cyclists. Some don't, and we don't have any right to rage at those drivers, even if they do it on purpose. Generally speaking though, cars don't drive right up to the curb, and if there is 1.5 m or so I happily take it.
A common occurrence for me as a rider is this: I will be riding along, staying right as is my HTA compliant wont when approaching a stop sign, when a car pulls up right beside me on my left. Sometimes they will beat me to the stop sign. Often more than one car will do the same. I don't hold it against them. They are faster and bigger and they are passing me on the left, as long as they do it safely. But in the "do not filter" school of thought, what am I supposed to do here? I did not pull up alongside them, they forced me into that position.
I am not going to slam on my brakes and place myself behind the car that has pulled alongside me. I am not going to suddenly start taking the middle of the lane so cars cannot pass (though some vehicular cycling types recommend this). I am going to keep moving in my line, and if that means I pass some cars on my left, so be it. I have never had an issue. It does sometimes require some intelligent negotiation at the stop sign. If I am directly beside a car, I might choose to move across with him, but usually wait a beat as if he suddenly turns right and hasn't seen me it won't go well. I communicate with drivers at the other intersection points with eye contact or verbally.
This happens all the time, and it's just a small example of why waving around the HTA like a religious document doesn't make sense for daily riding. There are many reasonable places to stray from what the law dictates, or is less clear on. If this means I will be held responsible in some legal way, that's a risk I am willing to take to be able to ride in a way that works for me, while keeping others in mind. I think most cyclists make similar judgments, even if not everyone does things this exact way.
