Nimrod103 wrote:AF62 wrote:swill453 wrote:Any time you're sitting at traffic lights, a cyclist could, right now, quite legally have filtered up the left side of you, and be intending to go straight ahead. Anyone who turns left without checking is highly irresponsible. I always make a specific point of it.
Scott.
And the 'advance cycle' stop line officially encourages such behaviour, because if you followed the strict letter of the law, the only entrance to the advance stop line area is up the left hand side of the traffic.
I may be wrong, but I thought advance stop lines for cyclists would only be present where there is a clearly demarcated cycle lane up the left hand side leading to it.
Just to be clear, if there are cyclists in a clearly demarcated cycle lane, I take especial care. But under this possible change to the law, the mere presence of a cyclist makes it a cycle lane, whether marked or not. So a cyclist approaching rapidly up the inside has right of way going straight on, when the car at the head of the queue turning left may be unaware of their presence until a collision occurs.
ASLs often include a preceding entry section a couple of metres long to their left side; they don't require a cycle lane per se
They were often used at busy junctions because there wasn't space for a cycling lane and drivers apparently don't think to check to their left when pulling away at lights, so the safest place for a cyclist is to be In their field of view
-sd