Turning Right...

[Carrot]

Just a question for those that cycle more. I do around 100 miles a week communiting to work, and on 3 occasions when I have been turning right, cars just overtake anyway. One a while back actually clipped my hand as it forced its way past.

Now before you reply, bear in mind this has only happened 3 times over around 15,000 miles of riding, so its not like it is happening every day, therefore I put it down to aholes.

My procedure is,

- Look behind, if there is no car directly behind or in the process of overtaking then
- move towards middle line, with hand extended indicating that am am turning right
- Quick check over shoulder (which saved my life today) then execute turn

Should I be more assertive in being right on the middle of the road? or perhaps leave it later to turn.

[okgo]

Look behind (well in advance of the turn assuming its high speed for cars), check there's a fairly decent gap, if not, wait for cars to pass while slowing until there is, move to within 1ft of the middle line with your arm out, make the turn.

I've never had a car pass me while turning right doing the above. I've done 75,000 miles with most around the SE of England where its busy.

[Carrot]

okgo said:

Look behind (well in advance of the turn assuming its high speed for cars), check there's a fairly decent gap, if not, wait for cars to pass while slowing until there is, move to within 1ft of the middle line with your arm out, make the turn.

I've never had a car pass me while turning right doing the above. I've done 75,000 miles with most around the SE of England where its busy.

One happened today in the Basingstoke area - 30mph limit which prompted the post. She hung back for about 2 seconds then as I was about to start turning she just went for it.

I think I may not be close enough to the middle line which is the issue, I will give it a go in future and see what happens. Thanks for posting.

[okgo]

You have to think like you're on a motorbike, you have to put yourself in a position that would require an insane move from the car to think its rationale to pass. If you show weakness, cars will exploit it.

[frisbee]

okgo said:

You have to think like you're on a motorbike, you have to put yourself in a position that would require an insane move from the car to think its rationale to pass. If you show weakness, cars will exploit it.

Doesn't matter, you could pretend you're an aircraft carrier and some driver will still attempt an insane move.

The main benefit of motorbiking experience is building up the habit of doing lifesavers.

The best one was some cretin who undertook me while turning right, failed to make the turn and bounced over the curb.

[Gareth79]

I tend to look behind, signal right, move into the middle-right of the lane fairly well in advance, then glance again just before the junction, then make the turn and look again as I'm turning to be certain.

Often merely looking behind is an invite for people to overtake ("oh they saw me, it's safe now") so I think the first bit is actually the riskiest. I've not had anybody overtake after that, but it's definitely on my list of "riskiest things which could happen".

[BrundanBianchi]

Look behind, big clear signal with the right arm fully out, move right into the middle of the lane nice and quickly, and point with your finger. If anyone thinks it’s a great idea to overtake then, remember that wing mirrors cost more than manners.

[Tempest_5]

I have a good look behind, if a car is coming I take into account it's "body language". If it seems to be slowing and considerate then I move out to the middle of the road when I am certain we understand each other. If in doubt, or they don't seem to be slowing I just pull over to the kerb and stop. I then go when a gap appears.

[J4CKO]

I find a rear view mirror helps massively in planning right turns, gives you an idea as to when you can move out, still look over your shoulder.

[Blink982]

There are a couple of roads where I’ve had to turn right and despite being really cautious and signalling early and repeating my intention to turn right, I’ve nearly been wiped out by impatient, incompetent aholes who simply have no regard for anyone else on the road. Once I was almost in the filter lane to turn right and I was overtaken by a car in the filter lane who almost had a head-on with a car coming the other way. They must have been exceeding the NSL by some margin and panicked and/or have extremely poor car control that they could not react in time. The right turn is just after a left hand bend but it is well sign posted and you would have to be driving like an absolute loon.... Suffice to say, whenever I ride on these roads now, I pull in to the side of the road and get off the bike and walk across the road rather than risk being hit by someone who can’t wait a few seconds.

It has also made me look at the Garmin Varia.

[Gareth79]

Blink982 said:

It has also made me look at the Garmin Varia.

I was just about to reply to the above reply about mirrors to mention that I've heard many recommendations about the Varia and keep meaning to watch out for it to be discounted.

Some of the advantages:
- Being able to ride further into the middle of the road (making you more visible to drivers), and then getting a warning when a car appears behind so you can move over
- Warnings of possibly dangerously fast passes
- Getting a warning about cars passing, eg. when riding downhill you often cannot hear a car doing this, or the situation we are discussing where a car passes when you are looking forward.

[Blink982]

I have also invested in one of those smart lights that get brighter when you slow down and have mounted it on my helmet. The Varia is definitely on my radar, excuse the pun!

[Carrot]

Blink982 said:

There are a couple of roads where I’ve had to turn right and despite being really cautious and signalling early and repeating my intention to turn right, I’ve nearly been wiped out by impatient, incompetent aholes who simply have no regard for anyone else on the road. Once I was almost in the filter lane to turn right and I was overtaken by a car in the filter lane who almost had a head-on with a car coming the other way. They must have been exceeding the NSL by some margin and panicked and/or have extremely poor car control that they could not react in time. The right turn is just after a left hand bend but it is well sign posted and you would have to be driving like an absolute loon.... Suffice to say, whenever I ride on these roads now, I pull in to the side of the road and get off the bike and walk across the road rather than risk being hit by someone who can’t wait a few seconds.

It has also made me look at the Garmin Varia.

Interesting... will take a look.

[Dammit]

Multiple shoulder checks are key, as is an assertive road position - force the overtaking vehicle to cross fully into the other carriageway to overtake you.

I'd also recommend getting a couple of cameras, one that faces rearward and one forward - Cycliq make good ones that are integrated into lights - and report the people who keep trying to kill you to the coppers.

A combination of three points on their licence and your road position forcing them to commit to the other lane should hopefully make them stop prioritising 5 seconds of time over your life.