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Two abreast is best?

  • This topic has 10 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by SanPedro.
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  • June 1, 2020 at 11:08 am #30783
    Evansdch

    I had a ride yesterday with my 15 year old son. We were riding two abreast for a lot of the time, mostly on quiet roads but a stretch on a busyish road – the Colchester to Maldon road in Essex, aka the B1022.

    It was at this point we got grief from some idiots – honking, close passes and shouting. We weren’t doing anything wrong yet we were hounded and I would say a bit scared by the experience.

    I thought the Highway Code was pretty clear and that two abreast is best and better for those behind as they can do it quicker. The Code however is rather more ambivalent, stating, at para. 66:

    “never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends”

    It’s galling to think that these cretins may have been right and on busy roads – basically where there are two cars or more behind you (?) – single file is better..

    I’d be interested to know what other members of this forum think is safest and indeed what is meant by “busy”.

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Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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  • June 11, 2020 at 10:25 am #960053
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    SanPedro

    2 abreast is official

    2 abreast is official guidance. So I would stick with that. It’s maybe an issue if its not a narrow road and there is a continuous line of traffic coming in the opposite direction meaning it would be impossible for cars to overtake you. I’m not sure what is the best in such situations. I know, as a driver, it would be frsutrating to be stuck behind something travelling at 10 miles an hour with no opportunity to get past.

    June 10, 2020 at 10:23 pm #960051
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    RMurphy195

    2 abreast isn’t much fun

    2 abreast isn’t much fun during the Covid-19 epidemic when you are out on the bike, and a couple of riders come past almost brushing elbows ‘cos they won’t switch to single file as they pass. I don’t care what you think, if I can smell the guys breath or sweat as he goes by, its too damn close. Likewise if you’re going in the opposite direction on a narrow lane and others come towards you 2 abreast. Get with the program people. and give me (and walkers) my/their space, go single file, go round wide – as you would expect a car to..

    June 4, 2020 at 1:35 pm #960049
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    Judge dreadful

    If you widen the bus, you

    If you widen the bus, you shorten the bus. What the idiots that close pass and honk don’t realise is that they should be giving you 3 feet clearance anyway, so the space that the abreast rider is occupying, isn’t the motorists in the first place. There is the eternal argument about space given for riders two abreast, and is it three feet from the inside rider ( resulting in a possible squeeze on the outside rider) or 3 feet from the out rider, which would put the motorist on the other side of the carriageway. I think it’s three feet from the outrider, if there is one, but it’s a grey area. Anyway, long story short, 2 abreast is best ( except for a very few specific situations) and if the motorists don’t like it, tough.

    June 2, 2020 at 9:02 am #960045
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    Hirsute

    B1022 is a fast road for

    B1022 is a fast road for idiot drivers. Easier to overtake when you are 1 bike length, so no justification for it. You are simply cyclists in their way. I did feel yesterday when driving (blush) that there were too many people in a hurry. Quite what they are in a hurry for, I’m not sure. The only real answer is a camera and submissions.

     

    Late edit due to ajax

    June 1, 2020 at 9:08 pm #960047
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    PRSboy

    This, this and this!

    This, this and this!

    i just don’t understand why drivers don’t get it. It’s really not difficult. 

    The problem is that drivers seem to take it as a personal attack on their liberty when they come across two riders side by side. 
     

    Two friends of mine were told off recently by another cyclist for riding two abreast- ‘you’re giving us a bad name’ he said. You can imagine their response…

    June 1, 2020 at 5:41 pm #960043
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    Mungecrundle

    Single file on narrow roads
    Single file on narrow roads or when riding round a bend, especially on country lanes, is for the safety of the cyclists with respect to vehicles coming from the opposite direction, not for the convenience of drivers wishing to overtake. Personally I’m happy to single out to assist an overtake, but this is at the discretion of the cyclists, not the overtaking car.

    The busy roads thing I frankly do not understand, on a single carriageway road, either it is safe to overtake by moving completely into the opposite lane or it isn’t. On a dual carriageway, move completely to the outside lane or don’t.

    June 1, 2020 at 5:19 pm #960041
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    Sriracha

    Lift the bodywork off the car
    Lift the bodywork off the car and you will find they run with their seats two abreast all the time. At least with cyclists it’s only when the seats are occupied.

    June 1, 2020 at 2:18 pm #960039
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    Gary's bike channel

     

     

    from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.

     

     

     

     

    June 1, 2020 at 2:18 pm #960037
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    Gary's bike channel

    https://www.youtube.com/watch

    from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.

     

     

     

     

    June 1, 2020 at 2:18 pm #960035
    0
    Gary's bike channel

    https://www.youtube.com/watch

    from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.

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