Lane position: blocking?

[TheRiddler]

I've come to learn that Canadian rider education encourages lane position that they call "blocking". It's summarized as:

A motorcycle rider has some choice of where to ride in the lane. The best choice is the blocking position, a little to one side of the centre of the lane. The blocking position discourages other drivers from trying to squeeze past the same lane as the motorcycle.

That sounds reasonable by itself. My real issue comes from this:

Centre lane
When driving on a road with three or more lanes, always ride left of centre
unless you are in the extreme left lane, in which case you should ride right of
centre.

Source: http://www.sgi.sk.ca/pdf/motorcycle/04.pdf

So if you're in the fast lane, you should ride to the right of the lane?

I'm actually completely against this, for a host of reasons (and you can read why here.)

What do you guys/gals say?

 

[mean dad]

lots of traffic in the number 2 lane = left side of number 1 lane (to avoid getting hit by a lane changing idiot).

scarce traffic in #2 lane = right side of #1 lane (to discourage lane changing idiots).

common sense must be applied as needed.

 

[ST Guy]

While "blocking" can be effective and a good thing to practice in certain situation, there are certainly plenty of times that it's not. I generally don't follow that advice as I think that keeping as much space between yourself and the braindead people out there is the best defense.

And when I'm in the #1 lane, I'm almost always riding to the left. Doing so surely saved my ass more than once.

 

[corndog67]

Common sense is the key phrase here. I usually don't sit in one place in a lane, I'm constantly moving around. I'm watching mirrors, watching where the driver is looking (car drivers), looking for people not paying attention, etc., etc.

 

[R1-Limited]

lots of traffic in the number 2 lane = left side of number 1 lane (to avoid getting hit by a lane changing idiot).

scarce traffic in #2 lane = right side of #1 lane (to discourage lane changing idiots).

common sense must be applied as needed.

I have to agree with Fast lane, I commute everyday Morgan Hill to Santa Clara 101. The scariest party is between san Jose and Morgan Hill, I have had cars even CHP cruisers split me if I am in the right side of the fast lane. So I have adopted a Left Lane only and left of center, unless splitting in tight traffic.

On the scarce traffic part, I think it is where you are most comfortable. I have my right mirror set to see the lane next to me as it spans to the ass of me bike if I adjust my arm just a tad. Bubble, Bubble toil and trouble

corndog67 +1

 

[revnort]

lots of traffic in the number 2 lane = left side of number 1 lane (to avoid getting hit by a lane changing idiot).

scarce traffic in #2 lane = right side of #1 lane (to discourage lane changing idiots).

common sense must be applied as needed.

Yep, that is generally my policy.

 

[dkcwenge]

yup, i'm on the left side of the #1 lane as well. but i can see why they'd advise right side... to give you a bit more room for any evasive maneuvers? or some reaction space?

 

[DaveT319]

I tend to ride in the center of the lane no matter what lane I'm in. My reasoning for this is that it gives me some room to react to an unexpected lane change AND it gives me room to maneuver away from the offending vehicle.

If you're to the far left in the left lane or far right in the right lane, you have more reaction time but nowhere to swerve to while accelerating or decelerating.

If you're to the far right in the left lane or the far left in the right lane, you have almost no reaction time so the additional room is almost useless.

To me, the center is the best of both worlds. Time to react AND room to maneuver.

 

[kurth83]

And when I'm in the #1 lane, I'm almost always riding to the left. Doing so surely saved my ass more than once.

^^^ Same here...

 

[mean dad]

center has more debris and oil/grease/car drippings.

 

[Traq]

I've come to learn that Canadian rider education encourages lane position that they call "blocking". It's summarized as:



That sounds reasonable by itself. My real issue comes from this:



Source: http://www.sgi.sk.ca/pdf/motorcycle/04.pdf

So if you're in the fast lane, you should ride to the right of the lane?

I'm actually completely against this, for a host of reasons (and you can read why here.)

What do you guys/gals say?

What I find interesting is that you've never heard of this before. It isn't just taught in Canada. My guess is you've had no rider training.

Lane Sharing

Vehicles and motorcycles each need a full lane to operate safely. Lane sharing is not safe.

Riding between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane can leave you vulnerable. A vehicle could turn suddenly or change lanes, a door could open, or a hand could come out of a window. Discourage lane sharing by others. Keep a center position whenever drivers might be tempted to squeeze by you. Drivers are most tempted to do this:

In heavy, bumper-to-bumper traffic.
When they want to pass you.
When you are preparing to turn at an intersection.
When you are moving into an exit lane or leaving a highway.

I'm not posting that because I think the motorcycle handbook is worth a shit as far as riding advice goes, I'm just posting it as an easy example of what I said - 'blocking' is taught in pretty much all rider training as a standard noob tactic.

I tend to ride in the center of the lane no matter what lane I'm in. My reasoning for this is that it gives me some room to react to an unexpected lane change AND it gives me room to maneuver away from the offending vehicle.

If you're to the far left in the left lane or far right in the right lane, you have more reaction time but nowhere to swerve to while accelerating or decelerating.

If you're to the far right in the left lane or the far left in the right lane, you have almost no reaction time so the additional room is almost useless.

To me, the center is the best of both worlds. Time to react AND room to maneuver.

So you like riding in the center on that oil strip?

Your thoughts on riding in the left part of the left lane are curious though...you haven't thought about them too much, have you?

If you're in the middle of the left lane and someone merges in to you from the right, where are you going to swerve to? The left part of the left lane. So now you're in the same predicament you would have been in if you started out in the left part of the lane (no where left to swerve [I'm going with the assumption you seemed to have made that there's no left shoulder to swerve on to]) except you've wasted time swerving to get there and your bike is now unsettled for heavy braking or accelerating.

 

[slower than...]

I generally follow that advice, but not for blocking purposes, but instead, just to be seen. My golden rule is to stay clear ahead, or well behind any vehicle in an adjacent lane. Then I am never in the center of the lane, but always positioning myself so that person ahead has a chance to catch me in their rear view mirror. That generally means getting on the same side (closer to them) as I approach. In the act of passing (again, I never want to stay right next to a car), I do stay as far away in my lane as possible.

IMHO, the problem with staying in the left of Lane #1 is that the cars have very little chance of ever seeing you. I think that makes it even more likely someone would pull into your lane.

Just my opinion.

 

[RobertJ]

In just the short time I've been on this forum I've seen lane position debated ad nauseum already. There's no expert's opinion that can't be hotly debated by another expert. So in my opinion, you should choose the lane position that makes you feel most comfortable at that time in that situation. My goal is to use lane position to make myself as visible as possible to the traffic that is around me.

 

[TheRiddler]

What I find interesting is that you've never heard of this before. It isn't just taught in Canada. My guess is you've had no rider training.

Sure.

I'm well aware of positioning yourself in a place to be seen, and in a place to avoid having people occupy the same space as you. I've never heard of it as "blocking."

 

[Traq]

Sure.

I'm well aware of positioning yourself in a place to be seen, and in a place to avoid having people occupy the same space as you. I've never heard of it as "blocking."

So you've heard of the tactic just not that specific term?

That claim appears to contradict your original post, but ok. Different english speaking countries have different names for the same thing. It isn't thread worthy IMO.

 

[TheRiddler]

So you've heard of the tactic just not that specific term?

That claim appears to contradict your original post, but ok. Different english speaking countries have different names for the same thing. It isn't thread worthy IMO.

I think my issue may be with the term. It sounds like the intent is to physically block a 3000lb car with your motorcycle, and that doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Traq]

I think my issue may be with the term. It sounds like the intent is to physically block a 3000lb car with your motorcycle, and that doesn't sit well with me.

Guess it's a good thing you don't live in Canada then and only need to get aggro over it on those rare times you talk to a Canadian about lane positioning. Fortunately we have the lane sharing/splitting/filtering thing here that people like to bitch and moan about!

 

[DucatiHoney]

If I had to rename this technique, I'd call it, well, something other than "blocking". Basically I try to position myself so that I can be seen and appear as confidently owning that piece of road. If you're moving at basically the same pace as surrounding traffic and you just want to cruise, then you're not doing yourself any favors by scootchin' all the way over to an edge and riding like a wall flower. People tend not to see you or think you're making room for them to pass. It's weird and you'll get people doing weird stuff around you as a result. But of course all of this is subject to the current situation. There is no "perfect" place to position yourself to avoid being squished, but in a given set of circumstances, doing this "blocking" thing is a decent, safe way to ride.

In summary, I tend not to subscribe to any advice that sounds inflexible. There are a thousand ways to get yourself killed and just as many to stay safe. New motorcyclists tend to have their hands full with basic stuff, so having some solid standards to ride by is not a bad thing. As one spends more time on the road you'll probably find that your brain is constantly evaluating the situation and blocking will become one of 16 things you might do in a certain scenario. The next 30 seconds will have something else come up and then blocking ain't such a great idea.

 

[ST Guy]

Common sense is the key phrase here. I usually don't sit in one place in a lane, I'm constantly moving around. I'm watching mirrors, watching where the driver is looking (car drivers), looking for people not paying attention, etc., etc.

Not only moving around a bit, but travelling just a bit faster than the traffic if you can.

Interesting note: I've noticed that when people are following my too closely, all I have to do is start weaving just a bit left and right 99% of the time, they back off and give me more room. Won't apply in all situations, but you'd be surprised at how effective it is.

 

[ST Guy]

but i can see why they'd advise right side... to give you a bit more room for any evasive maneuvers? or some reaction space?

Actually, riding in the right side of the #1 lane gives you less reaction time. And that trumps any extra space you might have.

And that extra space isn't really extra space. Whatever is there is there. Either more of it is on your left and less on the right or vice versa. 'Better to put more space between you and someone to the right. If you put more space to your left, you shorten your reaction time and you may not get the chance to use that space. I always opt to keep more space on my right by positioning myself to the left. And, of course, I always keep an eye on the road ahead so that I know if I've got any room to dart further left if I need to.