The UN-Blocking position????

Low rider

Low rider

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With more and more bikes on the road, and more and more newbs.
I'm seeing a lot of people in the absolute wrong position in the lane.
I always want to pull them over and tell them what they're doing wrong and how dangerous it can be, but that would be rude.


What to do?
 
Why do seasoned riders always feel they need to edumicate new riders? Unless someone is endangering my safety, I couldn't care less.
 
Low rider said:
With more and more bikes on the road, and more and more newbs.
I'm seeing a lot of people in the absolute wrong position in the lane.
I always want to pull them over and tell them what they're doing wrong and how dangerous it can be, but that would be rude.


What to do?
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Get behind them in the blocking position, if you're going the same way and at the same speed, or just let them learn the hard way, like the rest of us did.
 
I always want to pull them over and tell them what they're doing wrong and how dangerous it can be, but that would be rude.


What to do?[/QUOTE]

I say go ahead and pull up beside em and 'edumicate' away. If someone takes offense to a well-intentioned bit of advice from a vet, with attitude like that they shouldn't be on the road in the first place.
 
I ride where I'm comfortable and have the best view/be view opportunity. That's not always the blocking position.
 
Nope but some people just don't know any better. Wouldn't track them down but if I was riding with them I'd mention it, or just hight beam the crap out of him.
 
cutekill said:
I ride where I'm comfortable and have the best view/be view opportunity. That's not always the blocking position.
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Yup, it's rather situational. On a 3 lane (each way) highway I'll bee in the blocking position, in the left or right lane, but in the middle lane I move back & forth. If I'm in the right lane and coming up to a merge lane, I move to the right tire track so that I'm more visible to merging vehicles. When I'm in the left turn lane, and waiting to make a turn, I'm in the left tire track so that I'm more visible to oncoming traffic and can see further ahead, around the vehicles in the oncoming turn lane.
 
I was in a group ride recently. We were on a 2-lane 80 km/hr rural highway, staggered formation. All the riders ahead of me that were in the left track/blocking position were riding so close to the center divider that oncoming traffic was whizzing by inches away from them. I was dumbfounded why people would so blindly adhere to the blocking position rule when it made absolutely no sense in this situation. I chose to ride in the middle track since I don't like being that close to oncoming cars without a physical median dividing us. I wonder what the reaction would've been if I edumicated the other riders what they were doing was book right but real world wrong?
 
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dricked said:
or just high beam the crap out of him.
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You just had to bring that into this didn't you.... LOL

Personally I just shake my head at the guys (usually older cruisers) riding right in the oil slick.
 
RetroGrouch said:
I was in a group ride recently. We were on a 2-lane 80 km/hr rural highway, staggered formation. All the riders ahead of me that were in the left track/blocking position were riding so close to the center divider that oncoming traffic was whizzing by inches away from them. I was dumbfounded why people would so blindly adhere to the blocking position rule when it made absolutely no sense in this situation. I chose to ride in the middle track since I don't like being that close to oncoming cars without a physical median dividing us. I wonder what the reaction would've been if I edumicated the other riders what they were doing was book right but real world wrong?
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I was going to say that I've ridden with a few new riders lately and ya they all do this and it's scary, especially over a hill!

lol and yes
 
Yes, I'm not always in the blocking "Classic" Blocking position, But I'm blocking all the same.
 
Aquila said:
Guys riding old cruisers? Or old guys riding cruisers?
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I've tried to follow big cruisers on group rides. I have a heck of a time picking a position because some of these people are all over the place or generally right down the center.
 
In Europe, riders are expected to take as little space as possible on the road, and that ordinarily means riding on the outer edge of the roadway, not the "blocking position" that is taught in North America.

As others have been stating, there are plenty of situations where either strategy can be used, depending on what else is going on. There is no need for being in the "blocking position" if there is nothing behind you for you to be blocking. If there is oncoming traffic, I prefer to be further away from it, at least in the couple seconds before it passes in the other direction. Going over a blind crest, I don't want to be near the center line, either, but also not all the way to the right (in case of bicycles or pedestrians on the other side of the crest).
 
pm127 said:
I've tried to follow big cruisers on group rides. I have a heck of a time picking a position because some of these people are all over the place or generally right down the center.
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... or side by side in the center lane of the 401, as observed today around 1 pm eastbound between Homer Watson and Hwy 8. If that was any of you out there riding either of those two H-D cruisers, what's going to happen if either one of you spots a piece of debris in your lane, or if you have to dodge an errant car driver? All this while tailgating, too.

I was in a nondescript company car, behind all this for a while.
 
I only use blocking position in the city, and then only when its appropriate. If I'm on the highway odds are I'm in middle of the center lane. Why? Because you're less likely to get hit by some jerk that "couldnt see you". I find my lane position deters no one from driving recklessly around me, and that being in the center gives me maximum avoidance capabilities on all sides. Also, I dont have to be in the slow lane or the fast lane, so I'm not holding up myself or others by being in the center. Further, the rationale that "thats where cars are likely to leak oil" I find to be a dated and no longer a good argument. And like the other person mentioned, on a two lane highway blocking position puts you too close to oncoming traffic - and for what? To deter someone from passing you? If they want to pass they will pass, where you are in the lane makes no difference. Blocking position is born of the belief that there has to be some rational order to the safety of this very dangerous sport (so that regulators can regulate). But its bad advice to take it too seriously, the best advice is to use your brain and do whats smart given the situation.

And no, I would not have appreciated the advice :)
 
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Is being in the wrong position really THAT bad? Doesn't matter where I am in my lane I have yet to have someone share it. I change all over the place depending on debris, road condition, traffic conditions, mood, etc. I consider it more of a guideline.
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