Do You Filter to the Front of the Line at Intersections?
When you're coming to a stop sign or stop light, and there is a line of cars ahead of you, what do you do? Do you get in line with the cars and wait your turn, or do you filter to the front of the line?
Cyclists' opinion vary on this, of course. Those who follow the doctrine of vehicular cycling gurus like John Forrester will tell you that a bicyclist should behave like a motor vehicle; in other words, wait your turn and no cutting in line.
Others, myself included, believe that difference situations call for different responses. For instance, if I'm toward the back of a platoon of cars when the light turns green, those cars behind me may be going 30-40 mph by the time they reach the intersection. I feel safer going to the front of the line to wait for the light to change, positioned directly to the front right of the lead vehicle so they can see me, and then go through the intersection with the cars around me going 10 mph instead of 40. If there are just a couple of cars, I'll wait my turn in line.
If you filter to the front on the right side shoulder, you've got to watch for the infamous "right hook" however. And if you're worried about seeming like a line-jumper, hey, that agility is one of the advantages of having a bike. If a driver wants to be irritated by this, tell ‘em to get a bike too.
What do you do? Do you move to the front of the line of cars at an intersection, or do you wait? Comment below.
Related article: Ride Safely in Traffic
Comments
Move on up.
Filter to the front – as long as the cyclist stays to the right, and doesn’t block traffic by hanging out in the middle of the lane.
Move on up if there is room to do so safely. I don’t weave in between the cars like some I see…
It depends on the situation. If there’s room to the right of traffic, I may go up front. But usually, if the cars are already queued up, I won’t break in line.
Unless, they’ve pissed me off already… then I’ll bust up front.
Go ahead but not always, if its tight or there are some hookers (turning cars, mind out of the gutter) I will wait one or 2 back just in case.
I stay in line. We want drivers to treat us as vehicles, so I act accordingly. If there is gridlock after a light has turned green, I go ahead.
I always go to the front like my Fellow Cyclists, both Men and Women in Ireland. If you dont you will get a Mouth full of Petrol and Diesel Exhaust Fumes, it is really bad not to. I think the Buses are worse for this with the Fumes. If it is impossible to sidle up to the front of Traffic, you have to stay back from Vehicle in Front because of Pollution from Fumes.10.15 pm G.M.T. Dublin
If it’s a really busy,large intersection, I’ll cross with the pedestrians. Bascially, I go up on the right side of the front car and cross with the light.
I used to move up but now I wait. Most drivers appreciate me not jumping the line. Same Road, Same Rights, Same Rules.
For safety reasons I would move up. You still have to maintain rules at the front of line, such as your righ hand turns as well as pedestrians and cars that run the light. Safety is always forthright in bicycle riding.
Stay back by moving up you force all those cars you line jumped to have to pass you a second time. That is why cars hate bikes soooo much.
It depends on the intersection. If there is a right turn only lane and I am going straight I will cycle on up to the front, I safer and also I am out of the way of the autos making a right turn. On other intersections where there is no turn lane I will wait in line like the autos. I usually will be in the traffic lane but off to the right side. I dont ride “hugging” the curb as I want to be seen and taking the right side of the lane is lawful, if there is not a safe shoulder to ride on. I commute about 23 miles a day and my ride home is at midnight.
Geeze, this had made me rethink my cycling practices. Generally I try to follow the rules of the road to make sure I’m in the right, and to give cyclists a good name, but I will admit that at a stop light, I do shimmy up the curb side on the right past vehicles. That open bit of road is just too tempting when you want to keep going forward. I do feel safer when I’m up front and cars can see me, but that’s really a moot point when you think about it – if they’re ahead of you, they don’t need to see you as they’ll be past you in a minute anyway, and the cars that are behind you will see you regardless of where you are. Hmmm…..
I want to be treated like an automobile, so I stay in the line. The only exception is when there are two lines of traffic before the light with the right hand lane being right turn only and the left lane being straight and left turn. Then I end up in a very vulnerable position having to sit in the middle of a line of cars in the left lane. In that case I move on up to the front of the left hand lane so I can go straight ahead when the light changes. No matter what I do I’m going to tick off somebody (except for fellow bicyclists). I think the most important thing is that no matter what you do, do it in a predictable manner so that those in a car don’t have to guess what you’re going to do next. If they guess wrong, you’re the one who could end up “dead wrong.”
If cyclist want to share and be respected on the road we need to play by the same rules as the cars. Always wait your turn in line.
In most situation, I’ll move to any sidelane that is meant for cyclist or pedestrians.
If I encounter a wide road/avenue/intersections in highways, I’ll choose to go to the front instead of getting stucked behind.
I want to be away from the pack of cars as quickly as possible to avoid the congestion. I move to the right and wait as far to the right as I can be to allow right turn cars to go around me. If there is a right turn lane for cars, I stay on the white line even with the first car in line going strait to allow the right turn cars access to the lane.
It depends on the situation. Only a few cars in calm neighborhood, I’ll wait in line. Motorists are really impressed when we do that, in particular when the lane is narrow. You control your lane space that way. However, when in gridlocked traffic & high volume areas or with wide lanes, I’ll filter to the front to make sure I can get through the light change sequence before it turns red again. When filtering up I split lanes of traffic, i.e. between the curb lane and the next lane in. That avoids any right hooks in which case I would be considered at fault for passing on the right. We should never pass on the right even if filtering up. Not only is it dangerous, if you get hit by a right hooker it can be shown to be your fault.
Usually I wait in my position in the line of traffic. I hate it when I see cyclists disregarding traffic laws – riding the wrong way on one-way streets, not stopping for traffic lights, etc. – so I make a point of obeying them.
That said, if there is a really long line at the light and a wide, safe shoulder, I sometimes do go up to the front on the shoulder. I have mixed feelings about whether it’s appropriate to do that, though…
Actually. I’m guilty when it come to a stop sign. If there is NO traffic I stop and roll. With traffic I obey the law.
At a stop light. I wait til the light turns green. But, again if there is no traffic I look to make sure it’s clear a proceed forward
My town has bike lanes across most of its roads. When there isn’t a bike lane, I always wait in line. It’s a small town with little traffic and not enough respect for cyclists as is. Sharing the road works both ways.
If there’s a lot of cars I wait in line otherwise I move up front.
Move to the front, but depends on situtation.
I read the situation and often filter to the front if going straight or turning right.
Straight to the front of the line – it’s safer.
I like to move to the front of the line. I am on the shoulder either way – I don’t’ want to block traffic because I can’t move up fast enough and then cars miss the light because they are afraid to pass me. I think that by moving up, I can get out of their way faster. Now, if I have to make a left at a light where cars can turn left or right, I stay in the middle and try not to back everyone up behind me as best I can – so that I can turn left and not get cut off by someone turning right. I am not sure if this is the right way to do it – but this is the only way I have ever felt safe doing it.
when I see the light ahead of me is red and not too many cars in front, I take over the middle of my lane and coast to the light (hopefully I won’t have to dismount as I can’t track stand. this way, cars aren’t blowing by me just to get one more car ahead. If there is a long line, I ride up. I agree with the guy that it is better to be passed by people travelling slowly. Besides, it sucks to miss the light because you waited in line and weren’t fast enough to get through as a bunch of cars squeezed by and made it. Besides, I ride to avoid traffic jams, so filtering up the line is a perk to cyclng!
I usually wait behind the cars, and ALL the way over to the curb, unless i’m turning left. And, I let the cars pass me before I proceed; or if there’s a sidewalk & no pedestrians, I get up on the sidewalk until the cars have passed. Yes, I know I have a right, but I like to let those cars go by me. it feels safer that way.
I guess I am an oddball,because lining in the cars never even crossed my mind as an option in the 21 years (5 years as a commuter) I have cycled! I have always gone forward, because I could. Luckily, where I live in California, the intersections are well delineated for turning cars and there’s always bike lanes, so everyone has their place.
I am 56 years old Ive been riding for more than 40 years I have always moved to the front of the line and I have never been in a bike related accident so far.
I feel it’s safer to move to the front. Usually there’s a bike lane. I commute, and often there’s so much traffic that cars wait through several lights to get through an intersection. I don’t ride a bike so that I can sit and wait like that! I believe drivers can see me better if there’s a right turn lane if I’m at the front, also.I can get out of the intersection to right of the road into the bike lane quickly.
Depends on the situation. If I can see the light is about to turn green I will wait, otherwise I filter up
I work my way up to the light along the right shoulder. Everybody sees me, and I stay well to the right going through the intersection.
Unless there’s a cop in the line.
Thinking about this as a driver who cycles, I don’t mind cyclists moving on up at intersections as long as there’s a reasonable amount of room, and they’re not going to foul traffic when the lights change.
And a cyclist in a lane of traffic can hold up cars.
As a cyclist, I like to take advantage of the maneuverability and slim profile of the bike to get out front where it’s generally safer.
What pisses me off are those cyclists who completely disregard the code and ride through red lights, along pavements etc. They shame us all.
If there is a bike lane I move up to the light, since an empty bike lane is the same as an empty traffic lane. If there is no bike lane, I stay in line hugging the right part of the lane and try to maintain the vehicle speeds entering the intersection. I disagree that vehicles are typically at 30-40 mph entering an intersection from a long line. I find I often have to apply my brakes when moving forward beause I’m faster than the cars.
I hold my spot in the line. I want respect in traffic so I treat others with the same.
I wait in line. The number one place for incidents is at intersections with cyclists getting right hooked as the most common type of car-bike incident. Preventing those is the way to keep yourself safe. If there is a bike line I get out of the bike lane and into the line of traffic to prevent a right hook. Being hit from behind is one of the least frequent type of car-bike incident so placing yourself to avoid that type collision to place yourself to increase chances ot the more likely incident does not make sense.
Besides it is illegal. Passing on the right side of traffic is illegal whether you are a car or bike. We need to follow the rules of the road.
Keep yourself safe and legal!
Safety first, with this said, it’s a matter of us cyclists using the most of our common sense. When you filter to the front of the line, you have more chances that drivers waiting for the light change are going to see you there before they start moving, therefore, it’s safer… but that’s just my opinion… I even try to make eye contact with the driver to my left, usually that “aknowledges” my presence there. But I recomend that other cyclist do what ever works better for their city, or town… I wouldn’t know what to do if I was riding in a big city like New York, I am an angelino rider, and sometimes I really think twice before hitting the streets, specially neighborhoods I’m not familiar with…
Do I filter to the front? it depends if I have a shoulder available, but when that does not happen, I stay in the lane, but I take the whole lane when conditions allow (our local law allows cyclists to take up the entire lane if we are moving at the same speed as the traffic. The temptation is to take the right of the lane and allow cars to overtake, but the experience has been that the motorists pass you too close, which risk provoking a fall in traffic…not good. When I take the whole lane (speed permitting), I have noticed that the motorists keep their distance better. Most drivers here (P.R.) do not mind cyclists who filter to the front in a SAFE way. Some times I receive a comment like “jerk!”. When that happens, I usually ask in a good mood why I am a jerk: most of them say “’cause I am stuck here and you are having such an easy time, etc…, so it is not meant as an insult, most of the time.
As the comments suggest there is no right answer all the time. Sometimes it’s better to go on up. Exceptions would include but not limit to narrow roads where the vehicals have to pass us again. This just causes traffic problems and irritates the drivers. (me included) Wider roads and roads with shoulders there is no reason not to go to the front.
On a personal note I don’t care what the drivers think. I control my environment and try to be courtious to those around me. That does not mean do what they think to be the right thing.