Vehicular cycling

Vehicular cycling (also known as bicycle driving) is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic.

The phrase vehicular cycling was coined by John Forester in the 1970s to characterize the style of cycling utilized in his native country, the United Kingdom, in contrast to the deferential-to-cars style of cycling and practices that he found to be typical in the United States. In his book Effective Cycling, Forester contends that "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles".

A vehicular cyclist is a cyclist who generally travels within the roadway in accordance with the basic vehicular rules of the road that are shared by all drivers and adhering to traffic controls. Vehicular cyclists, Forester advises, should feel and act like vehicle drivers, albeit the drivers of narrow and relatively low-powered vehicles.

In Effective Cycling, Forester introduced what he calls "the five basic principles of cycling in traffic".

Vehicular cycling theory specifies the position, motion and behavior of cyclists, and sets out several techniques for them to use.

Lane control is the practice of a cyclist controlling a lane (also known as "using the full lane", "taking control of the lane", "taking the lane" or "claiming the lane") when traveling near the center of a marked travel lane. Controlling the lane normally precludes passing within the same lane by drivers of motor vehicles, while being positioned near a lane edge usually encourages such passing—even when it is hazardous to cyclists.

Vehicular cyclists commonly control lanes under the following circumstances:

Due to the relatively narrow nature of bicycles, road lanes are sometimes wide enough to allow them to safely share lanes side by side with motor vehicles. In lanes where this is possible, vehicular cycling suggests riding about 1 metre (3.3 ft) to the outside of overtaking traffic and about the same distance from roadside hazards such as the gutter seam. Cyclists can also filter forward past stopped motor traffic. Where they exist, wide outside lanes may also be shared in order to facilitate being overtaken by faster traffic.

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