This footage of a driver close-passing two cyclists on their morning commute offers insight into why you should sometimes 'take the lane' when cycling on narrow roads.
The two cyclists are riding to work together, one in front of the other, when a driver close passes them into oncoming traffic. Thankfully nobody was injured, or even crashes, but it's close call and this could have ended badly.
Clearly the driver passes the cyclists far too closely and does so as an oncoming driver is approaching and as the lead cyclist moves out a little, though within the normal range of cyclists' movements on any road.
One other interesting thing to observe here is the cyclist's initial position in the road. We don't mean to victim blame and we're not victim blaming, but it's worth noting how close the cyclist is to the grass verge to his left.
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He's clearly doing his best to keep in as much as he can, leaving the rest of the lane free for passing drivers. However, this often has the unintended consequence of inviting drivers to try and squeeze past when really they should wait until it's safe.
If the cyclist had taken a position a little further out into the lane, any driver coming from behind would find their path blocked by the cyclist. They would then have no option but to treat the cyclist like any other vehicle on the road; being forced to slow behind them and wait for a clearer cut overtaking opportunity.
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Obviously cyclists shouldn't be obnoxious and go out of their way to block the lane they are in everywhere they ride. But all of us will be familiar with stretches of road on our regular rides where drivers are likely to try and squeeze past even though it's not safe.
In those circumstances, especially on narrow roads, it's better to assert yourself in a clear position out in the lane - to 'take the lane' as it's called - rather than keep in as tight as you can to the kerb or grass verge to your left.
By taking a more assertive position out into the lane, any driver approaching you from behind must slow and wait for a proper overtaking opportunity. This is much safer than keeping in tight to the left as that often only acts as an invitation to drivers to squeeze past.
We can't stress enough, we're not victim blaming. This is simply a perfect example of the pitfalls of hugging the kerb/verge when a more assertive position would be much safer.
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