Another problem I am seeing down here in Sussex county, Delaware is that on
Route One we have a shared bus/bike lane and since it is wide enough for a
transit bus the motorists down here seem to feel: "Hey!  You have that whole big
lane over there- keep in it!"  Not to mention while it is also a right turn
lane, it is also routinely used as a merge in lane, which it is not supposed to
be used for. 
 
So the so-called bus/bike shared lane here is really just an extra travel/right
turn/merge lane, and as a bicyclist you should really treat it as such- as do
I.  In the areas where there is no designated bike lane I always place myself
into the regular (and appropriate) lane to make a left hand turn, and I have
come up against some hostility (horn honking and yelling) for doing so.  People
down here are on vacation, or trying to get to work with 10 times as much
traffic as normal (from May to September), and tempers get short fast. 
 
The foreign workers who are here this year (a lot less of them than in recent
years past) still favor the sidewalks and no helmets as usual.  Lots of
educational work ahead........

GaryP
Delaware



Now THAT'S why I don't like the idea of bike lanes; they COMPLICATE
interaction with traffic UNNECESSARILY.  Think about it.  Pretty much
all you have to do on an ordinary street to avoid this problem is to
not pass on the right AT ALL and queue up with traffic; problem solved.
  As soon as you have a bike lane, though, things get a LOT more
complicated as you have to figure out, "OK, I'm to the right of all
these cars; somebody could be turning right.  I better make sure they
know I'm here..."

In my opinion, passing stopped traffic on the right at an intersection
should NEVER be done.  EVER.  Not even when there IS a bike lane. 
That, too, is a problem with the concept of bike lanes; they ENCOURAGE
this very same dangerous behavior.

Here's what *I* think is the safest thing to do when there's a bike
lane (assuming you're using it in the first place).

Treat the bike lane as if it were a RIGHT TURN ONLY LANE.  As you
approach the intersection, shoulder check and SIGNAL LEFT that you
intend to MERGE INTO THE THROUGH LANE.  Then, when you're clear to
merge, merge over and queue up with traffic just as you would at any
ordinary intersection.  Control the lane until you clear the
intersection and only THEN do you shoulder check, signal RIGHT and
merge back into the bike lane.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]