http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: "Share the road" doesn't mean what you think it means... en Sun, 31 May 2026 21:40:03 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211754 Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:09:06 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 211754@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@sallyhinch What is the default situation in the US? Are you allowed/supposed to cycle on the carriageway?</p> <p>I can't get my head around in which situation a sign makes sense that tells everybody about cyclists on the road (ignoring the wording for the moment).</p> <p>In Europe where pavement cycling isn't allowed, on roads without cycle lanes such a sign doesn't make much sense because it's clear cyclists have to use the carriageway.</p> <p>On roads with cycle lane, on the other hand, it might be useful from our perspective to remind drivers that cyclists can still be on the road, but authorities wouldn't put up such a sign which essentially undermines their cycle lane.</p> <p>More at home, I had a bit of an exchange with a council officer once when I pointed out a dangerous junction and they suggested to paint a cycle symbol and advisory lane on the road "to make drivers aware of cyclists" (to be fair, there wasn't really anything else they could suggest without expensive junction redesign).</p> <p>I actually suggested not to waste money on that because if a driver isn't aware of a full-sized cyclist (or oversized, in my case) then a painted bike symbol will hardly make them more aware, but there is a danger some drivers will think cyclists are only allowed to use a narrow bit of the road here, making it more dangerous. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211753 Fri, 12 Feb 2016 11:05:39 +0000 ih 211753@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@paulmilne Our friends from Roseburn should be made to read this link, within your first link, 10 times a day before their bacon rolls</p> <p><a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/salt-lake-city-street-removes-parking-adds-bike-lanes-and-sales-go-up" rel="nofollow">http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/salt-lake-city-street-removes-parking-adds-bike-lanes-and-sales-go-up</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211743 Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:11:30 +0000 paulmilne 211743@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Say what you like about daft American signs, they are powering ahead with building protected bike lanes (the preferred nomenclature).</p> <p><a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/americas-10-best-new-bike-lanes-of-2015" rel="nofollow">http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/americas-10-best-new-bike-lanes-of-2015</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/portland-is-first-u.s.-city-to-make-protection-the-default-for-all-new-bike" rel="nofollow">http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/portland-is-first-u.s.-city-to-make-protection-the-default-for-all-new-bike</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211727 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 18:08:26 +0000 sallyhinch 211727@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>'Share the road' signs got quite heavily promoted by vehicular cycle campaigners in the US as all the infrastructure real cyclists needed (although they are also quite fond of 'sharrows' which have also, funnily enough, been shown to be quite useless). Of course cities were delighted to put them up so they could claim they were doing something for cyclists and shut up all those pesky other campaigners who wanted expensive complicated things like cycle tracks </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211724 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:17:52 +0000 Min 211724@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ha, I always think that when I see those signs too Dougal.</p> <p><em>They noted that the state of Delaware, which is just wide enough for two lanes of traffic in each direction,</em></p> <p>I didn't know Delaware was so thin!</p> <p>It will be interesting to see whether these signs make a difference. They are certainly less ambiguous. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211720 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 15:43:28 +0000 dougal 211720@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Stephan - like there is no matching "fast" sign, the implication behind "You are now leaving <a href="http://pastehtml.com/view/congsanz3.html">Kingston Notbarrow</a>, thank you for driving carefully" is that you can now proceed to drive UNcarefully. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211713 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:45:06 +0000 ih 211713@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Stephan I'm pretty sure you're right. It's an American thing where decades of law and practice have resulted in the road being "owned" by vehicular transport.</p> <p>The only vaguely similar sign I've seen in the UK is very occasionally put up temporarily at roadworks and says something like, "Do not overtake bicycles". I feel this is rather good but sadly not very common. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211710 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:33:00 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 211710@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Actually, are there any "share the road" signs in UK (or Europe) actually on the road, or is it just used within advertising campaigns? I can't really see where it would make sense. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211709 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:30:06 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 211709@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"can be interpreted that where there is no sign, bicycles may NOT use the full lane"</p> <p>Ideally, we wouldn't need signs for something that should be obvious. A bit like all the "slow" painted onto roads everywhere. Shouldn't warning signs be restricted to locations where there is a specific unexpected hazard, but not about things drivers should really expect and be able to handle everywhere and all the time?</p> <p>Regarding the "slow" signs, why is there never a matching "fast" sign when the hazard is over? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211706 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:19:09 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 211706@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Claire The illustration to the Scientific American Article looks as if it was inspired by Bikeyface's second cartoon... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211687 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 12:09:38 +0000 Claire 211687@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This: <a href="http://bikeyface.com/2014/11/13/sharing/">http://bikeyface.com/2014/11/13/sharing/</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211686 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 11:42:39 +0000 ih 211686@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I hate the idea of "Share the road" for the reasons given, but " Bicycles may use full lane" is even worse because it can be interpreted that where there is no sign, bicycles may NOT use the full lane. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211683 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 11:22:57 +0000 fimm 211683@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I don't know who I am quoting but:<br /> "<em>To a driver, "Share the road" means "Get out of my way".<br /> To a cyclist, "Share the road" means "Please don't kill me".</em>" </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16051#post-211667 Thu, 11 Feb 2016 08:17:12 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 211667@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Interesting article about "share the road" signs:<br /> <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antibiotic-resistance-and-share-the-road-signs-can-be-grossly-misinterpreted/" rel="nofollow">http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antibiotic-resistance-and-share-the-road-signs-can-be-grossly-misinterpreted/</a></p> <p>"Although often described as a reminder to motorists that bicyclists may use the travel lane, bicyclists frequently complain that motorists interpret the sign to mean that they should get out of the way" wrote North Carolina State University researchers George Hess and M. Nils Peterson.<br /> (...)<br /> They found that signs reading “Share the Road” had virtually the same effect on respondents' mentality as did no signage at all. But an alternative wording that appeared to at least somewhat alert people to the life and limb of bike riders did exist. “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” got more people to say that a driver should wait until it's safe to pass and then give the bike a wide berth. </p>