Vehicular cycling

Under the international Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968), a bicycle (or "cycle", as referenced by the convention) is defined to be a vehicle and a cyclist is considered to be a driver. In some jurisdictions, a bicycle is defined as a "device" rather than a vehicle, but in those cases usually the operator of a bicycle is afforded the "same rights and responsibilities" as a driver of a vehicle. Often, cyclists are allowed additional privileges that motor vehicle drivers are not — such as traveling on sidewalks in accordance to the pedestrian rules of the road. (Care must be taken with respect to this allowance as some jurisdictions do not permit sidewalk cycling; consult your local ordinances before practicing.) Vehicular cycling (VC), is riding a bicycle on roadways in accordance with the vehicular rules of the road. Sometimes vehicular cycling is referred to as integrated cycling (i.e. integrated with other vehicular traffic, as opposed to cycling in segregated cycling facilities ), cooperative cycling, or bicycle driving.

Related Topics:
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic - Rules of the road - ''segregated cycling facilities''

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A vehicular/integrated/cooperative cyclist, or bicycle driver, is a cyclist who generally rides on roadways in accordance to the vehicular rules of the road. Primarily, this means:

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• Riding on the same side of the road as other vehicular traffic.
• Riding outside of the door zone; no closer than five feet to parked cars.
• Obeying traffic controls (like stop signs and traffic signals).
• Choosing the appropriate lane and lateral lane position according to speed positioning between intersections.
• Choosing the appropriate lane and lateral lane position according to destination positioning at intersections and their approaches, including merging away from the side of the road before going straight across an intersection.
• Adjusting lateral lane position (moving left and right) relatively often in response to, and in anticipation of, ever-changing conditions and factors.
• Using the full lane when appropriate, including whenever there is no faster traffic traveling in the same direction at that time.
• Merging, one lane at a time, across a roadway to get to a turn lane, using negotiation with other drivers as required.
• Generally feeling and acting like a vehicle driver, albeit the driver of a narrow and relatively low-powered vehicle.

While any cyclist riding on the roadway is bound to be riding "vehicularly" at least some of the time, few cyclists actually ride vehicularly consistently. Some non-vehicular actions commonly taken by cyclists include:

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• Cycling on the wrong side of the road.
• Cycling in the door zone.
• Cycling on sidewalks or in crosswalks.
• Running stop signs.
• Running red lights.
• Going straight across an intersection from the side of the road from which right (left in England) turns are allowed and expected, and through travel is not expected. (Driving on the left is practised in many other countries as well, but we refer to England here, for brevity )
• Turning left (right in England) from the side of the road and darting across the roadway, instead of merging across one lane at a time.
• Moving laterally without looking back over the shoulder.
• Stopping or cycling on stripes separating lanes instead of taking an assertive position within a lane.
• At red lights, moving to the front of traffic and stopping in the crosswalk or ahead of the stop line, instead of taking one's place in line according to the first come, first served principle.
• Passing slow or stopped traffic on the right (left in England).
• Cycling in the gutter or generally keep to the side, even when there is no same-direction faster traffic present.
• Cycling on the side of a lane that is too narrow to be safely shared side by side with other vehicles, thus inviting drivers of vehicles to try to squeeze into the narrow lane unsafely.
 
Vehicular cycling: Principle ►