A Timing Experiement: Motorists' Delay Due To Presence Of A Bicycle Driver

Описание: I know that, as a cyclist, I rarely have a motorist waiting behind for a substantial period of time. But I've never actually measured that time. I was curious, so I decided to do just that. I took some rear-view footage from a recent trip I made by bicycle, and timed each motorist who waited behind me for an opportunity to pass. You can see the results in this video. WARNING: This video is very boring.

This footage was not taken with any purpose in mind, and was chosen merely because it was the most recently captured suitable footage. Traffic is light to medium. Clearly, there are times when traffic is lighter than this and times when it is heavier, and delay times vary accordingly. But in this video, it seems that most motorists who approach me experience no delay, and very few wait for more than 30s to pass (a net delay of about 20s).

One lesson that really wish traffic engineers would take from this is that rumble strips greatly reduce opportunities for safe passing and consequently increase tension between cyclists and motorists.

I think it is safe to say that no one was horribly inconvenienced by my presence on the road. And what inconvenience was "suffered" is just part sharing a public resource. We all the same right to drive on public roadways. No one has absolute priority of anyone else. There is no Right Of Speet. First come, first served. Let's all stay calm, cautious, and cooperative. Let's all do our part to make our roads peaceful and everyone's travels safe and pleasant.