Advance Cycle Boxes

[jack]

Just before traffic lights, there is a cycle-lane like box the width of the main lane, in which cyclists can stop at lights without being rear-ended by cars.

0. Is there an official name for them? "Advance cycle box" is in my head, is is equally likely to be something else entirely, or made up.

1. What is the intended use if the cyclist approaches the traffic lights behind three cars? I feel it should be obvious what they're supposed to do, but admit I can't tell. Obviously if you can accelerate briskly to 20mph, there's no problem, but if you can't, or don't want to?

Undertake if there is a clear cycle lane, else wait in the queue? Always undertake if you can? (But it's not clear when the highway code permits undertaking.) Overtake if you can? (But this is unlikely to be possible.) Always wait? (But that leaves a frustrated driver behind you.) Dismount and cross the intersection from the pavement? (But that's annoying and takes several times as long.)

2. If it were safe to do either, which would delay the drivers least: moving ahead to the cycle box, or waiting in turn. One way, the drivers ahead go past, but the one behind probably misses the lights. The other, all the drivers are delayed until the road is wide enough to overtake safely again.

3. What do you do?

I feel silly for not knowing, but most of the time, it doesn't come up, either because there's not enough of a queue, or the road is wide enough to permit cars overtaking cycles safely. And then when it does, I don't actually know.

Comments

[captain-aj.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure what the "proper" use for them is in various scenarios; the government (local and national) is very muddled when it comes to cycle facilities. I model this muddle as "The more pictures of bicycles we paint on the road or pavement, the more green and pro-cycling we are. Get your paintbrush and jump to it!".

In general, I'd recommend not using them unless you're already at the front of the queue, in which case you just roll along into them in the desired position for left, right or straight-on turns as if you were on a road that didn't have one.

If you roll up behind a traffic queue, undertaking to get into the box risks bad things happening if the lights turn (or have turned) green while you're doing it; you're off to the side of the queue, in a driver's blind spot and likely to get swiped by somebody turning left, or going straight on and not leaving room for you. There's also the questionable etiquette of queue-jumping ;-).

Just join the traffic queue as you would in any other vehicle. As has been pointed out in another comment, it's much better to be visible dead ahead (say, to the person joining the queue after you) than in a tight spot to the side where you're less likely to be seen. The issue of minor delays for you or somebody else in the queue is dwarfed by safety considerations.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

"The more pictures of bicycles we paint on the road or pavement, the more green and pro-cycling we are. Get your paintbrush and jump to it!"

And on the cycle/foot path leading from the river up to Tesco, some wag has painted "DISMOUNT" under the bicycle picture.

[sillytrippy.livejournal.com]

I don't really agree with the "questionable etiquette of queue-jumping" thing. If I'm approaching a queue of cars, there seems to be a fairly high chance that the next car behind me will accelerate, overtake, and slam the brakes on. Where's the queuing etiquette there?

If there's space to the left, and I judge it safe, I'll take it. Note that "juding it safe" would not include cycle boxes.

[captain-aj.livejournal.com]

I don't really agree with the "questionable etiquette of queue-jumping" thing. If I'm approaching a queue of cars, there seems to be a fairly high chance that the next car behind me will accelerate, overtake, and slam the brakes on. Where's the queuing etiquette there?
I'm confused - are you saying it's ok for cyclists to jump queues, but not for cars to do so? The situation you outline with the impatient car driver sounds like queue-jumping as well, which, imo, is also behaviour unbecoming of a gentleman.

[sillytrippy.livejournal.com]

I'm saying that there doesn't seem to be a concept of polite queuing. People queue because there's no way past the queue, not out of some etiquette.

I also feel confused as to what possible purpose there is in the car making that overtake, whereas I see major benefits for cyclists in keeping going whenever (safely) possible.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

"The more pictures of bicycles we paint on the road or pavement, the more green and pro-cycling we are. Get your paintbrush and jump to it!".

:)

[pizza.maircrosoft.com (from livejournal.com)]

painting bicycles on the road, at least in some places, is intended to remind drivers to be alert to the presence of cyclists on that road - not take corners too tightly, and so on.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Good point.