On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 15:48:03 +0900, Eric Takabayashi said (and I
quote): 

> 1) Bicycles traveling on the road must move along the left
> side, except when it's impossible because of construction or
> related works.

I don't like the sound of that.  If the lane isn't wide enough for a
car to pass safely, I prefer to be in the middle of the lane - that
way it doesn't encourage drivers to overtake within a lane that is
too narrow for overtaking.

It also doesn't consider the situation when turning right, where it's
much safer to position yourself on the right-hand side of the lane. 
This gives room for drivers to overtake on your left, and dissuades
them from overtaking on your right.

> Go ahead and use the sidewalk if you have to, 

The sidewalk is too dangerous/slow.  It's safe enough if you travel
at close to walking speeds (like most cyclists in Japan), but if
you're going faster then you're just asking for a car to run into you
at intersections, driveways etc, as drivers aren't expecting
something travelling that fast to be on the sidewalk.

> You see how many intersections have
> those specially marked "bicycle crossings" distinct from
> pedestrian crossings (there is also supposed to be some sort
> of marker before reaching the intersection, but I've never
> seen one in actual practice)? That's one example of where
> bicycles are not supposed to be traveling like cars and simply
> go through, but pull onto the sidewalk and "cross" the street
> because they "must proceed along the zone".

Is that really the law?  That sounds dangerous to me - getting out of
the flow of traffic, moving into a narrow little strip next to
pedestrians, and then have to get back into the flow of traffic
again.

> Also, bicycles are supposed to make "two step" turns at
> intersections crossing the street then waiting and crossing
> the street again to the right, instead of merely turning right
> in the rightmost lane like cars.

Again, is that really the law?  That would make riding on the roads
really inconvenient.  If I'm turning right I usually do what cars do
- stop in the middle of the road and wait for a gap in the traffic.

> Those drivers are just ticked off at what they perceive to be
> a hindrance to them, 

Aye, and it's usually only a perception rather than the reality.

Thanks for your help.
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