what are u doing dad.do u no were on the road you should be?

[Jamie S]

Right i was happly rideing along on the back of the yammy when i suddanly thought why the hell are them on comming cars so fucking close ?by close i meen if i stuck my foot out it would have been took out by the cars passing (ok that sounds stupid i meen with my foot on the foot rest but turning it side ways )
i then relised that my dad was riding here >https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r220/jamie_stokes_2/okokok.jpg right so the red one is were i thought we should be rideing ? and the black one was were we wer riding . any way my dad hasent had a road bike for 15 yrs or so . so before i said any thing i thought i would ask is were i think we should be rideing the correct place to be ?

[Jamie S]

does the type of road make a diffirence ? example an a road b road ect

[veeeffarr]

What the fuck are you talking about?!

[Kal]

From the looks of your drawing neither was the 'Highway Code' ideal place to be.

The red arrow looks too close to the gutter which all the road crap gets swept into and it also incites car divers to try and share your lane with you.

The position your Dad took gives you little or no room to maneavor to the right and as you noticed is so close to the traffic that if the oncoming crosses over then - ouch.

Ideally the bike should be more or less in the centre of the lane as a default position.

That said I tend to ride to the right so I can be seen in the side mirror of the car I am following and my 'escape channel' is down the white line.

You said that your Dad has been driving a car instead of a bike for the last fifteen years? It might be that your Dad is taking his normal road position for the car. When I was taking driving lessons for a car I tended to have the car over towards the left because I was used to being towards the centre of the road.
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[jimbothe]

I think most riders opinions are different to each others.I tend to sit in the middle of 'my' lane when cruising along but when going a little faster then use more of the lane that is available and try to get some decent racing lines.This is mostly on cross country lanes.On main roads i tend to sit in the middle and not sit too close to the kerb as tin can idiots will more often than not try to pass you.
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[Jamie S]

yess my dad has only had cars for the past 15 yrs (has had cars longer but had bikes as well ) . and has only had the yam About 1 month .
its only a 250 2 up so were not going for ''RACING LINES''
just fun rides out thats all.
cheers
jamie

[SoND]

He'll probably move from side to side of the lane to get a better view of the road ahead. Wouldn't worry about it.
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[hmmmnz]

thats where i sit when riding, but thats so if the car in front decides to break i can slip past with no dramas, or i can just slip past because i want to
seems like a safe enough place to me
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[Zimbo]

If there were two of you the line would be different anyway, tend to ride staggered in groups to get a better view of the road ahead past the bike in front.

[Noggin]

I usually ride in the middle or 2/3rds of the way from the curb to show a dominant riding position. Keeps the cars from thinking I'm a push over on a motorbike...


Craig G(Noggin)
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[Annabella]

[Gone2mars]

Nope.... i always ride exactly where your dad rides.

Your cbt instructor would have told you to 'dominate your road position' which means not riding where you are (the red arrow) because it causes cars to try and make a crafty overtake, limits visibility and puts you slap bang behind high vehicles so you can't see around them.

Positioning yourself where your dad has is exactly right in my oppinion (providing your on a straight and not about to take a right hand sweeper) because;
he can see around any cars
can easily avoid an accident if cars suddenly brake,
is more visible to cars turning onto your road from the right
Discoraging cars from trying to overtake him

However, your position (assuming your in red) as actually correct whether you knew it or not, when riding in groups of two or more people you should be riding in a staggered riding position like that anyways (at least on straights, adjust your line for corners and hazards) because it gives you better visibility ahead, the person infront always knows where to look for you in his mirrors and you have a better braking distance as opposed to going sailing into the back of your dad if he has to brake.

Providing your dad was adjusting his line and road position for corners, hazards and moving to the left a bit to make himself visible to cars turning from the left, then i think he's in the right.

Hope this helps matey


EDIT: Just realised you were riding as pillion, mistook your picture for you riding behind him on another bike sorry!

[Gazdaman]

I sit close to the white line, as do most police riders and IAM riders.

The closer you are to the vehicle in front, the closer to the white line you need to be.

Think of it as a right angled triangle (Yes I realise you don't know what that is.)

The right angle is near the curb at the back left of the car. If you're in the area of the triangle you're in danger if the car slams on the brakes.

If you're sat out close to the centre of the road (the right of your lane) you have a better view for the overtake, and you can also be closer to the car in front, because if they brake you can emergency over/use the distance next to them.

Gaz

[Davo]

If riding with a group I try and ride in a similar position (if I'm behind the leader etc..) as it increases my braking distance a bit.

Although when the pace gets up a bit and the formation breaks up a little, I find it's better to ride roughly where a car's right hand side wheel would be.

[Groove]

If im tootling around on my jub ill be in the middle of my lane, but still using as much of it as i can.

If im making progress i am normally near the white line as cars infront gernerally come up a bit more quickly
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[Aikman666]

Its also possible he didnt like the look of the middle part of his lane? Could be a hazard on it that you as a passenger wouldent pick up on. There was nothing wrong with where he was riding; you can ride anywhere in your lane if for some reason the other parts arent viable (diesel spills, debris, oil etc.)
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[Ariel Badger]

Annabella put her finger on it I think. His dad will be close to my age and we never rode in the lane centre because of oil leaks from cars. The problem has diminished over the last 30 years or so as tighter build control keeps most of the fluids inside the engine, box and diff. A lot of manholes etc tend to be in the middle of lanes so as not to piss off car drivers, on 1970s tyres and suspension the combination of oil and manholes was lethal. Old habits die hard though and I keep well to the centre of the road still.
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