Careful on left!

Cyclists are often told they should keep well to the left, as, in fact, all traffic should. Yet, as per the Highway Code, cyclists also need to avoid people opening car doors, stepping out from between vehicles as well as pot holes and drain covers.

To cope with this paradox, cyclists often position their left hand grip over the same position taken by the left wheel of a car. This is because the risks to both vehicles are in reality similar: “dooring”, pedestrian and vehicular incursions, etc...

They are therefore somewhat socialised into taking the position that they do on the road. While being a “gutter-bunny” may make cyclists less visible, parked cars and other such road hazards apart, they (cyclists) would actually keep further left if they could do so. The reason that they do not is due to the behaviour of other road users and the road infrastructure around them.

The latter is amply illustrated by the appalling state of Tower Road in Sliema where crumbling structures around drain covers, like the one pictured, are the rule rather than the exception. Little wonder that cyclists don’t keep left!