Here are a few videos on vehicular cycling that show the proper way to “ride the road“:

Vehicular Cycling - Example 1

Vehicular Cycling - Example 2

Vehicular Cycling - Lane Changes

Advocates of vehicular cycling—such as John Forester, John Franklin and John S. Allen—argue that cycling in accordance to the vehicular rules of the road is the safest and most effective means to use a bicycle for transportation.

Some VC advocates contend that cyclists should only ride vehicularly, believing that non-vehicular cycling is not only less safe, but leads to less societal acceptance of cyclists who do cycle vehicularly.

Some VC advocates oppose segregated cycling facilities like bike lanes because they inhibit and discourage cycling integrated with other vehicular traffic, and because they encourage motorists not to expect bicycles where it is reasonable to expect them and even where they are forced to be. In particular, bike lanes oblige a bicyclist going straight through an intersection to do it from next to the curb, whereas a vehicular cyclist would do it from a through-traffic lane. A right-turning motorist doesn’t expect a motorist in that lane and may thus hit the unseen bicycle. Similarly, bike paths and bike lanes sometimes encourage or require wrong-way riding in places where it was inconvenient to put lanes or paths on both sides of the road. This has two predictable results:

1. head-on collisions between two bicyclists who both think they have the right of way.
2. collisions between left-turning motorists and bicyclists in bike lanes or paths. The motorist has already looked for cars going each way on the side street, and would have seen any cyclist going the right way; but the motorist has not looked at the places where any wrong-way bicyclists will pop up.

In addition to reading about vehicular cycling in textbooks, a cyclist can participate in training courses offered by organizations such as the League of American Bicyclists and the Canadian Cycling Association.

Another source for education regarding the basics of vehicular cycling is John S. Allen’s pamphlet, Bicycling Street Smarts, available for free on his website (http://www.johnforester.com/).

An alternative to vehicular cycling is pedestrian bicycling, or bicycling according to the pedestrian rules of the road. Pedestrian bicycling often means riding on sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and other pedestrian facilities. In those jurisdictions where such behavior is illegal, the cyclist may be held liable for any personal injuries or property damage that results. There are peculiar hazards associated with this activity, including (but not limited to)

• Opening passenger-side doors.
• Pedestrians, dogs, children playing, etc.
• Potential conflicts with other vehicles at all intersections, including driveways and alleys, as well as major intersections.
• Entering crosswalks, where drivers turning into your path are often looking the other way.

Many cyclists use a combination of vehicular cycling and pedestrian bicycling. This approach has the drawback that extra care must be taken when transitioning from one mode to the other, since transitioning often leads to actions not expected by others. In particular, during a transition, a cyclist must yield the right-of-way to both pedestrians and vehicle drivers. Car-bike collision statistics indicate that those who operate bicycles (and other pedal vehicles) in contradiction with the vehicular rules of the road are particularly vulnerable.

Examples of pedestrian bicycling:

• going straight across an intersection from the outside edge of the road (next to the curb)
• making inside turns only when it’s clear (don’t bother negotiating) by darting straight across the road during a gap
• resorting to pedestrian-style turns when no gaps are to be had
• eschewing streets with narrow outside lanes whenever possible (and, thus, where there is no room to be “out of the way”)

There is considerable confusion expressed about the meaning of vehicular cycling. Among these, are:

“VC is cycling as if you’re a car”

VC has been imprecisely described as “cycling as if you’re a car”. Operators of horses, and buggies, tractor trailers, motor vehicles, and bicycles share the same basic rules of the road for drivers, so a more accurate description of VC is “cycling as if you’re a driver”.

While most of the rules apply to everyone operating a vehicle, there are some exceptions. For example, drivers of heavy motor vehicles (car, motorcycle, etc.) are required to be licensed because of the extraordinary danger posed to others by the operation of those vehicles.

All drivers should use the principle of destination positioning when approaching and crossing junctions with streets, alleys, driveways, etc. Another principle, which applies more often when cycling than when motoring, is speed positioning; drivers who are traveling slowly should (when traveling between intersections and not passing or turning) keep to the outside marked travel lane or to the outside of the road (when such lanes aren’t available in that direction).

“VC is needlessly blocking cars”

Cyclists who ride in the center of a lane needlessly impeding faster traffic are sometimes mistakenly referred to as vehicular cyclists; yet by definition a cyclist who needlessly impedes faster traffic is violating the vehicular rules of the road and is hence not riding vehicularly. A motorist who needlessly impedes faster traffic will be cited for that offense.

“VC means ‘taking the lane’”

Because the practice of using the full lane when it is safe and appropriate to do so often distinguishes vehicular cyclists from other types of cyclists, the meaning of VC is sometimes used to mean “taking the lane”. For example, someone might claim that they ride “VC” on part of their commute, but not the whole time, meaning that some of the time they ride in a lane-sharing position near the edge of the road (as if that’s not VC because they’re not using the full traffic lane when they do that). But since a fundamental principle of vehicular behavior is “speed positioning”, drivers of slower vehicles often operate “as far outside as practicable” in order to allow faster traffic to pass. So do vehicular cyclists.

“VC means not riding in bicycle lanes”

Another misconception about VC — that riding in a bicycle lane is contrary to the principles of VC — probably stems from a misunderstanding of John Forester’s teachings about bicycle lanes. Forester has written that Effective Cycling does not train a cyclist to avoid riding in a bicycle lane, but rather to choose their lateral position as if the bicycle lane stripe is not there. Cyclists who end up in a bicycle lane should be extra cautious with regard to people who look for vehicles only in the traffic lanes, watch for the road debris that tends to accumulate there, and avoid crossing the solid stripe without first yielding to other traffic.

Also, while many VC advocates oppose bike lanes, what they actually oppose is the bike lane stripe, not the space demarcated by the stripe. Nor do they oppose riding in that space (whether it is demarcated or not) when safe, reasonable and appropriate to do so for the current factors and conditions. The opposition to the stripe is based on the widespread perception that the demarcated “bike lane” space is the only place where bicyclists should ride regardless of current factors and conditions.

“VC means you have to follow the letter of the law”

To understand vehicular cycling, it is important to fully comprehend the subtle but significant distinction between the principles for driving a vehicle in traffic and the laws which regulate driving in a given jurisdiction. Vehicular cycling is based on the principles, not the laws.

To illustrate the distinction between these two concepts, consider the principle that vehicles should always travel within the portion of the road intended for the movement of vehicular traffic (a.k.a. the Traveled Way). Now consider those laws which prohibit drivers of a particular class of vehicle (bicyclists) from traveling within the Traveled Way when a path (such as a sidewalk) exists along side. Notice the difference between principle and law in this example.

John Forester illustrated the distinction in another way when he wrote about turn signals:

“The law about making turn signals differs from state to state, and has differed from time to time. The principle is that any driver who will be affected by the movement should be informed of your intended movement. However, the implementations of that principle differ.”

The principles of driving require that a driver signal those who will likely be affected by a change in the movement of the driver’s vehicle. If a look back meets this requirement when merging, then that is all which is required of a vehicular cyclist. While the law may require cyclists to use their arms to signal, the principle does not dictate that a vehicular cyclist must do so. Vehicular cycling requires sound judgment in the application of the principles of driving, not blind compliance with the law.