If a cyclist does not act like a vehicle driver, they are unlikely to be treated like one by other road users. Acting as a driver is easier when the cyclist believes that:

• they have the same right as anyone else to travel
• it is not wrong of them to assert that right
• their right will be respected by most others

John Forester has written:

“There is much more to the vehicular-cycling principle than only obeying the traffic laws for drivers. The vehicular-style cyclist not only acts outwardly like a driver, he knows inwardly that he is one. Instead of feeling like a trespasser on roads owned by cars he feels like just another driver with a slightly different vehicle, one who is participating and cooperation in the organized mutual effort to get to desired destinations with the least trouble”.

A vehicular cyclist is a cyclist who generally travels within the roadway in accordance with the basic vehicular rules of the road that are shared by all drivers, and the most effective cycling practices. Primarily, this means:

• Traveling on the same side of the road as other traffic traveling in the same direction.
• Staying outside of the door zone; when passing a motor vehicle that is parked parallel to the road, no closer than the width of the door.
• Respecting traffic controls, such as yield signs, stop signs and traffic lights.
• Between intersections and other junctions, choosing the appropriate lane or lateral position according to those rules of the road that are shared by all drivers.
• While preparing to turn or turning, choosing the appropriate lane or lateral position according to destination positioning.
• Ignoring designated bicycle lane stripes when choosing where to travel on the pavement.
• Changing lanes or lateral (left/right) position in response to, and in anticipation of, factors such as changing traffic conditions.
• Using the full lane unless overtaking traffic is likely to be delayed and the marked traffic lane is wide enough to share.
• When making a turn toward the inside of a road when multiple traffic lanes are marked, merging into the traffic in each lane while using negotiation with other drivers as required.
• Generally feeling and acting like a vehicle driver, albeit the driver of a narrow and relatively low-powered vehicle.

Some non-”VC” actions commonly taken by bicyclists include

• Riding on the opposite side of the road compared to other traffic traveling in the same direction.
• Riding in the door zone.
• Riding along sidewalks or crosswalks.
• Running red lights.
• Blatantly running most stop signs (certain stop signs, particularly those in quiet neighborhoods, are routinely treated cautiously as yield signs by most vehicle drivers, including vehicular cyclists, though technically doing so is against the letter of the law). There are exceptions to this in some places. In Idaho, human-powered vehicles are allowed to treat stop signs as yield signs.
• Going straight across an intersection while positioned laterally for a turn (that is, in a turn-only lane).
• Darting inward across the roadway from the outer edge of the road, instead of merging across one marked lane at a time.
• Moving laterally without looking back and yielding to overtaking traffic that has the right of way.
• Splitting marked lanes instead of taking a more predictable position within a lane.
• While a traffic light is red, moving to the front of the traffic queue instead of taking one’s place in line according to the first come, first served principle. (however a special privilege allows this in some places, such as New South Wales, Australia)
• Passing slow or stopped traffic on the outside too fast and/or without recognizing the extra danger from passing a driver on the outside.
• Not merging out of a curbside bicycle lane when approaching a junction or intersection when the cyclist is going straight. This puts the bicyclist in front of any motorist turning right and is rarely anticipated by the motorist.
• Traveling along the edge of a marked traffic lane that is too narrow to share side-by-side with a wider vehicle, thus encouraging drivers of overtaking wider vehicles to believe that the lane is wide enough to share. This commonly causes the unseen bicycle to be squeezed off the road or into a wall.

Using the full lane

A cyclist is using the full lane (also known as “taking the lane”) when traveling along near the center of a marked travel lane instead of the curb side. Using the full lane normally precludes passing within the same lane by drivers of wide motor vehicles, while being positioned next to a lane line usually encourages such passing—even when it is hazardous to bicyclists.

Vehicular cyclists commonly use the full lane under the following circumstances:

• when there is a junction at which approaching or waiting traffic may turn or cross directly in front of the cyclist
• when there is traffic approaching from the rear (to increase conspicuity)
• when traveling at the normal speed of traffic at that time and place
• when the marked lane is too narrow to share safely with overtaking traffic
• when merging across a roadway in preparation for a turn across the opposing lanes
• when overtaking and passing another vehicle moving more slowly
• when the cyclist believes it to be necessary for safety

John Franklin advocates operating bicycles in accordance with the basic rules of the road for vehicle operation. Using terms such as primary riding position — meaning in the center of the traffic lane — and secondary riding position — meaning about 1 meter (3 feet) to the side of moving traffic, but not closer than .5 meters (1.5 feet) from the edge of the road, Franklin advocates the primary riding position as the normal position and the secondary riding position only when it is safe and reasonable to allow faster traffic to pass.

Vehicular cycling, including using the full lane when appropriate, is supported by traffic laws in most countries (California’s Vehicle Code section 21202 is an example of this).

Speed and destination positioning

Vehicular cyclists and other drivers who travel in accordance to the vehicular rules of the road use speed positioning between intersections. The basic principle is “slower traffic keeps to the outside; faster traffic to the inside”. (In a country operating right-hand traffic rules, the outside lane is the right lane.) When lanes are marked, slower drivers generally operate in the outermost travel lane. When lanes are not marked, slower drivers generally operate as far to the outside of the traveled way as is reasonably efficient and safe.

Because of the bicycle’s narrow width, a cyclist can safely “share” a marked lane (i.e., be passed by overtaking drivers within the lane lines) more often than the driver of a wider vehicle can. A bicyclist who decides to share a lane should ride about a meter (3 feet) to the outside of overtaking traffic and should also avoid the “door zone.” For this reason, bike lanes are often unsafe, because those who design them typically allow them to be used for parking, and motorists seldom check for bicycles before opening a door.

As drivers approach a junction of ways, the principle of destination positioning comes into play, and they should position themselves laterally according to their destination (left, straight or right):

• Where lanes are marked, slower drivers approaching a junction should choose the outermost lane that serves (i.e., corresponds to) their destination. For example, if the outermost lane is a turn-only lane, drivers in that lane who do not intend to turn outward should merge inward into the adjacent lane.

• When lanes are not marked, drivers approaching a junction will travel along the inside of their side of the road if turning toward the inside, along the outer side if turning to the outside, and in between if going straight.

The best rules of the road allow any slower driver (including a cyclist) to establish the center of the outermost marked lane (between the left and right tracks of wider vehicles) as their default or primary position. When traffic is

• overtaking and will likely be significantly delayed while waiting to pass outside that travel lane, and
• the lane can be efficiently and safely shared with that traffic

then the polite driver moves over in the secondary position, nearer to the outer edge of that lane. In general, vehicles (whether pedal or motor) are more visible and predictable when traveling along in the primary position. bicycles in the secondary position are often unseen.

Looking back

The trivial sounding skill of looking back over one’s shoulder is essential whenever a cyclist needs to

1. check that moving laterally or turning will not violate the right-of-way of someone who is overtaking
2. broadcast the cyclist’s desire (to move laterally or turn) to other road users so that they can better predict the cyclist’s path
3. see if someone who’s overtaking is about to make a mistake and violate their right-of-way

Looking back is usually visible enough that it can suffice as a signal that the cyclist wishes to move or turn in the direction of the look. A sustained look back increases the odds that the signal will be noticed. Compared to hand signaling, looking back has the advantage of allowing the cyclist to keep both hands on the handlebars. Some jurisdictions, however, mandate that bicyclists use hand signals before moving laterally or turning.

Looking back can be challenging to perform: it requires traveling in a straight line while looking behind for up to a few seconds. The natural tendency is to not continue in a straight line, but to turn the bike in the same direction as the look. The tendency to turn can be countered with practice; learning to relax the elbow in the direction of the look is key. The more often looking back is done, the more comfortable and effortless it will become.

Special mirrors are available for mounting on a cyclist’s helmet, eyeglass, or handlebar. Such mirrors enable the cyclist - with practice - to check for overtaking traffic with less effort. Another advantage is that the check can be accomplished more quickly, reducing the amount of time the cyclist isn’t watching where they’re going. Although such mirrors are small in size, the mounting is so close to the eye that the field of view can approach that of an automotive rear-view mirror, except for wearers of eyeglasses. However, the field of view is usually still limited enough that looking back remains an essential skill for vehicular cycling.

Even with its limitations, mirrors are regarded as an important or even critical piece of safety equipment by some cyclists. Others value mirrors more as a means to avoid the shock of being surprised by high-speed traffic passing from behind.

Negotiation

The concept of negotiation is an important part of traversing across one or more lanes of traffic. The basic idea is to negotiate for the right-of-way in the adjacent lane, move into that lane, and then repeat the process for any additional lanes. This is an important vehicular cycling skill, because it allows the cyclist to merge in with the flow of other traffic instead of cutting across at a right-angle (as a pedestrian would).

The first step in traversing across a lane is looking back for traffic that may be overtaking in that lane. When there is such traffic, the cyclist needs to either wait until that traffic has either passed or explicitly yielded the right-of-way (by slowing down to let the cyclist in). Simply looking back is often all that is required to signal the cyclist’s intent, but sometimes a hand signal is helpful in getting overtaking traffic to yield right-of-way. Once right-of-way has been acquired in the adjacent lane, the second step is for the cyclist to move into that lane.

If there is another lane to traverse, the cyclist repeats the steps until there are no more lanes to traverse. The key to the process is that the cyclist merges into traffic lanes as per the rules of the road, one lane at a time.

It is possible to do this, even in heavy traffic, on most surface streets. It is usually impossible on expressways or freeway.

The origins of riding in accordance to vehicular rules of the road go back to the 19th century when bicycles were invented and began sharing the roads with other vehicles, such as wagons and buggies.

John Forester’s book, Effective Cycling, is generally considered the primary modern reference work about vehicular cycling. Without using the term vehicular cycling per se, John Franklin also describes VC practices in his book, Cyclecraft. A “nuts and bolts” reference to VC is John S. Allen’s booklet, Bicycling Street Smarts.

John Forester, a cycling transportation engineer, has written that the principle of vehicular cycling is: “Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles”. This is coherent with the dictionary definition of bicycle: “a vehicle with … pedals by which it is propelled …”.

Jeffrey A. Hiles, an Instructional Web Designer, has written that vehicular-cycling is a philosophy.

Vehicular cycling, or road cycling, is the practice of driving bicycles on roads in a manner that is visible, predictable, and in accordance with the principles for driving a vehicle in traffic. Under the international Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968), a bicycle (or “cycle”, as referenced by the convention) is defined to be a vehicle and a cyclist is considered to be a driver. In a minority of jurisdictions (the states of AZ, CA, IA, IL, IN, MN, NY in the USA) a bicycle is legally defined as a “device” rather than as a vehicle, but in all cases operators of bicycles share a basic set of rights and responsibilities with operators of motor vehicles. Bicyclists, who do not pose an extraordinary danger to others, are not burdened with certain additional responsibilities placed on drivers of motor vehicles — for example, only motor-vehicle operators are required to have a driver’s license and, in some localities, carry liability insurance.

Sometimes vehicular cycling is referred to as integrated cycling (i.e. integrated with other vehicular traffic, as opposed to cycling on segregated cycling facilities), integrated traffic cycling, cooperative cycling, or bicycle driving. For information about the relationship between vehicular cycling and bicycle lanes, please see the common misconceptions below.