RichardPH wrote:I would argue with the assertion that riding a metre out is the position adopted by many, that implies a majority, try doing a survey of all the cyclists you see in traffic and make an honest appraisal.
I ride appropriately, very occasionally that means moving out and stopping the car behind from passing, under these circumstances I'm going at the speed of the traffic and there is no chance that a half concentrating driver will mistake me for a faster moving powered cycle and pile into my back wheel. I do find the '1 metre out' dogma both dangerous and illogical, I'd rather use my experience and ride according to the conditions, frankly DfT guidelines seem to be for people with no common sense and no imagination of the real world and real drivers.
1 metre out is not dogma. It is pratice, and practice the should be adjusted according to prevailing road codnitions. Including riding further out when appropriate. It puts a cyclist where other road users expect to see other vehicles; in the lane of travel. I ride out further if I am going fast enough to keep up with traffic. It makes sense (common or otherwise) for a cyclist to act as the operator of a vehicle, when amongst other vehicles. I have done so in a number of countries and am quite comfortable with it. The only reason to keep left on the carriageway, is to stay out of the way of larger vehicles. There isn't enough space to do this completely, so I would prefer to give drivers the best possible chance to see me, and force them to overtake properly instead of squeezing by. I will add that people who ride as close to the kerb as they can, often do so in an attempt to get out of the flow of traffic, not to stay with it. John Forrester (A US American cycle campaigner) believes that most people have a fear of traffic from behind, but statistics tell us that traffic from behind is not the cause of the majority of crashes.
I suggest that you get the book Cyclecraft by John Franklin and have a read. Try some of the things he recommends, and see fi it doesn't improve your everyday experience cycling. I learned much from it, despite some years of experience cycling before I read the book.