the lemur
Senior Member
The Highway Traffic Act doesn't say that. If multiple lanes, should be in right-hand lane. And otherwise should be "as close as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway".
147. (1) Any vehicle travelling upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at that time and place shall, where practicable, be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway
That still means the right side of whatever right-hand lane there is, no matter how many or how few lanes.
Depending on the volume and speed of traffic, however, in practical terms, that means riding at least in the right-hand half of the curb lane. I don't see much merit in taking the lane all the time, generally because it means a car behind you will either be tailgating you or executing a closer than appropriate pass anyway.
It's not practicable to cycle so close to the curb, that you risk winging someone standing on the sidewalk!
That's also not really possible. For one thing, as I mentioned, being that close to the curb means gutter debris, curb/pedal strike zone and - I guess, although it's presumably infrequent - people waiting on the sidewalk who protrude into the handlebar zone.
Also when passing parked cars, it's not practicable to be close enough to the car you are passing, to be hit by the door if it opens.
Depending on the width of the lane, I find passing a parked car without being in the door zone means riding at the very left of that lane, right next to the dividing line, or just to the left of that line, at the very right of the next lane over.
The police consistently say that a bicycle has the right to take the lane.
The police consistently say that when it's a question of not being able to use the right-hand side of the curb lane (up to 1 m away from the curb itself). They don't say that cyclists should consistently take the lane in the sense of riding in the centre of the curb lane all the time.
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/d11/20080617-d11_community_bulletin.pdf
cyclists should ride one meter from the curb or close to the right
hand edge of the road when there is no curb, unless they are turning left, going
faster than other vehicles or if the lane is too narrow to share
When going straight ahead, use the right-hand through lane. Stay about one
metre from the curb to avoid curb side hazards and ride in a straight line.
In urban areas where a curb lane is too narrow to share safely with a motorist, it
is legal to take the whole lane by riding in the centre of it.
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