I have written about cycle lanes before, but it's a subject worth revisiting from time to time as there is generally a lot of discussion, some of which is often opinion thinly disguised as fact.

I have ridden in quite a few cycle lanes around the local area and have on occasions chosen routes for my journeys that take in alternative sections of cycle lane or cycle route, just so that I have experienced sections that I wouldn't normally ride - all for the benefit of this blog!

First of all, I want to revisit some things that were included last time I wrote about cycle lanes, this is my opinion based on my experiences:

Cars give you less room when you are in a cycle lane - drivers tend to look at the white line and ignore the fact that you are in the lane. Where no cycle lane exists most cars make the effort to pull out and give you room before overtaking.

Studies have also shown that that if you wear a cycle helmet you tend to be given less room and that male cyclists are given less room than female cyclists. I can't really comment on this as I have no experience of being a woman and I always wear a helmet!

However I can confirm that your clothing and the bike you are riding makes a difference to the amount of room you are given. The clearest demonstration of this is riding with a child seat on the back of the bike and then taking the seat off, the difference in the amount of space and patience given to you by motorists is quite shocking!

Here are some facts about cycle lanes taken mainly from LTN208, which is a Department for Transport Local Transport Note about Cycling Infrastructure Design:

A cycle lane offers cyclists some separation from motor traffic. Under the National Cycle Training Standards, cyclists are trained to ride in a safe position in the carriageway which is usually at least 1 metre from the kerb edge to avoid gulley grates and debris, and to ensure that they are within the sightlines of drivers waiting at side roads.

Cycle lanes should be 2 metres wide on busy roads, or where traffic is travelling in excess of 40 mph. A minimum width of 1.5 metres may be generally acceptable on roads with a 30 mph limit.

For cycle feeder lanes to advanced stop line arrangements, a minimum width of 1.2m may be acceptable. Cycle lanes less than 1.2 metres wide cannot easily accommodate tricycles or child carrying cycle trailers wholly within the lane.

Cyclists can overtake each other within a 2 metre wide lane and easily remain within it when looking back to check for traffic, or when avoiding kerbside drainage grates, etc.

Drivers do not always realise that cyclists need to move away from the kerb to avoid surface hazards and may expect cyclists to stay in lane regardless of its width.

A narrow cycle lane may therefore give motorists misplaced confidence to provide less clearance while overtaking than they would in the absence of a cycle lane.

At localised carriageway width restrictions, designers can continue a full width advisory cycle lane alongside a substandard all purpose lane. A narrow cycle lane should not be used here.

There is lots of discussion about whether cyclists have to use cycle lanes and whether cars can drive in them or not, the answer is yes, and no.

A cycle lane marked by a solid white line is a mandatory cycle lane, this means that car drivers are not allowed to cross into the lane and cyclists should be using it.

A cycle lane marked by a dashed white line is an advisory lane, drivers are allowed to cross into it and cyclists do not have to cycle in it, the presence of these lanes is often to highlight to motorists that they are likely to be sharing the space with cyclists and to drive with more care.

These facts do seem to be a mystery to an awful lot of people as you can see drivers in mandatory lanes every day along Lindsay Road and also see drivers along Penn Hill Avenue trying very hard not to cross into the advisory lane when it's deserted.

Whilst I'm on the subject of cycle lanes and riding on the road as part of the traffic I want to finish off with a quote from ipayroadtax.com:

Road tax doesn't exist. It's Vehicle Excise Duty. Motorists do not pay for the roads, we all do, via general taxation. In 1926, Winston Churchill started the process to abolish road tax. He didn't want motorists to think a token payment gave them ownership of the road. Road tax finally died in 1937. Paying Vehicle Excise Duty gives no "right to the road" for motorists.