Riding with my wife on Saxonburg Blvd this am, between the orange belt & red belt. Hear someone laying on the horn, turn my head, my wife is a foot inside the rumble divots on the white line, car behind not giving an inch. Opposite lane is clear for 1/4 mi at least, perfectly straight road. Car passes, comes up to me, starts hitting the horn, so I emphatically gesture & shout that it's ok to cross over the yellow to pass.
The driver? A 70 year old nun. JFC! I can't tell you how many times I've felt pinched by people passing out on back roads who I'm certain only pass so close because they're afraid of crossing the double yellow. Maybe they're worried about driving over the rumble divots, maybe worried about crossing yellow being unlawful or some such thing, but whatever it is it's annoying as hell.
Anyway, if there's anything good about chip & seal, it does help fill in the divots a bit.
If you were a car, having to cross the dreaded double yellow would not be a good thing to do. I am not sure what the law is for much slower vehicles. Laying on the horn is not going to help anything though, car or other.
I agree that if they are going ot pass, it should be at a safe distance, DYL or not.
You can legally cross a double solid line to avoid an obstruction. The lines are advisory, not mandatory. "no passing" zones are mandatory, however. The PA Driver's manual is actually wrong about the law in this case, which might be confusing for people.
On the last Flock ride, I heard an awesome saying-- "Double yellow bike lane." Hehe.
i bet she would have felt guilty about crossing a double yellow. she is a nun.
"Double yellow bike lane" was inspired by the honorable mention from the 2009 Best of Pittsburgh Cycling Poll.
http://bike-pgh.org/blog/2010/01/13/best-of-pittsburgh-cycling-2009-poll-results/
This comes within the bounds of what I call the Rolling Garbage Can Premise: If you encounter a garbage can rolling in your lane, going the same direction you are but at 3 mph, being pushed by the wind, and you have a double yellow, are you obligated to sit behind the thing going 3 mph? How about if it was a stiffer wind and it's rolling maybe 7 mph? No, you pull around it, over the line and keep going. (Well, maybe you pull over and kick the thing off the road, but let's say you don't, for this argument.)
The same line of logic applies to bicycles. Or someone riding a piece of machinery on the shoulder that sticks out into the lane a foot or so.
If it's safe to pass, pass, never mind the line. If it isn't safe to pass, don't pass, never mind the line (which might be telling you it *is* OK).
but stu, that involves people using common sense.
Seriously - like if you've ever been out in the sticks and there is some ridiculous piece of farm equipment on the road headed to plow the back forty, or whatever. If you're in a car,you slow and follow until it's clear, then you pass, right.
Oh, wait, this is the Bike PITTSBURGH board. Never mind. On the list of inexplicable Pittsburgh driving behaviors, until "Slows to a Crawl Going Into A Tunnel" gets sorted out, "Won't Violate Yellow Line to Pass Cyclist" has no shot at resolution.
