Would you ride the shoulder?

[Ulshy55]

Ok, here is a question I was thinking about recently. I was on my 3 hour drive way home from seeing my g/f up at IUP ( Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and i got stuck in a long line of traffic. I was driving my car and wondered. If i were on my bike would would i pass the cars on the shoulder(it was pavement, not gravel) at a low rate of speed(just to be safe, you never know what cagers will do on the roads) or would i just wait in line with the rest of the cars?

I'm almost 100% sure it would be illegal, and fairly certain i would just wait with the cagers if i was ever in this type of situation. But i just wanted to see what others think about it. (P.S. It wasn't construction, it was just a little backup of traffic.)

[Black_peter]

Hmm I wouldn't just because it pisses me off when I see people do that. One thing I try not to do while riding is piss people off...

[redkat]

+1, also also I don't know about the condition of the shoulders where you are, but the shoulders around here, Columbus area, are littered with stuff both small and big. And a flat's a flat, at best it will get you stuck for awhile.

[KatanaSoldier]

I would not recommend it unless it was life or death to get somewhere. All it would take is a cop or a spiteful driver to ruin your day.

[ako]

+1, I'm so tempted but have never done it.

[Sky]

I never do it for the same reasons some stated ...

1- It pisses me off when I'm in the car and others do it .. so I ain't doing it

2- It"s never safe !! crap on the shoulders .. car having to get on the shoulder because of problems etc etc

3- It's illegal and unless it's a life or death issue .. I rather not give the cops my money.

We have enough of a bad reputation as it is ... so I try to ride respectfully of others .. even cagers !!! Not all of them are bad

[Nero]

Roll the dice, come up snake eyes!

[jgalar]

If it was hot and I could see a shady spot not far ahead - I might just do it and go wait out the traffic in the shade.

[md86]

I'be done it twice . Let me explain .....
Once was when I was TRAPPED in the passing lane , and my exit was coming up in a couple miles . Goofy broad in front of me couldn't put down the freakin phone and pay attention , so I zipped around her . I don't like commuting by bike during rush hour .
Other time was just the other day when traffic was diverted from the highway for some reason , and the secondary roads were PACKED . I got stuck sitting in a line of cars about 50 yards from work , and I was already rujnning late , so I used to shoulder up to the driveway and pulled in .
But yeah , I freakin HATE being stuck in traffic and seeing some tool go breezing down the shoulder . He BETTER be a surgeon on his way to the ER or something ....

[Black_peter]

I once used the HOV lane in Phoenix.. Totally legal! My vehicle was 50% full! Anyhoo the traffic was unreal.
It was so packed I literally rode in the HOV up to my exit then cut across 4 lanes at 90 degrees.

[Wingspan]

I've done it once. I had been waiting patiently in the traffic jam in a pouring rain for 10-15 minutes. Then it started to hail. That's when I'd had enough and rode up the emergency lane to the next exit.

[CaliforniaKid]

There are situations that may arise where your excuse to a cop may be a good one and even he or she would think it made sense, but as a rule of thumb no. Unfortunately, you do it once or twice for good, legitimate reasons and human nature says you will start doing it for less justifiable reasons. Then you and all bikers look bad. Not to mention here in California truckers will go out of their way to pull over and crush anyone passing on the shoulder, car or bike.

[md86]

Unfortunately, you do it once or twice for good, legitimate reasons and human nature says you will start doing it for less justifiable reasons.

True . I now find myself stuck behind braindead morons in the passing lane unable to get by and think " I could be around them in a second if I hit the should ...." . Problem is , that's where most of the crap from the road ends up . Nails , broken glass , dead bodies .....

[koolcutta]

well here in california we are not faced with that problem cause we have the lane split yess and most drivers are cool an wil open you a path up. and its the safest when traffic is the slowest cause your the only thing moving but as for riding on the shoulder I did it a couple of times on the freeway while approaching a merge spot, when two lanes go to one I would recommend being in the middle. So I swung around them and jumped back in after the cars had merged. But when I got to work I was rewarded with three screws in my rear tire. that was the last time I rode on the shoulder.

[chrisman826]

i have always waited patiently, in rain, or in in blistering heat. on nice riding days its not so bad though. But, i always, always, think to myself, "i could just go around all these people...". My throttle hand begins to twist and I begin to let out on the clutch, feeling my bike begin to move forward, and then I always think, "what if there is a cop ahead... ". which then at that very moment, my balls shrink, and my clutch is pulled back in and my throttle is back to an idle.