>If you try to "take the lane" you are essentially positioning yourself in a way that tries to police other drivers behaviour, or block them. If a driver gets

>If you try to "take the lane" you are essentially positioning yourself in a way that tries to police other drivers behaviour, or block them. If a driver gets so annoyed at another road user that they'll honk at them or become agressive, then the driver is by this definiton trying to police the other's behaviour. But really this should not be a battle between 'drivers' and 'cyclists'. Most people can be both, and certainly most cyclists are also at least occasionally drivers. When a cyclist 'takes the lane' they are trying to signal to the drivers behind them that a narrow pass is unsafe, if they need to pass then they need to wait for a clear road from the opposite lane, just as if the cycle was a large slow motor vehicle. Except the cycle gives the passing driver excellent visibility and an easy pass. Another reason can be if the cyclist has an upcoming left turn, they obviously need to position themselves towards the left of the lane (s/left/right/[UK,AUS,NZ,IN,etc]).