Two abreast is best?

2 abreast is official guidance. So I would stick with that. It's maybe an issue if its not a narrow road and there is a continuous line of traffic coming in the opposite direction meaning it would be impossible for cars to overtake you. I'm not sure what is the best in such situations. I know, as a driver, it would be frsutrating to be stuck behind something travelling at 10 miles an hour with no opportunity to get past.

If you widen the bus, you shorten the bus. What the idiots that close pass and honk don't realise is that they should be giving you 3 feet clearance anyway, so the space that the abreast rider is occupying, isn't the motorists in the first place. There is the eternal argument about space given for riders two abreast, and is it three feet from the inside rider ( resulting in a possible squeeze on the outside rider) or 3 feet from the out rider, which would put the motorist on the other side of the carriageway. I think it's three feet from the outrider, if there is one, but it's a grey area. Anyway, long story short, 2 abreast is best ( except for a very few specific situations) and if the motorists don't like it, tough.

B1022 is a fast road for idiot drivers. Easier to overtake when you are 1 bike length, so no justification for it. You are simply cyclists in their way. I did feel yesterday when driving (blush) that there were too many people in a hurry. Quite what they are in a hurry for, I'm not sure. The only real answer is a camera and submissions.

Late edit due to ajax

Single file on narrow roads or when riding round a bend, especially on country lanes, is for the safety of the cyclists with respect to vehicles coming from the opposite direction, not for the convenience of drivers wishing to overtake. Personally I'm happy to single out to assist an overtake, but this is at the discretion of the cyclists, not the overtaking car.

The busy roads thing I frankly do not understand, on a single carriageway road, either it is safe to overtake by moving completely into the opposite lane or it isn't. On a dual carriageway, move completely to the outside lane or don't.

Lift the bodywork off the car and you will find they run with their seats two abreast all the time. At least with cyclists it's only when the seats are occupied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNMMqNxOh0

from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRNMMqNxOh0

from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.

from my personal experience.  Just ignore any one who says single file. Theyre hypocrits and wrong. Think of it this way. Two abreast makes you a shorter vehicle to overtake. Single file makes you long and more likely to hit oncoming traffic, like in the video. And also, 99.9 percent of cars ARE two abreast. Motorbikes and bicycles are single file by definition. So when you cycle or ridea motorbike single file, and come up alongside two abreast motorists in traffic, say to them through their window[ uh, get single file].    Its exactly the same principle.