hell I don't see no holes in the road but you
Ah, spring. With nice weather comes more cyclists coming out to play, and with more cyclists comes more stupid cyclists. After watching several cyclists make really stupid riding decisions over the past week, I'm going to pretend to be xuth and go into rant/lecture mode about cycling safety in order to blow off steam.
Having ridden seriously for about a year on mostly quiet roads, I feel I am obviously fully qualified to spout off advice as an expert on everything. Of course, I suspect none of the riders who would benefit from this will ever see it, but it will at least make me feel better. Feel free to add your own opinions in the comments.
How To Ride Your Bike In the City More Safely
1. BE SEEN
2. BE PREDICTABLE
Other things include: Make sure your bike is sized appropriately and is in good working condition. Know how to brake suddenly without tipping. Ride in locations and at speeds that you are comfortable at.4 A uncomfortable cyclist is a less alert cyclist. Oh and wear comfortable bike gloves, shoes, clothing, and a well-fitting helmet5 if you prefer, to help protect important things if something does happen. A helmet is not the most important aspect of bike safety, though, because it won't actually keep you from getting hit. The best way to be safe on a bike is to avoid getting into an accident at all, and I believe the two categories above are by far the most important bits.
Basically, do your best to make drivers aware of you and what you will do. Remember, People do not look for what they don't expect to see. Too many drivers do not remember to look for cyclists. People often do not see what they are not looking for.
Following all this will not, unfortunately, assure you will never be hit. There will always be impatient, stupid, inattentive and/or asshole drivers6 or other idiot cyclists. But it should lessen the chances of a serious or an accidental hit.
1 Yes, these are all things that I've observed directly (or for a few, heard about in person).
2 Yes, really. I've seen multiple cyclists riding on the road, against the left (wrong) curb, moving against traffic, on streets with no shoulder. Occasionally with no lights, at night! Do they really think they are safer that way??
3 Again, it seems common around here for cyclists to ride the sidewalk instead of the road, then cross a street on a green light with traffic going the same direction, without pausing. This is a GREAT way to get hit by turning cars.
4 My personal rule-of-thumb is that I try to stay off roads where I cannot travel more than half the ambient speed. Which mostly translates to keeping to side roads where posted speed limit is < 35MPH, and even that fast is only if I'm going downhill.
5 But wear the helmet correctly. Wearing a helmet with the chin-strap unfastened does not provide any standard helmet-wearing benefits. Neither does carrying a helmet in your hand while you ride.1
6 Try to get their license plates if possible, if one of them does hit you.
Having ridden seriously for about a year on mostly quiet roads, I feel I am obviously fully qualified to spout off advice as an expert on everything. Of course, I suspect none of the riders who would benefit from this will ever see it, but it will at least make me feel better. Feel free to add your own opinions in the comments.
How To Ride Your Bike In the City More Safely
1. BE SEEN
- Wear things that attract attention, such as lights, reflective straps, neon clothing, loud colors, EL decorations, helmet horns or fake hair.1
- Put things on your bike that attract attention, such as reflectors, blinkers, flags, bright colors, pool noodles, or a bumper.1
- Ride as part of traffic. The safest place to ride in the street is ALMOST NEVER "as far to the right as possible." Here's why:
- The far right of the road, which is driven on less (or not at all), is more likely to have gravel, debris, cracks, potholes, or obstacles.
- The right edge of the road usually ends in a high curb. Riding right up against it means giving up your "escape zone" if you need to suddenly dodge an obstacle or an inattentive driver, and leaves no recourse but to crash.
- If there is a parking lane, the far right is right in the door zone. Yes, many bike lanes run directly in this space. This is extremely dangerous (often fatally), as riding that close to cars obscures your presence to drivers from all other angles, including the ones about to open a door into your face. Even just getting the tip of your handlebars clipped at a high speed is enough to send most experienced cyclists into a full crash or knocked into traffic.
- "Bicyclists are required to ride as far right in the lane as possible only when the lane can be safely shared by a car" (emphasis mine). Drivers are required to pass a bicyclist giving at least 3 feet (4 feet in PA) clearance in many states. A bicycle travels comfortably in about 4 feet of space across (including buffer to the right). The average vehicle is about 6 feet wide. That means a lane must be 14 feet wide in order to "lane-share" safely (add 4 feet of "door space" if there is a parking lane), but standard lane width in the US is only 12 feet, and many older or slower roads are narrower than that. That means a huge, huge number of roads that cyclists commute on are NOT safe to lane-share with bicycle and vehicle both fully inside the lane!
- Many drivers who want to pass someone only look to see if they have their minimum 7 feet of clearance, not thinking about a safe passing buffer space, and instead of merging over 1/2 lane, will simply "buzz" by within the lane if given the chance. This runs a much higher risk of accidental sideswiping or secondary collisions due to reduced visibility. The safest way to ride in a standard 12 ft lane is to "take the lane" and force drivers to move over half a lane if they want to pass. That way they will be paying more attention to their location on the road, and you will still have an "escape zone" buffer to your right in case you need to swerve.
- Yes, forcing cars to change lanes to pass you will greatly piss off many impatient drivers who don't have an opportunity to pass right away. Expect to get yelled or honked at. But a pissed off driver who sees you is less likely to run into you by accident than the driver who doesn't see you or who underestimates his passing distance by a few inches.
- The far right of the road, which is driven on less (or not at all), is more likely to have gravel, debris, cracks, potholes, or obstacles.
2. BE PREDICTABLE
- Broadcast your planned behavior as obviously as possible. Signal turns, lane changes, yields. Acknowledge drivers.
- If you ride on the street, behave like a reasonable driver:
- Ride with traffic, not against it.2
- Ride more or less in a straight line; don't weave in and out of parked cars, on and off the sidewalk, or suddenly swerve across multiple lanes.
- Pay attention to road signals. Yield to vehicular traffic at intersections when appropriate.
- Yield to pedestrian traffic at intersections.
- Ride with traffic, not against it.2
- If you ride on the sidewalk, behave like a reasonable pedestrian:
- Be aware of ambient speeds and yield to other pedestrians.
- Don't weave on and off the sidewalk.
- Stop at interactions and look for oncoming traffic, like a pedestrian. Drivers do not expect to see things traveling at a bicycle's speed on the sidewalk. 3
- Be aware that for cyclists, the sidewalk is often more dangerous than the street.
- Be aware of ambient speeds and yield to other pedestrians.
- If you ride in a bike lane, keep all of the aforementioned safety in mind:
- Remember that a bike lane in the door zone is not safe.
- The lane marking separating a bike lane from an immediately adjacent normal travel lane may give drivers the illusion that they do not need to give additional space to pass. Be wary on narrow roads!
- Bike lanes that are less traveled may still have rocks, obstacles, or debris
- A bike lane is part of the road. Behave like a reasonable driver .
- Remember that a bike lane in the door zone is not safe.
Other things include: Make sure your bike is sized appropriately and is in good working condition. Know how to brake suddenly without tipping. Ride in locations and at speeds that you are comfortable at.4 A uncomfortable cyclist is a less alert cyclist. Oh and wear comfortable bike gloves, shoes, clothing, and a well-fitting helmet5 if you prefer, to help protect important things if something does happen. A helmet is not the most important aspect of bike safety, though, because it won't actually keep you from getting hit. The best way to be safe on a bike is to avoid getting into an accident at all, and I believe the two categories above are by far the most important bits.
Basically, do your best to make drivers aware of you and what you will do. Remember, People do not look for what they don't expect to see. Too many drivers do not remember to look for cyclists. People often do not see what they are not looking for.
Following all this will not, unfortunately, assure you will never be hit. There will always be impatient, stupid, inattentive and/or asshole drivers6 or other idiot cyclists. But it should lessen the chances of a serious or an accidental hit.
1 Yes, these are all things that I've observed directly (or for a few, heard about in person).
2 Yes, really. I've seen multiple cyclists riding on the road, against the left (wrong) curb, moving against traffic, on streets with no shoulder. Occasionally with no lights, at night! Do they really think they are safer that way??
3 Again, it seems common around here for cyclists to ride the sidewalk instead of the road, then cross a street on a green light with traffic going the same direction, without pausing. This is a GREAT way to get hit by turning cars.
4 My personal rule-of-thumb is that I try to stay off roads where I cannot travel more than half the ambient speed. Which mostly translates to keeping to side roads where posted speed limit is < 35MPH, and even that fast is only if I'm going downhill.
5 But wear the helmet correctly. Wearing a helmet with the chin-strap unfastened does not provide any standard helmet-wearing benefits. Neither does carrying a helmet in your hand while you ride.1
6 Try to get their license plates if possible, if one of them does hit you.