It took me a really long time to *understand* the rules of the road and feel comfortable exploring and going off my beaten path without feeling in danger. This should be elementary school PE stuff taught to every kid regardless if they never touch a bike again.
by pfhlick
13 Comments
Motorists hate it when I take the center lane before a red light (when I plan to turn right – in Ireland, so that’s like a left turn for Americans and other Europeans). They will often times overtake me on the right side just to get in front of me and wait at a stop light. When this happens I pull up next to them and tap on their window to ask them why they passed me in a dangerous way just to wait at a stop light. It’s absolutely insane and when it happens its clear that they are just upset for me existing as a cyclist.
You guys don’t need to make circling card at primary school ?
Very important, especially when people swing open their doors without looking.
It is incredible a person could not predict their actions could cause someone great harm.
I agree this is best practice. Unfortunately, many drivers also don’t understand this. It feels like a tradeoff between getting accidentally killed or getting “accidentally” killed by an angry driver.
I think that is the underlying problem with a lot of dangerous commuters: they don’t understand the law, so they assume it’s useless and disregard it.
I printed out SprocketMan comics for my cycling merit badge scouts.
Great common sense explanations of how to ride safely (and more).
Originally from Stanford, adopted by CPSC and updated (with helmets too).
https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/bicycles/sprocket-man
That said, Sprocket Man just says to look and signal when you pull out – I like the approach you gave better, but it might be more difficult in some situations, where you’d end up taking the lane in a high speed overtaking situation. I much prefer to be out of the way.
The weave can’t be avoided if there are cars on the road. I’ll use some hand signals when I go around cars in the bike lane. Look in the rear view mirror, see where the moving car is, stick out my left hand low, move into the street, ride, then right hand signal and move back into the bike lane. I will stay in the street if there are slow cars in front of me, but when the car in back is pressuring me, I’ll do the weave. And I’m on an ebike, which “only” goes 20mph, but often that is too slow for cars.
I agree, but in NYC you will be honked at until you move if you ride out in the lane like that with cars behind you
Who actually rides like this?
I ride somewhere in the middle. Taking the lane when passing parked cars but otherwise I’ll ride at about the left turn signal of a parked car. If traffic is such that I can’t move out into the lane safely I’ll take another route. I don’t live in a large city and there are plenty of low traffic routes I can take.
I leave 1-1.5M from parked vehicles and that gives passing cars 1-1.5M to pass me. Roads with parked cars are limited to 40km/hr.
When I was in elementary school, free cycling rule books were handed out to anyone who wanted one. I read that book front to back every spring before taking to the roads each year. To this day, everything in that book is engrained into my aged neurons. I do take whatever lane is needed to properly execute a turn just as a vehicle would. I’ve had drivers honk, yell and what-not at me and I make certain they see me laugh and sometimes mouth “piss off” on occasion.
I have always wished for mandatory driver theory, rules/regulations and driving recertification tests every 5 or so years. There are some cyclists who could use a refresher course too.
Ya california DMV has the same recommendations.
The first time someone yelled at me for doing this, and I tried to explain to them it was the law while they drove off and I was out of breath from climbing a hill, well that was the last time I tried to reason with someone.
Now I live in Germany and have no problems any more
Lol I learned this in the cycling merit badge handbook when I was 12 and for some reason it’s the only place I’ve really ever seen it…