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How to Not Get Hit by Cars

bicyclesafe.com

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Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#171

Post by adrianN »

makecheck wrote: post #129

The overwhelmingly most common one I see is cyclists not stopping at STOP signs (or worse, red lights), and the real crazy ones appear to not even slow down . It is illegal to run a stop sign, and it is certainly possible a car (crossways or turning) will arrive first and have right of way. So a car is turning, why should it expect a cyclist to come plowing through on a whim? Again: it is ILLEGAL for cyclists to run…

Everyone breaks laws. Cars and cyclists just break different laws. For example it is also illegal to drive so close to the car in front of you that you can't brake, and yet we have lots of rear-end accidents.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#172

Post by jimmaswell »

kqr wrote: post #15
yohannparis wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite true. For novice riders are simply tell them to ride where they would put they right wheel when driving a car. And at least a meter away from the curb/parked cars.

I usually go for "where the driver's seat would be".

I haven't had any issue riding on the far right when I can, even before I installed my blinking light system.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#173

Post by cmurf »

mplanchard wrote: post #132
thomasahle wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some cars will pass you then slow down to walking speed in front of you. I have never heard of this happening to anybody.

I had a car actively swerve into me to try to run me off the road after I took the lane to get around a stopped bus. Car drivers can definitely get crazy aggressive if they think you’re not riding “in your place.” Edit: I still agree that taking the lane when appropriate is the safest option, but it’s hard to deny that some people are insane.

Not insane. Malicious. It's intent to intimidate or injure or kill. It absolutely should be an arrestable offense, but without witnesses or video, the police will not take it seriously.

Those in aggressive driver areas should consider "bikecam" video an insurance policy. If you're injured, you'll need the money, and they should have to pay. A lot. And get a lawyer. I suppose it's a small deterrent but also a cheap one.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#174

Post by dotancohen »

yt-sdb wrote: post #121
dotancohen wrote: post #98

Car driver here, not a bicyclist. I don't see your side of the story, and probably never will unless I kill one of you. Don't want me to hit you? Make yourself visible and courteous. Put on a bright jacket, bright helmet, or something else bright. And use a steady (not flashing) red light in the back and a steady (not flashing) white light aimed at the ground in the front. If you use flashing lights I cannot tell how…

Many cyclists die every year, typically in collisions involving motor vehicles. It goes without saying that very few drivers are killed in those collisions. The risks are widely asymmetric. So if we want to talk about the worst of a group, I'd encourage you to spend five minutes on r/idiotsincars. Compare anything in that subreddit with your example here: you have drive more slowly than you'd like in a situation wher…

  > "Me" being all car drivers. I specifically might not try to squeeze past bike
  > riders, and I specifically might actually be patient on the road. But the
  > proverbial "me" is the worst of the car drivers for purpose of this post.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#175

Post by dotancohen »

wkyle wrote: post #110
dotancohen wrote: post #98

Car driver here, not a bicyclist. I don't see your side of the story, and probably never will unless I kill one of you. Don't want me to hit you? Make yourself visible and courteous. Put on a bright jacket, bright helmet, or something else bright. And use a steady (not flashing) red light in the back and a steady (not flashing) white light aimed at the ground in the front. If you use flashing lights I cannot tell how…

A cyclist must be courteous for you not to kill them? The instigator on an unsafe pass is the person passing, not the person getting passed.

  > "Me" being all car drivers. I specifically might not try to squeeze past bike
  > riders, and I specifically might actually be patient on the road. But the
  > proverbial "me" is the worst of the car drivers for purpose of this post.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#176

Post by gjm11 »

paulnpace wrote: post #72

Here is one that bicyclists really hate: Don't ride on narrow back-county roads where you block the regular flow of traffic. I used to live on one such road and the bicyclists regularly insisted I travel >30 MPH below the speed limit because of a long uphill section that was double yellow due to many curves and hillsides blocking the line of site for passing. Bicyclists would get visibly angry at drivers who were not…

I don't think I understand.

Apparently it's unreasonable for one set of road users to say to another "When we're around, you have to go much more slowly on this road than you would like to".

But it's not unreasonable for one set of road users to say to another: "You must not use this road at all".

Actually, I'm not being entirely sincere. I think I understand very well: you think that car drivers are proper road users, entitled to use the roads conveniently and safely, and cyclists are impostors who have no such right unless it causes zero inconvenience to car drivers. I, on the other hand, think that that is bullshit. Unless some road is specifically designated as not-for-everyone, car drivers are allowed to use it even though that exposes cyclists to some danger, and cyclists are allowed to use it even though that exposes car drivers to some inconvenience.

"He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense", so let's do a little arithmetic. Suppose you are stuck for a full mile behind a cyclist who makes you drive at 15mph where you could otherwise have driven at 45mph. Then that mile will take you 4 minutes instead of 1 minute 20 seconds. It's cost you about two and a half minutes. That's probably less time than you spent, e.g., writing the comment above.

If the cyclist isn't allowed to use that road, or any other "narrow back-country roads", then most likely they have to take a much longer route. (If they can get where they're going at all. Not everywhere is on the main roads.) If they have to go an extra 3 miles, at that 15mph speed, that's an extra 12 minutes. Is your time 4.5x more important than theirs?

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#177

Post by Lanolderen »

avianlyric wrote: post #135
Lanolderen wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or cyclists can be incentivised to move to small motorcycles (pedelec if they want to stay fit) and we avoid the whole issue of converting car lanes to bicycle lanes and then reverting that decision because a traffic jam occurred and residents were not impressed, wasting money in the process ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What about people that can’t drive a motorcycle, like children? Or people that can’t afford a motorcycle? Or people that have nowhere to store a motorbike (I’ll like to see you hang a motorbike on a wall)? Do we just abandon them? > we avoid the whole issue of converting car lanes to bicycle lanes and then reverting that decision because a traffic jam occurred and residents were not impressed, wasting money in the pr…

Kids are legislatively forbidden from riding motorcycles. Just let them do AM or another form of certification for small bikes that get to 50ish kmh. It's not like they can't get to 50 with a bicycle. I'd even argue it's safer since it's easier to wear protective gear when you don't have to pedal.

Affording it isn't a real issue either. (i)Second hand motorcycles can be had for really cheap since they're treated as toys in the western world. I just opened up the listings for where I live (smallish town in Germany) and there are 44 ads for working bikes under 1000$ in 25km radius of me. Some are even proper 600cc+ machines. (ii)16 brand new bikes in that same area can be bought for under 2000$. (iii)Public transport.

Storage: Small bikes can be manhandled into an apartment if it's about long term storage. Short term, just park it on the street like a normal person. Put a tracker on it if you're worried.

I get that it improves over time but the short term effects are what determines whether whoever implements it remains in power long enough to see that. And I'd argue still that motorcycles are way faster and therefore better at decreasing congestion than bicycles. Regarding inclusivity they are also friendlier to less fit people, especially in uneven terrain since even at my ripe age in the mid twenties I can get out of breath climbing some streets on my bicycle.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#178

Post by ch4s3 »

avianlyric wrote: post #99
ch4s3 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just in London, and while the boxes were nice the lanes were terrible and overly narrow. The drivers were homicidal compared to drivers in NYC. I wouldn’t say it was a positive experience.

Depends what part of London you’re in. Unfortunately cycle infrastructure is mostly managed by the local boroughs, who all have very different views on cycling. Westminster and Kensington are famously hateful of cyclist, and do every they can to avoid building anything but the most pathetic cycle infrastructure. However boroughs like Southwark are far not forward thinking. My area is covered in wide dedicated cycle l…

I biked in Kensington, SoHo, and City of London. They were all unpleasant in different but noticeable ways. Old narrow roundabouts were especially scary in the bike. The bus lanes were nice though.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#179

Post by YeGoblynQueenne »

dotancohen wrote: post #98

Car driver here, not a bicyclist. I don't see your side of the story, and probably never will unless I kill one of you. Don't want me to hit you? Make yourself visible and courteous. Put on a bright jacket, bright helmet, or something else bright. And use a steady (not flashing) red light in the back and a steady (not flashing) white light aimed at the ground in the front. If you use flashing lights I cannot tell how…

>> Don't want me to hit you?

Not a bike rider, but if you don't want to hit anyone, then you should try not to, regardless of whatever anyone else is doing.

Btw, you proably didn't intend it that way but your comment comes across as threatening to hit somebody.

Re: How to Not Get Hit by Cars

#180

Post by paulnpace »

CJefferson wrote: post #147
paulnpace wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You sure sound like a driver who owns the road. I hear this often, but it doesn't make sense to me. I have one single route to get to any destination, and because one person wants to ride a bicycle on this round, >5 cars will often be lined up behind the bicyclist traveling >30 MPH below the speed limit. Of course, it's the drivers who feel they own the road in this scenario (even if it's one driver). This is the t…

I don't own a car, but do own a bike. At least where I live, I also have the same single route as you to commute to work (there might be lovely alternative cycle lanes where you live).

No bicycle lanes. In fact, passing while completely in the other lane violates the law because the vehicle cannot be greater than 10 feet from the bicyclist due to how narrow the road is. The bicyclist's presence means they are, according to law, deciding the speed all traffic shall flow at. It is odd to me how bicyclists find this to be an acceptable situation and anyone disagreeing to be in the wrong, so much so they will downvote someone expressing direct experience on the matter.
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