alanbikehouston

For the family and friends of a cyclist who is killed, these events are tragedies. Not a single person involved with this thread knows for a certainty exactly what the cyclist involved did, or did not do in this case. News reports are only reliable for being unreliable. But, cyclists do need to respond to the dangers of riding near motorized vehicles.

Cyclists can respond in two ways:

-Blame motorists, politicians, courts, the media...blame everyone except cyclists.

OR

-Learn out how to ride safely in a world designed for the convenience of motorized traffic


It is NOT an "attack" on a fellow cyclist to try to learn from an event and change our own behavior


1. If you do not want to be "doored", do not ride within four feet of a parked vehicle.

2. If you do not want a moving vehicle to push you into a parked vehicle, don't try to squeeze between a moving vehicle and a parked vehicle

3. Ride a speed that allows you to stop quickly when you are near a motor vehicle - sometimes that "safe" speed will be very, very slow

4. And yes, wear a helmet, keep both hands on the brake levers, and pay attention

My father was a long-haul truck driver. He sometimes drove 150,000 miles a year. He drove from 1955 to 1985 without ONE accident involving another vehicle, a bicycle, or a pedestrian. He was not "lucky". He knew he was surrounded by dangerous, incompetent drivers, and he learned what HE could do in that sort of world. He developed a driving style that incorporated a margin for error based on the assumption that the drivers around him were dangerous idiots.

Cyclists need to stop thinking like "victims", stop the whining, and start thinking like survivors. If you want to swim among the sharks, you need to know how to deal with sharks. Don't waste time wishing for a world without sharks.

Cyclists can put their lives and health in the hands of the motorists around them. Or, put their lives in the hands of politicians, police, and courts. Or, learn to ride safely in a very dangerous world.