Stick69

My commute home on Friday was 8.5 miles by bike and 8.5 miles by pickup truck. Near miss 1: I was near the end of my bike commute at the end of a long week and was just kind of in the zone on the MUP when I realized I needed to make a left turn up the levee to get on the bridge. Just as I had this thought a bike passed me on my left with less than a foot of clearance. If I had realized where I was about two seconds sooner I might have sat up and raise my left arm to signal, possibly hitting the passing cyclist with my arm.

There are a lot of things that could be said about this situation but to me the most important is this. Don’t make last second left turns. It is the equivalent of the driver who panics when they realize they are going to miss their freeway off ramp and cuts wildly across traffic. In my case I could have easily ridden under the bridge and up the ramp on the far side. Or I could have pulled off the side of the trail and doubled back when the trail was clear. What I did was slow down, turn my body and look behind me, and then make the left turn. No harm no foul but a teachable moment, as they say.

Near miss 2: I was in my ’69 F250 on a four lane arterial stopped first in line at a red light. I was in the right lane (not a dedicated turn lane) with my right turn signal flashing. To my right were a marked bike lane then a curb and sidewalk. There were several dozen cars in line as it was the evening commute. The light turned green and I rolled forward so I could make the hard right onto the ramp to the bridge without hitting the curb with my rear wheel. Just as I initiated the right turn a cyclist accelerated by me in a panic. I assume he was headed to the front of the line when the light changed. I am not sure what the lesson is for me, the driver, other than to check my right side mirror in a similar situation. I would never right hook a cyclist I was overtaking. But it seems to me a cyclist overtaking on the right is putting themselves in jeopardy. I check my turn signal when I arrived home and it is working. Feel free to educate me on this issue.

FBinNY 

Most accidents don't result from single errors. The odds favor you and life tends to be forgiving, as evidenced by your two near events.

So, we usually see multiple contributing factors, and can look at events in this light.

In the first scenario, your last second decision might not have happened at all if the approaching cyclist announced himself. He's not obligated to, but doing so would improve his protection from your possible ignorance.

In the second, you could have rechecked the mirror, or started the left slowly, allowing anyone in your blind spot had time to swing past, and telegraphing your intentions to anyone behind. In your shoes, stopping at a light to make a right, I'd crab to my right partly blocking the bike lane (riders need to stop at the light anyway), and putting my right turn signal clear of the car behind me.

Whether driving or riding in traffic, I try to put myself in the mind of those around me, and anticipate, not only what they will do, but also what they might. In short, I don't prepare for rational skilled drivers (or cyclists) but instead assume I'm surrounded by ignorant, inept people who will do the dumbest things.

dim

rearviz mirror:

Hokiedad4

That should be the first rule of safety.

San Rensho 

Right turn in the truck. Whenever you are making a right turn and there is a bjke lane, completely take the bike lane so the bikes cannot slip past you. That way you cannot right hook them and it makes it very clear tothe cyclist you are turning right. The smart cyclist will go around the car on the left and all is good.

B. Carfree

That's the proper way to do it in almost every state, including the OP's home state of California. Unfortunately, Oregon doesn't allow that and insists that motorists NOT take the bike lane prior to making a right turn. It also requires motorists to yield to bikes going straight through in a bike lane. It's one of the ways people in Oregon can tell when someone is from out of state. (There's a perverse bias against non-natives here, which is odd since the majority of people in Oregon are non-natives.)

In case you're wondering, I think only one of our ninety state legislators has ever ridden a bike.

Moe Zhoost

First situation: Although I expect an overtaking cyclist to call out, many do not. I use a helmet mirror and so am normally aware of things. Without the mirror, I would have done a shoulder check on a road but maybe not on a MUP. Bottom line is that the other cyclist had most of the responsibility.

Second situation: As a cyclist approaching an intersection where the light has just changed, I will always assume that the car in front of me will turn right (and give it room to do so). Yes, you could have checked your mirrors; however you would not necessarily have picked the cyclist up. My gosh, you had your signal on so the cyclist was an idiot to zip by. If the light has not yet changed and I filter up, I would stay behind and yield to any car that was signalling.

Your lessons are to put yourself in the place of the other cyclists and then tell yourself not to do what they did.

mrodgers

Hmm, 1969 F250? I think I need a picture of that to assess the situation

canklecat

You recognized the mistakes. That's essential to avoid repeating mistakes. Some folks never get it. You did.

I'm tempted to recite some pablum about regularly practicing good techniques so you'll react appropriately even under stress. But fatigue can lead to anyone being momentarily inattentive and making a mistake. Friday night I successfully navigated a busy boulevard during rush hour with no problems, and then during a leisurely group ride I managed to misjudge a curb ramp which doinked the front wheel at an angle so I stumbled for a split second. No fall, I just dabbed a foot down. But if another rider had been following me we'd have tangled. Fortunately I prefer the back of the pack on the left side. I was a little tired from the commute to the group ride, and was caught off guard for a moment.

Regarding the right hook incident, I agree with you. If I decide to ride the shoulder up to the crosswalk on a right lane that goes straight forward or allows right turns, I assume it's my responsibility to watch for the lead car's intentions, since the car was there first. It's not the same situation as being right-hooked by a passing car when I was in the lead. And anytime there's a possibility of being right-hooked, I'll take the lane either in front to prevent right turns from the car behind me, or I'll signal to squeeze in behind the lead car at a traffic light. After the light changes and I've passed through the intersection I'll move right to allow following cars to pass as long as I can do so safely.

scott967

On the right hook, I would say that if your turn signal was on it's kind of on the cyclist coming up from behind. At least I'm thankful of drivers who signal their intent. If a driver signals I can figure out a way to maneuver so neither of us gets unduly inconvenienced.

scott s.
.

CliffordK

Most of the older vehicles... up to very recently have what I call "Kill Zone Turn Signals" (my own term). I'm not sure if the law has changed or not recently, but side signals are getting better.

However, if you stand right next to the passenger door of your old pickup with your turn signals on, the right turn signal is probably not visible. You may not even be able to turn around and see the taillights. Most older vehicles have fender clearance lights that are not wired to the turn signals, and the only place where the front turn signals are clearly visible is to walk around in front of the vehicle.

So, if for some reason the cyclist passed your taillights, then the turn signals are not visible to the cyclist at all.

Or, say a cyclist stops beside you, then glances over, to see if you are signalling, he won't see a thing.

You could potentially wire the side clearance lights to the turn signals. I haven't done this because bulb sizes are different, but I have always thought it should have been done that way. That way the bike could actually see that you're signalling.

It looks like these can be added to fenders for better signal visibility.
Pair Car DIY Mirror Side Door Chroming Turn Signal Indicator LED Lights Lamps AP | eBay

It would be interesting whether these could be installed in the mirrors. Does it require 2-way glass?
1 pair 14 SMD LED Arrow Lights Car Side Mirror Turn Signal light 5colors-in Front Turn Signals from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


As far as what you can do as a driver. If you passed a bicycle 1/4 mile back, anticipate that the cyclist will catch up to you at the traffic light, so keep an eye out for him. And, as mentioned, check your mirrors before turning across a bike path.

Jim from Boston

Over my decades of cycle touring, commuting, and road riding, I have composed various aphorisms in my head to remind me of safety hazards. The one especially for riding MUPS is:

Stick69

Thanks for the good feedback. I am going to look for a bike mirror that works for me.

As far as taking the bike lane I could do that in a Miata or similar but the wheel base and turning radius of my truck makes it imposable to take the bike lane and then turn right without hitting the curb with my rear tire. If I was second or third in line I could take the bike lane but would then have to swing out of the bike lane to execute the right turn. I am beginning to think this new intersection was not optimally engineered. I suppose I could just avoid this intersection.


I think there are tail gate LEDs or other options for increasing the visibility of my turn signals. I'll look into that.

Anyway thanks for the good discussion. I would like to bike safely for many decades and I certainly don't want to hit a cyclist with a vehicle.

Stick69

genec

While that is probably a fair defensive cycling mantra... believing that other road users are "jerks" likely sets one up to have a confrontational mindset, and likely act like a jerk or the "ahole cyclists" that many motorists say they see on the roads...

Perhaps removing the "jerk" attribute and just considering yourself as largely "invisible" to most motorists is a better way to think.

I go with a mindset that I am Casper the ghost... I am friendly and respectful of the other road users, but I understand that only the ones that "believe" in ghosts (cyclists) will actually see me... and I look for acknowledgement from motorists in that vein. Others, I assume don't see me, and I act accordingly.

berner

Long ago when I was a teenager, driving with my uncle who was general contractor and needed to speak with one of the carpenters who worked for him, we stopped at the local tavern which being a rainy day, most of the carpenters in town were there. I remember that as we walked in, every one of those men had a glass of beer in front with one hand wrapped around the glass. 55 years later, that scene is still imprinted in my mind because most of then were missing a finger, clearly evident against the background of the beer glass. I began working with my uncle some years later and soon realized that If continuing that line of work, the odds of also losing a finger were high. I worked diligently to pay close attention to what I was doing but also realized that paying attention most of the time was not good enough. That is was necessary to pay attention every minute of every day, week after week and so forth and so on, for years.

It seems to have worked because I still have 10 fingers. Now that I'm riding a bike the hardest thing is to be attentive to surroundings, other cyclists, motorists and road surface conditions, not merely most of the time, but all the time. It takes some effort to maintain focus on riding. This also carries over to my own driving and I find myself marveling at how careless many people drive. It is not surprising that motorists can run a cyclist down who is in plain sight and claim they never saw him or her. They didn't see the cyclist because they weren't looking.

mrodgers

I did not have a bad encounter on my bike with a car today. I was in my car and it was an idiot behind me in a car while I was being cautious of the bicycle up ahead. I was in Pittsburgh and this country boy is not use to being in the city and not use to seeing bikes out on the roads at all. Up ahead of me on a 35 mph narrow city street I saw a bicycle weaving out around the sporadically spaced parked cars. As I approached the bicycle was approaching another parked car so I slowed down, almost stopped, to let them maneuver around the parked car. Once she went around the car and moved back over to the curb, I continued on but not fast enough for the guy laying on his horn behind me. As I came up on a red light, the guy behind me lays on the horn again, pulls out into the oncoming lane and blasts through the red light whipping around me about 50 mph. All I could think was, WOW!

riva

THIS exactly. Three or four things coming together to make for a deadly situation. Almost hit a cyclist this morn near my house.. lot going on at the intersection at that moment. I would consider myself above average at scanning, but did not see him. Got into that narrow vision trap.. spending too much of my focus on one thing. Seen other drivers make the same mistake too. Got to reevaluate my driving technique.

FBinNY 

It's so easy Not to see a cyclist "in plain sight". This is insightful (no pun) and IMO, required reading for all urban cyclists, and those who drive among them.

Be diligent, but accept that even excellent care is no guaranty against mistakes.

howsteepisit

Acording to what I read in the A&S forum, you should not be driving id you cannot see a (any) cyclist. Clearly you should be banned for driving for life

bronco71

It is the first rule of safety and is the basis of defensive driving. You have to continuously be prepared for people doing stupid ****.

riva

I know you jest but I'm going to get my eyes checked. Seriously.

Paul Barnard

There are other lessons to be learned. The overtaking cyclist in the first scenario made a big mistake. He passed at close interval with great disparity in speed. In the second scenario, I would ease past those vehicles in the right lane, figuring I am highly vulnerable to a right hook.

CliffordK

I was out riding today, and 2 vehicles came to mind with this discussion.

I got parallel to a Prius as the light changed. I know I checked for a blinker when I approached from the rear, so I think it just turned the blinker on after I was next to it. Turn the blinker on late, and it is hard to anticipate a driver's actions. I think I was able to discern the blinkers form the side on that car, but there are many where one can't see them.

On a second occasion, along the same bike path, as I approached a pickup pulling a trailer from the rear, I noticed blinkers on the pickup's mirror. The right rear blinker was out, and the trailer obscured pickup lights.

Anyway, once I saw he was turning, I went ahead and slowed down and waved him on. I don't want to get pinched between a right turning trailer and the curb.

San Rensho 

Ok. So i responded that in the second scenario if you are driving a car and want to turn right take the entire bike lane so you cant right hook a cyclist.

So what do you do when you are a cyclist and you apptoach an intersection when you are in the bike lane.

Well before the imtersection Get out of the bike lane and take the lane behind a car. that way the car cannot right hook you. Its in front of you.