Quartz

I've been spending a while thinking about the friction that occurs between cyclists and drivers. I'm a big believer that a lot of it is caused by simple lack of education. Driver's ed courses don't go into much detail about cyclists at all, and so drivers become upset when they see cyclists doing things they don't think the cyclists should be doing ("Why is this bicycle in the middle of my lane? I'll honk my horn until it gets out of the way.")

A lot of cyclists are in need of some reading, too. A lot of cyclists get nailed by doors every day, and these accidents are easily preventable, just by driving outside the "door zone", but evidently a lot of cyclists don't know this.

So, what can I do? I could do something like write my elected representatives and moan about the lack of cycling education in my area (and, in fact, I think I will!), but I thought to my self, "Self, there must be something more I can do."

I've noticed, when I'm at the office, I'll be waiting for the microwave, and I'll read the notice board in the hallway. I'll read about Sally's boat which is for sale, or I'll read the WHIMS notice about the safe handling of lead (even though the odds of me actually handling lead at work are around the same as the odds of me being struck by a meteor on my ride to work), I'll read just about anything that's up there. So, I thought, why not put something about cycling up there? Why not educate some of the drivers who pass me on my commute every day?

What I want to do is write a series of "posters" about cycling. Each will present a cycling topic, with two write ups; one aimed at cyclists, and one aimed at drivers. Each will be designed to be printed on a standard letter sized sheet of paper, preferably in black and white so I can do it on the laser printers at work. I want to release these under some sort of "creative commons" type license, so anyone can print them and hang them up by their microwaves, water coolers, and coffee stands. Each will be written as "neutrally" as possible to try to appeal to as wide an audience as possible (no "Look out of cagers, they suck.").

I'm looking for some critique of my writing, so I'll post what I'm writing here before I post it at work (and you can all tell me "What? You're talking crazy talk!"). I'm also looking for other people who are interested in donating some time or helping out (Any graphic designers on this forum? Anyone interested in doing a little writing?) Let me know what you think!

Quartz

Here's something I whipped up in about half an hour (hopefully not too many grammar errors; I haven't even proof read it yet, and sometimes I kant write good. )

Taking the Lane

In most places, bicycles are legally vehicles, and must follow all the same rules as cars do. In many places, bicycles are legally required to allow cars to pass when it is safe to do so, however nowhere are cyclists forced to allow cars by when it is unsafe to do so.


For Cyclists:

Many cyclists feel uncomfortable taking the middle of a lane. One of the most prevalent reasons is the fear of getting struck from behind. This kind of collision, while it does happen, is one of the least common kinds of collision. Some studies place it as low as 0.3% of all car-bike collisions, and many of these collisions are the result of cyclists traveling at night without proper lighting.

To pick an example; 11% of collisions are caused by motorists in parked cars opening their door into the path of a cyclist. Many cyclists die this way every year, and these deaths would be prevented if cyclists stayed at least 4.5 feet away from parked vehicles. When passing a line of parked cars, and in many other cases, you are safer taking the lane.

If a road is too narrow to let cars pass safely, if you are making a left hand turn from a left hand turn lane and do not want traffic passing you on both sides, if you are approaching an intersection and want to make yourself more visible to cross traffic; in all these cases, you are safer taking the lane than riding to the right.

Some cyclists feel uncomfortable taking the lane because they do not wish to inconvenience other road users. Never place the convenience of another over your own safety.


For Drivers:

A lot of drivers don’t seem to understand that the reason a cyclist is riding in the middle of the road, blocking their path, is exactly the same reason that a pedestrian might be found in a cross-walk, blocking their path; safety.

When a cyclist is riding in the middle of the lane in front of you, it is because they do not feel it is safe for you to pass them. Likely there is some specific reason for this; there is a line of parked cars on the side of the road and the cyclist doesn’t want to strike a door when it is opened in front of them, or perhaps the road narrows temporarily because of an underpass or construction. Whatever the cause of concern, the cyclist will likely move out of your way in a few moments when the cause is gone.

The cyclist is not there to try and slow you down, or inconvenience you, or make you angry, any more so than the person in the cross-walk is. Honking at the cyclist, or yelling obscenities at them, is unlikely to make them feel any safer.

You might think the cyclist is wrong, and that the situation is perfectly safe, but remember; if they’re wrong, they inconvenience you slightly. If you’re wrong, the cyclist dies. Enjoy driving at a slower pace for a bit, and relax.

aMull

^ Good points. I take the lane when:

Road is narrow and it is not safe to share it with a car.
Road is in bad shape and i don't feel safe riding on the right and at the same swirling left and right avoiding obstacles.
I am riding close to or at the speed limit.
I am about to make right or left turn.
I am getting close to a stop sign or a red light.
There is a bus or a large vehicle approaching me from behind.

sgtsmile

Excellent idea. When I am more awake, I will read it over and help you with editing if you like

Nate1952

I have only one response to folks who recommend consistently "taking the lane" and standing on their "rights"-

Someone who is looking for trouble eventually finds it.

We are part of an Accelerated Culture. Even motorists on their way to triple root canals feel that their forward motion should not be impeded.

No one wants to be the defendant in a court case, so motorists will try to avoid hitting a cyclist - no matter where the rider is positioned. But the automatic defense for a motorist in that situation would be that the cyclist was riding "recklessly" - and I bet most juries would agree.

As far as the danger of getting "doored" - give me a break. Look for heads behind steering wheels. Being "doored" is only a hazard when you see a head on the driver's side.

divergence

Sorry, but that's bad advice for a couple of reasons.

Part of the problem is that you won't always see that head on the driver's side. Between tinted windows, high seatbacks, drivers who are leaning over to grab something from the passenger's side, too little light or too much glare, and obstructed lines of sight due to other parked cars, you can't rely on seeing the driver before they open their door.

Even if you could, what next? If you're moving at normal cruising speed and spot a head on the driver's side a few car lengths ahead, do you stop? Slow to a crawl? Move left at the last moment, which is a lot dicier than if you'd been holding a steady line outside the door zone? Or do you slow to 8 mph every time you're passing a line of parked cars, so that you'll have more time to do one or more of the above? (That last option might actually be reasonably safe...but if your regular commute is along streets with side parking, you'll be giving up a hell of a lot of your own time in the name of saving a motorist the few seconds it would take to pass you safely.)

The other problem is attention: if you're scanning the line of cars to your right for that elusive driver's head, then you're devoting that much less attention to everything else that's happening on the road. Again, if you slow way down, you might be able to keep an eye on everything, but to cruise through the door zones of a line of parked cars at normal road speeds is a truly bad idea.

aMull

^ Completely agree with you. Just an hour ago when i was coming back from the bank and passed a car waiting near a school, i did not see any driver coming from behind. When i pulled alongside i saw the woman leaning over doing something.

Helmet Head

It's very good. I have some suggested changes. A revised version with those changes follows.

------------------

Taking the Lane

In most places, bicyclists are legally drivers of vehicles, and must follow all the same rules as vehicle drivers do. In many places, bicyclists, like all drivers of slow moving vehicles, are legally required to allow faster traffic to pass when it is safe and reasonable to do so, however nowhere are cyclists required to allow cars by when it is unsafe to do so.


For Cyclists:

Many cyclists feel uncomfortable riding near the middle of a lane. One of the most prevalent reasons is the fear of getting struck from behind. This kind of collision, while it does happen, is one of the least common kinds of collision. Some studies place it as low as 0.3% of all car-bike collisions, and many of these collisions are the result of cyclists traveling at night without proper lighting.

To pick an example; 11% of bike-car collisions are caused by motorists in parked cars opening their door into the path of a cyclist. Many cyclists die this way every year, and these deaths would be prevented if cyclists tracked at least 5 feet away from parked vehicles. When passing a line of parked cars, and in many other cases, you are safer riding in the lane, even if that causes motorists behind you to slow down.

If a road is too narrow to let cars pass safely, if you are making a left hand turn from a left hand turn lane and do not want traffic passing you on both sides, if you are approaching an intersection and want to improve your sight lines and make yourself more visible to cross traffic; in all these cases, you are safer taking the lane than riding to the right.

Some cyclists feel uncomfortable taking the lane because they do not wish to inconvenience other road users. Never place the convenience of another over your own safety.


For Drivers:

A lot of drivers don’t seem to understand that the reason a cyclist is riding in the middle of the road, blocking their path, is exactly the same reason that a pedestrian might be found in a crosswalk, blocking their path: safety.

When a cyclist is riding in the middle of the lane in front of you, it is because he or she does not feel it is safe for you to pass them at that time. There is likely to be some specific reason for this: there is a line of parked cars on the side of the road and the cyclist doesn’t want to strike a door when it is opened in front of them, or perhaps the road narrows temporarily because of an underpass or construction. Whatever the cause of concern, the cyclist will likely move out of your way in a few moments when the cause is gone. Please be patient. Mere seconds of insignificant delay can seem like minutes when you're in a hurry.

The cyclist is not there to try and slow you down, or inconvenience you, or make you angry, any more so than the person in the crosswalk is. Honking at the cyclist, or yelling obscenities at them, is unlikely to make them feel any safer.

You might think the cyclist is wrong, and that the situation is perfectly safe, but remember; if they’re wrong, they inconvenience you slightly. If you’re wrong, the cyclist dies. Enjoy driving at a slower pace for a bit, and relax.

genec

You might find what you are looking for on the net already... I don't have my URLs handy, but there are bike safety sites on the net that have some catchphrase posters already...

The other thing I did at my last job was post the rules of the road for cyclists outside of my cube... that alone brought interested motorists to ask questions regarding the rules... many of them with an "I didn't know that... " response.

Try some of these:https://bicyclesafe.com/
https://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/bike-car.htm

randya

Here's something from the State of Maine:

https://www.bikemaine.org/pdfs/Motorists-STR.pdf
https://www.bikemaine.org/pdfs/Bicyclists-STR.pdf
https://www.bikemaine.org/pdfs/STR_quicktips.pdf