Commuting - Nearly hit, getting frustrated...

I've searched a bit, but am looking for the best information your experiance can supply. Here's the deal-

I've been comuting with my kids, riding them to school in the morning a short distance (three miles, major collector roads). Our trailer is red, and I'm six feet tall, plus helmet. As we recently moved, and the commute route changed from MUT's to collector roads I got a little concerned and started to wear a bright yellow (70%) and black jersey with my other gear. My bike has wheel reflectors, but they are not very effective in the daylight. I have a headlight (Light and Motion Solo) and taillight, but haven't used them on the daylight commute.

So what's the problem? In the last 9 days (since i started wearing the jersey) I've been nearly hit twice, both times by folks who were looking directly at me (or so it seemed- I use the "look into the drivers eyes" thing whenever I can). One stopped her progress when I screamed directly, from 10", into her closed driver's window at the top of my lungs as she cut me off on a left turn. Both of these incidences were probably cell phone related (drivers had phones in their hands).

Short of quitting the commute, which I'd rather not do, what can I do to stop this from happening? Increase my visibility? What really works? Blinkies all over, front and rear? Headlight on all the time, like motorcycles do? Neon vest on top of bright yellow jersey? Funny hat and face paint? What has really worked for you?

Sincerely, I'd really like to get a handle on this problem.

Thanks,

Steve

I don't suppose the sun is in the driver's eyes at that time in the morning? Have you tried a bright red or red and yellow jersey? Or put your head and taillights on blink during the day. It may make you more visible, but other than that, there's not much you can do about bad drivers. Bad drivers have trouble judging closing speed at intersections or assume they have the right of way when they don't.

I can't offer you any ideas, but I would like to offer my sympathy. My father-in-law (6'4") and his wife were walking across a street when some ditz on a cell phone RAN OVER HIS FOOT. I have heard that cell phones distract people to the point where they can look at something and it does not register.

My brother carries a whistle. Of course you would have to have the time to get it up to your mouth, unless you pre-emptively put in into your mouth as you approached every intersection.

I have heard of but not seen air horns that run off a can of compressed air mounted in a water bottle holder. I would really like a chance to use one some day, but I suppose that is something one should not really wish for.

If you have your kids in a trailer, how about some of those flags on the whippy posts.

Is there any other route you could use with less traffic maybe?

Since I am commuting at dawn, I don't think my flashing LEDs are cutting it.
Here's my next investment:

Emergency strobe (http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php/products_id/802)

I am going to mount it on the back of my bike and modify it with either a red or amber lens, so that it will conform to TX law. I saw one of these demo-ed at REI and it is bright enough to show up in daylight, as well.

It should help in alerting drivers to the fact that there something up ahead that requires their attention.

Does your police department have a bicycle patrol? Maybe talk with them and invite them to ride with you.

Maybe I do have an idea.

Mount on the bicycle a front pannier rack, like you would for bicycle touring. To the rack, bolt a piece of wood, so you have a platform for attaching things. Attach to the platform something like this:

http://www.bargainsupplywholesale.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pID=6135

In case the link doesn't work, it is a revolving yellow light, like you might see on top of a tow truck. This one runs on a cigarette lighter plugin, which means it runs on 12 volts. You could snip the wires and attach them to a 12-volt sealed lead acid battery in a seat bag (with fuse and switch of course).

Some good advice above about adding blinkies (some LED blinkies are now better than small strobes), as well as an air horn. The air horn I've seen at my LBS has a hose from the air bottle to the horn-the horn can then mount on your bar (if there is room).

-Also, how do you ride? Do you ride "vehicularly"-particularly do you ride further left-or do you hug the curb/road edge. I've found that when I ride further left, or in the lane a bit, traffic at side streets "sees me" better.

Here's a good website on bicycle lighting: http://bicyclelighting.com/

The site has a link to some very good strobe lights.

Also, a water bottle air horn (Airzound) and use it liberally.

Regarding lighting, I read this in one of the forums:

".. Ever since I've been running that strobe behind me, motorists have really given me room, even in the daytime. I really think that running my lights during the day is a lot more effective now. Motorists really take notice of my strobe, tail light and 20W halogen. They frequently wait as I approach an intersection, instead of turning in front of me. This visibility is especially helpful in the late afternoon, when I'm riding with the sun behind me."

The link is: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=42629&page=4&pp=25 and listed as "Total Geekiness". Seems these guys put on enough lights (xenon strobes, 55W halogen headlights, running lights, etc.) to look like they're from outer space. Didn't look to difficult to do either and it's not that expensive. Also, it's better than a $400 cycle specific lighting system because you can get the parts from most hardware and auto stores.

Good luck and be safe.

I almost got hit three times on my way home today. 2 were people who made right turns into driveways immediately after passing me, causing me to brake hard to keep from running into them, and the third was a woman who was talking on a cellphone and got within less than a foot of me while passing me.

Sure does add some excitement to the old commute, dealing with these brain-dead people.

BTW, this was in bright sunlight and I was wearing a yellow helmet and an ANSI lime vest with reflective strips, so it's not like they couldn't see me.

BTW, this was in bright sunlight and I was wearing a yellow helmet and an ANSI lime vest with reflective strips, so it's not like they couldn't see me.

This comment is made so often I have to wonder why.
It might yield interesting results to sit inside new cars/trucks and see what color your helmet and vest actually appear from within. With some colors/glass treatments, those loud colors might not scream. The green, for example, could be toned down by a vehicle with blue- or green-tinted windows; a yellow might be unremarkable when viewed through a bronze or metalicized finish glass.

And then many drivers wear sunglasses with various colors of lenses that might also defeat your efforts...

If you reading you post, you didn't mention that you have a rear rack and that you have stuff that you are transporting. I find that whenever I have a good amount of stuff on my rear rack. i.e. groceries, books, crowbar, etc. Cars tend to notice more and they tend to give an extra effort to give me more room.

If you don't mind the extra weight why don't you try adding racks and hauling some larger items with reflectors and see if that helps.

Especially with the trailer I'm not sure what you can do to become more visible. Positioning in the lane, maybe? I don't know.

I sent a gripe-o-gram (http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/delivery-drivers.html) to New Belgium Brewery this morning. The big red truck with "Fat Tire Ale" and the bicycle logo totally blew through a stop sign and nearly creamed me. Are there any blogs or online forums that the execs from New Belgium follow? I'm having difficulty getting their attention.

I sure do wish they would outlaw cellphone use while driving. It's a hazard to everyone: automobile drivers (almost) as much as cyclists. I don't know why people talking on the phone become oblivious to events around them while conversing with a passenger is fine, but it certainly seems to be the case.

Short of some of the extreme measures mentioned in the thread already (and I don't mean to imply you shouldn't try them, just that for my part I'd look pretty hard at the alternatives before, say, bolting wooden racks to my bike), I would strongly echo digonzo007: are there any route alternatives?

Speaking of which, what the heck is a "collector road" -- is that what I'd call a major arterial? Or is it something more specific? If we're talking 35mph+ roads without bike lanes, and with kids on board, I'd take almost any alternate route.

Also, consider timing: peak rush hours have a negative energy all their own. The roads that I commute have a pretty sharp 1/2 hour demarcation where competing with traffic simply isn't fun: people are running late, irritable, etc. Avoiding that interval makes a big difference to my own state of mind. I am sure some places have a longer "blackout" period that may be unavoidable, but it's worth taking into consideration.

Stick a flag on your trailer, it seems to really scare the cagers off. You can get them at Big-5, from Burley, and at a lot of bike shops.

So what's the problem? In the last 9 days (since i started wearing the jersey) I've been nearly hit twice, both times by folks who were looking directly at me (or so it seemed- I use the "look into the drivers eyes" thing whenever I can). Sincerely, I'd really like to get a handle on this problem.

Steve

I don't believe in the look into their eyes! I don't look into their eyes I watch the tires to see what they are going to do. Why don't I look into their eyes? I think that once you make eye contact they feel you are looking at me now I can go because you see what they are doing now. That is how it has appeared to me in the past. I look right at the person and they hit the gas and go. I watch the car not the person and they stay in place. It has happend too often to me in the past.

I'm convinced that a lot of near-misses such as those described in the OP are due to motorists either misjudging the speed of an approaching bicycle, or assuming it will stop and yield to them. They might see you just fine, but you don't register as something they need to stop for or yield to. In such cases all the lights and reflective clothing in the world aren't going to help. You just have to be constantly vigilant and assume the worst.

No doubt cell phones are also to blame. I witnessed three different drivers almost get into collisions last night on my commute home because they were driving erratically. Guess what they all had in common? That's right, the little crack phone glued to their ears.

Maybe you need the Airzounds horn (LOUD MOFO) to get their attention.

Last night while riding home, I saw a guy riding along with whistle in mouth. He was using a rescue whistle, designed for boaters (sold at West Marine and others). These things are cheap and LOUD! It did look however, very uncomfortable to me to ride with a whistle stuck in my mouth. Especially with ragweed counts in the 110's - how do you breath when your nose feels like it's stuffed with cement?

I just yell a lot. Makes me seem like a crazy person, but yelling tends to get people's attention. I've also got a pretty powerful voice (high school drama taught me to "project").

On whistles, I think that a ref's whistle would work well. I've seen them with a rubber tooth guard thing, so you can bite them and breath through your mouth without whistling. It's kind of necessary when you consider all the running that basketball refs sometimes do.

Thanks for all the posts, suggestions, and sympathy- sorry to not respond more quickly.

The overall suggestion seems to be to increase visability, which I'm going to do. I keep discarding ideas because they don't address enough issues, but am going to have to abandon that approach, as it's not helping my situation.

To reply to a specific question- "Speaking of which, what the heck is a "collector road" -- is that what I'd call a major arterial? Or is it something more specific? If we're talking 35mph+ roads without bike lanes, and with kids on board, I'd take almost any alternate route."
We live in a huge planned community (reportedly the largest of it's kind in the US). Apart from the subdivision roads around here, we have 5-6 lane roads, plus 8' bike lanes, 35-45 mph, that collect all of the traffic from the subdiv. roads before dumping it onto the local arterials. While great for riding we have the previously mentioned intersection issues, as folks pulling onto these roads are really focused on looking for approaching traffic in those three lanes on their side of the road. I am going to change the route, but am concerned that I'm at as much risk in the subdivisions as I am on the collectors, as some people seem to treat these as their driveways more than they treat them as roads.

I ride like I'm driving a car- I take my lane at intersections (otherwise I'm in the bke lane), signal turns, accelerate like a madman at lights and pullng away from stop signs, all so I don't get overtaken. I strongly believe that you expose yourself to more risk lurking on the perifery than you do when you're confronting the traffic. It's a balance.

Here's my program-
Attach a light to a tall whippy flag on the trailer so that it's up there at SUV eye level and moving around, flashing (I turned on the blinky this morining for our ride, and my son was upset that I had it on during the daylight hours. I had to explain to him that I'm trying to let people know we're there)
I've seen folks who attach an outrigger to their back rack- it should be easy to rig, and pretty light, and will get lights on each end.
I'm going to try to find an Airzounds (or whatever they're called) horn to test, and see if it'll be effective. I'm pretty sure my voice and ding ding bell aren't getting over the distractions in the cars.
I'm going to mount my headlight to the commuter, and ride with it on all the time.

All of this is a pain in the tail, but if it keeps me, or more importantly my kids, from becoming road pizza, then I guess it's worth it. It's time to take steps.

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it all works.

Steve

Get a niterider 19-LED light, those suckers are bright enough to be plenty day light visible. The blink feature is especially good at attracting attention. An air horn is great for people who pass you and are about to cut you off. Cars have daytime running lights for a reason, so should you.

Get a niterider 19-LED light, those suckers are bright enough to be plenty day light visible. The blink feature is especially good at attracting attention. An air horn is great for people who pass you and are about to cut you off. Cars have daytime running lights for a reason, so should you.

yep.

Maybe I do have an idea.

Mount on the bicycle a front pannier rack, like you would for bicycle touring. To the rack, bolt a piece of wood, so you have a platform for attaching things. Attach to the platform something like this:

http://www.bargainsupplywholesale.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pID=6135

In case the link doesn't work, it is a revolving yellow light, like you might see on top of a tow truck. This one runs on a cigarette lighter plugin, which means it runs on 12 volts. You could snip the wires and attach them to a 12-volt sealed lead acid battery in a seat bag (with fuse and switch of course).


Saw a guy in a wheelchair the other day who had 2 of these mounted to a dragster-style spoiler on the back. He was quite visible.

I sure do wish they would outlaw cellphone use while driving. It's a hazard to everyone: automobile drivers (almost) as much as cyclists. I don't know why people talking on the phone become oblivious to events around them while conversing with a passenger is fine, but it certainly seems to be the case.

Law doesn't help. It's been illegal to drive while using a cell for almost 2 years in DC,and I still see people doing it every day. Just the other day I yelled at a guy,"Hang up! That's illegal!". His responce,"Shut up,get out of the street!". :mad: