Advocacy & Safety - Defensive Bike Riding

HI,
well after only riding for about 6 weeks I have decided to go on the Defensive, If I see a green light I will check and re-check for a light runner. If I see a car turning I will assume He dosen't see me or wants to kill me,
Its the only way I can safely continue to ride.
Here in VA they don't seem to care much for us two wheelers, so defensive may be the only way to ride here if you want to Live.:twitchy:
Doug

Rule one for both cycling and driving is to assume the other guy is gonna do the stupidest thing possible and plan your options accordingly...aka 'plan for Murphy'.

This is generally good advice for anything we do in life. Watch out for Number One!

I never assume a driver sees me, unless they make eye contact.

And they stop, get out of their car, and walk over and shake my hand. Then I'll assume they see me.

I never assume a driver sees me, unless they make eye contact.

And they stop, get out of their car, and walk over and shake my hand. Then I'll assume they see me.

I wouldn't. You can never be too careful around people driving 500kg steel cages going 20 meters per second.....let's see.....that's 10 k-joules of power that is coming your way......yeah. Bad things will happen.

Always remember vehicle blindspots are larger than you think and only get bigger with larger vehicles.

Things I've found useful:
http://bicyclesafe.com/ - how not to get hit by cars website
http://www.johnforester.com/ - Effective Cycling by J Forester is a textbook on cycling in traffic
http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/ - UK govt. cycling in traffic manual

Actually, I think this is a counterproductive way of thinking. If you think someone might be out to kill you, you're focusing too much on them and not enough on other things. Assumptions about what other people are thinking -- positive or negative -- are just assumptions and may be incorrect, and an incorrect evaluation is the last thing you need.

Simply believing that you are invisible is much less stressful. You rely on your own eyes and brain and reflexes to keep you out of trouble, and it doesn't matter whether other drivers can see you.

I never assume a driver sees me, unless they make eye contact.

And they stop, get out of their car, and walk over and shake my hand. Then I'll assume they see me.

If they get out of the car, I put the gas to my ass and get gone.

:D

my first inclination was to assume all drivers are drug-addled sociopaths spoiling for a fight, but acting like you're invisible is perhaps a more accurate approach.

I never assume a driver sees me, unless they make eye contact.

And they stop, get out of their car, and walk over and shake my hand. Then I'll assume they see me.

I have had drivers and pedestrians look directly at me then pull out into my path.

I have had drivers and pedestrians look directly at me then pull out into my path.

Yes, I would have sworn in a court of law that the guy that ran over me when I was crossing an intersection in front of him had made eye contact with me. When I picked myself up, he ran over and said "Sorry bro I never saw you!"

I move further out now, take the lane and try and wait for them to "track" me, does not always work though.