Advocacy & Safety - Bike Safety Card Design

With the recent wave of cycling accidents in Boise, I want to create a business sized card to hand out to cyclist. They would just be handed out with no lecture to cyclist especially ones that are not being safe.

One side would have Idaho Statutes regarding bikes-stops and lane positions. The other side is where I am looking for some pointers. I want 4 or 5 main points about being staying safe while riding around town.

Here is what I have so far.

- Be like traffic. Ride with traffic preferably on the roadway. No Bike Salmon

- Be visable. Ride with lights at dusk and dark. No Bike Ninja

- Be predictable. No sudden swerves or lane darting.

- ????

Bike Salmon?

Let Darwin sort out the bad cyclists. I'm much more concerned about bad drivers.

Let Darwin sort out the bad cyclists. I'm much more concerned about bad drivers.

Those bad cyclist give the rest of us a bad name. Plus sometimes they just need some commonsense help.

check out some of these tips http://bicyclesafe.com/

But, you would be better off focusing on car safety. Bike crashes that do not involve cars are rarely fatal.

Bike Salmon?

"Bike Salmon" is a metaphor; Salmon are a type of fish that is known for swimming upstream, against the flow of water.

You have to picture it in your mind.

Against traffic like a salmon swimming against the flow of water, is what cman is saying.

Maddyfish- thanks for the reminding me of that website.

Focusing on drivers is tough cause I can rarely catch up to them. I see cyclist put themselves in stupid and dangerous situations all the time . I just think they could use some help and I can easily catch up too most cyclist.

Let Darwin sort out the bad cyclists.

But Darwin (at least this Darwin) doesn't care either... I am of the mind that traffic enforcement is the job of paid professionals, and an individual, or group of individuals, self appointed to stop and disrupt other individuals to educate them on the evils of their ways is unlikely to provide any positive results. ;)

While noble in thought, I think something like this is likely to lead to an increase in littering, and not much else.

I think you might be better served to buy sign space, or place posters in businesses where the wrong way cyclists hang out, or where they buy their bikes, or work for safety classes in the schools... That way it could reach cyclists and drivers, current and future.

LD- I see your point and you state it well.

Another bike accident in today. Both driver and cyclist were cited. http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/story/804574.html Good to see the enforcement, now we just need the education.

You have the right to ride in the traffic lane, so ride like you belong there- ride large!

Merge early and turn left from the left turn lane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5V_qUagGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUKZipHuUJY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUNKox4-W90

Put on the card links like these to videos showing how it is done.

The cards had better be written in Spanish.

You have the right to ride in the traffic lane, so ride like you belong there- ride large!

Touting hardcore "left-tire-track" VC to sidewalk/salmon cyclists is like teaching multivariable calculus to high school dropouts.

Touting hardcore "left-tire-track" VC to sidewalk/salmon cyclists is like teaching multivariable calculus to high school dropouts.

Vehicular cycling techniques have not been tried and found difficult. They have been presumed difficult and not tried. -- P.M. Summer

It is actually like teaching someone who is licensed to drive an automobile to ride his bicycle with the same rules of travel on the public street. It is the hysterical fear mongers who make things difficult and cause bicyclists to choose to ride in such a dangerous manner. Then their experience of close calls and near misses constantly reinforce their irrational fears of traffic.

Riding a bike on public roads is neither complicated nor hard to do, and following the time tested universal rules is the safest way to navigate in traffic. It is also more efficient and faster than sidewalk riding, increasing the utility of the bicycle to it's owner.

Do you so despise salmon/sidewalk cyclists that you would want to keep all this from them? Do you think they are such morons they can't be taught simple things? Not very broad minded of you. Not very compassionate either!

You know nothing of what you speak about.

Riding a bike on public roads is neither complicated nor hard to do, and following the time tested universal rules is the safest way to navigate in traffic. It is also more efficient and faster than sidewalk riding, increasing the utility of the bicycle to it's owner.

[/SIZE]

This is what I would like to accomplish. Thanks for the other ideas above.

I'd go with "Eat $hit and die", the looks would be priceless.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/Strange_will/forums/emot-effyou-1.gif

But, you would be better off focusing on car safety. Bike crashes that do not involve cars are rarely fatal.

IME cars are easily spotted, disciplined(in comparison) and easy to predict. Bike riders and pedestrians can appear out of nowhere, at any time, doing the strangest things.

For me it becomes a trade-off. I see a car accident as a lower probability of occurring but a greater risk to my health, while a bike-to-bike or bike-to-pedestrian has a much higher probability of occurring but at a lower personal risk.

The last time I tangled with a car was back in -84, while I've alredy racked up two collisions and one truly scary incident this spring only.
The way my stats are going, I prefer the cars, the risks they impose are so much easier to influence by adapting my own behaviour than those posed by randomly governed pedestrians and bike riders.

Do you so despise salmon/sidewalk cyclists that you would want to keep all this from them? Do you think they are such morons they can't be taught simple things? Not very broad minded of you. Not very compassionate either!

I do take the lane when the lane is sufficiently narrow, and you have yet to convince me to take the lane even if a shoulder or wide lane exists.

I must be a moron! :cry:




:lol: