ahpook

I bike commute pretty close to 100% of the time, and often running errands on Saturday morning is the first time all week I drive. Well, yesterday I had two incidents which made me realize that my driving skills have worsened due to lack of practice.

One was being distracted by wrong-way cyclists who were not in the traffic lane. But because they would have been in my path if I had been on a bike, my brain identified them as a 'threat' to be negotiated and as a result I failed to notice a line of stopped traffic and had to slam on my brakes suddenly. No contact or anything, but sloppy situational awareness.

The second incident happened because I was looking for a street in an unfamiliar neighborhood and didn't identify it until I was nearly through the intersection, so I pulled hard right to make the turn-off. Again, a sloppy maneuver because my brain has gotten used to thinking in bike terms (it wouldn't have been an unusually sharp turn on a bike).

So I think I'm going to let my wife drive us around and I'll work the CD player from the passenger seat. It'll be safer for all of us this way.

GTcommuter

Everytime I get into a car now I'm amazed at how easy traveling is. I just press the pedal and zip right over a hill that usually kills my legs. I've caught myself driving too fast several times.

DCCommuter

I find in a lot of ways my cycling improves my driving -- I'm more aware of other vehicles, lane position, my surroundings. On the other hand, I drive a lot slower than I used to, and I have to remember to stop for stop signs and red lights.

tokolosh

it seems to have messed with my timing a bit. i'm not as smooth with some manoeuvres as i used to be. i've got used to timing them the way i do on a bike, and of course the other cars are setting their timing for a car when they see me. they don't know i'm a biker in mufti so i confuse them

and i've noticed this: on a bike i have so much longer to take in my surroundings and process via peripheral vision. i'm both more aware and much less conscious about it now. i get caught like you did, not keeping on top of the changing scene fast enough to respond to it. my last week on that job i drove almost every day, and i kept overshooting the intersection i've been turning left at for the past six months. different landmarks or something.

bostontrevor

I have a different problem which is that I tend to be more aggressive behind the wheel now. I have a very aggressive and opportunistic riding style and when I'm behind the wheel I find myself sizing up gaps, trying to squeeze through yellow or red lights, that sort of thing.

It cost me a $150 ticket not so long ago.

Not too bright.

Jarery

Half the time when I now take my car to run an errand I find myself trying to take my bike routes, and ending up at some closed off section that i need my bike to get thru....

pinkrobe

For the most part, my driving has improved my biking. I stop for red lights, stop signs, pedestrians, litter... On the other hand, I overtake people as enthusiastically on my bike as I do on the highway. I have lost some patience in terms of my ability to follow others when there is open road ahead. This means that I avoid the bike paths, because everyone seems to travel 10 km/h slower than I want them to. The same goes for highway driving, unfortunately. I have to keep telling myself to relax...

lxpatterson

Yeah I totally agree. I drive really slow in the city, especially where i have biked before, because it feels really fast to be going around at 50 and 60kmh with no pain. It almost feels like cheating. It feels normal to me, but people with me always complain that im taking forever and why am i driving under the limit.

Walkafire

well, I can't say my Driving has been any different...

I haven't Drove since June 22nd.... Bike To Work Day!

I have Commuted 100% even on my days off.

It is a Goal of mine to Commute 1 FULL YEAR!

I will Ride up to Sturgis this year, via Harley =)

ken cummings

After biking exclusively for several years the other engineers at my Fed job didn't want me to drive. Said I kept driving over on the road shoulder. Fine, I was happy to let them drive. Years later I worked 5 years as an airport shuttle driver. I got so comfortable with Los Angeles traffic that I would ride through the Orange County Airport at night for the fun of it. That was over-reacting in the other direction.

tharold

One time I was driving in a borrowed car. Taking off from a red light I reached down to... hm, cars don't have down tube shifters.

buzzman

when I haven't driven in a while I tend to drive slower and more carefully but do find myself doing stupid things occasionally and find myself often thrown by cars that follow to closely or pass me on the right. I'm a little more rattled when driving locally. I also drive my wife nuts because I often take the strangest routes to places- the same roads I bike on, which are not the most direct and often slower in the car due to traffic.

I also get really frustrated looking for a place to park. I get to my destination and I want to pull up on the sidewalk and chain my car to a light pole.

slvoid

Cycling NYC style definitely messes up your driving skills...

DCCommuter

Plus one on that one. Here's an actual conversation we had one time when I got lost because the route I wanted to take relied on taking a left-hand turn that was not allowed:

Her: I thought you knew how to get there.

Me: I do. On my bike.

bostontrevor

Yeah, I've played that game before. "Oh, check this out, I know a shortcut."

As You Like It

Wait until you find yourself coasting toward a stop-light, leaning forward on your seat and then realizing, "dude, you don't trackstand in a Volkswagen. And furthermore, the folks behind might benefit from the car's brake-lights."

D'oh!

Sawtooth

My driving sucked long before I started bike-commuting! I am much safer on my bike, I think.

TRaffic Jammer

Now If only I could stop needing for wheel alignments from jumping stuff in my car.
lol..... ohhh milk stop ....jump curb, park...damn I'm in my car again....

jyossarian

I have no idea what you people are talking about. Cycling and driving are two separate things for me and I have two separate mindsets. I grew up driving in NYC so beating lights and squeezing through traffic are normal to me. Doing the same on a bike is also normal except I also run red lights, hop curbs, ride against traffic (briefly), etc.

Now on the other hand, playing driving video games like Gran Turismo or World Rallye have made me approach corners, turns, etc., in a different (faster) manner...

TRaffic Jammer

It's all about the apex. lol I love driving fast as much as riding fast.

Wulfheir

same here ahpook,
i get my wife to drive me around now. this weekend, i drove for some reason and almost hit the garage.

jyossarian

"S" curves are even more fun to take at speed. And hairpins...well, that's what e-brakes are for, right?

TRaffic Jammer

Brakes? hmmm there's an interesting concept. heehee Just brake before the corner and not while you are in it.

jyossarian

I find the emergency hand brake and invaluable tool for changing direction quickly.

TRaffic Jammer

They frown on drifting within the city limits here....lol