| Bioflamingo |
12-24-09 04:33 PM |
Normally my town has very low to mild traffic, but starting at the beginning of this week traffic has been horrible. The law here states that bikes must be within 3 ft of the curb unless the road surface is in poor condition or to pass a parked vehicle or other obstacle. Those two situations make up pretty much my entire commute, so I am about 4-5 ft from the curb for 90% of my ride. Vehicles are not supposed to ever get within 4 feet of the bike.
Normally vehicles pass me with about 2 feet of clearance, and I've simply accepted this as normal as there is not much I can (legally) do about this. Several times an officer sees it happen and will pull the driver over. I think it's great that law enforcement is actually starting to enforce ALL traffic laws, not just speeding and running stop signs.
Anyway, this last week with all the people who found it necessary to wait til the last minute to shop, bike commuting is a very dangerous activity. I've been in fear for my life to the point where several days I rode on the horribly bumpy brick sidewalks. Car will turn in front of you, pass within less than a foot at high speeds, run stop signs in front of you, etc without ever noticing you're there until the last second. So far there have only been a few minor injuries to cyclists(that I know of), but last year a guy was bumped by the fender of a passing car which caused him to lose control, hit the curb, and flip into a tree. Spent 3 weeks in the hospital and has refused to ever get on a bike since. Drivers in general tend to ignore cyclists, but it's even worse at this time of year.
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