Shouldn't that awareness lead the rider to adopt a safer lane position depending on the circumstances?

I voted "other".

For me it's not so much where I am on the road and whether its an intersection or a straight away with cars passing but it's about the "road quality". This includes the actual surface of the road, the pavement- is it smooth with little or no debris? Is it potholed? If its at night is it poorly lit? Is there a shoulder to the road? a bike lane? Parked cars? Is it a bus route? Lots of trucks doing deliveries? Traffic volume? Average speed of drivers. A well designed road is easier to negotiate at intersections, allows for traffic to pass and reduces much of the concerns I have on poorer infrastructure.

So, dependent on the road design I have different concerns about safety.

Yes.

I am a "real" cyclist as you define it: 365 day commuter. I don't walk anywhere if it is beyond 5 blocks.

I feel most vulnerable and at risk on my bike when:

(1) Cars/trucks are overtaking me from behind - (right hook included here): Right hooks are common here in Portland. I'm constantly checking behind me as I approach intersections.

(2) Crossing busy intersections on a green light: This also is related to (1) above because of the potential of right hooks. And cars on the opposing side turning left also pose significant danger, especially when they think they're able to beat the cyclist. If I am unable to cross against the red light (because it would put myself or other road users at risk), then I am worried about the revving cars behind me who want to race to the other side. I have to take into account parked cars on the other side to decide how much room I have while the cars rush up from behind...

I feel safest crossing intersections on a red light.

Although I didn't vote "Other", here I am voting "other". I feel most vulnerable and at risk on my bike when motorists are: drunk, distracted (cellphones, reading, nail polish, anything that takes away full attention to the responsibilities demanded to operate a motor vehicle), sharp curves with traffic, large parking lots, old people with failing eyesight.

This! I actually take busier streets a lot of the time, both because they are better designed, but often they aren't as hilly as the side streets. Here in Seattle the roads are crap. At least on my route from Greenwood to First Hill, even in the rare places where they aren't potholed, rough, or badly cracked, there are often seams every five feet or so, as well as seams running parallel to the path you are traveling, which can be treacherous even to bikes with pretty wide tires.

Although I took several years off from cycling when I was really poor and had a bus pass from work and lived and worked right on bus routes, I've been cycling again almost daily for almost two years now and only traveled by cycle for six years before that break. That included two years as a courier. As long as my brakes are working okay, and I've got my Airzoundz, I'm basically confidant in my skills and don't really worry about traffic.

Whether I am in the lane, the bike lane, or over to the edge of the lane varies street by street, and a significant factor in that is the condition of the actual road surface. There are several blocks where I'd prefer to be in the middle or even the left of the lane, but the road is so rutted that I'm actually forced over to the right so some cars thing they have room to squeeze by me. The most frustrating thing about this, is that everywhere else in the city it seems that the bike lane or over on the right when there is room is where the roughest part of the road is!

I'll have to mark "other" on the poll. What concerns me the most these days is pedestrians. Not the ones who don't look, or assume that I'll weave out in to traffic to avoid them, it's the crazy ones that worry me. Maybe it's because I work in the ER and I see a lot of crazy people and some of them threaten to hurt or kill me if they see me outside work, but the insane people wandering into the street when the light is red or on the sidewalk or bus benches as I slowly climb the hills around here are what I worry most about.

The classic cyclist danger I probably worry most about is getting doored. I've yet to be doored yet, but this is my constant fear. Most of the "bike lanes" here are actually the same space that cars open their doors into. I can't express enough how much I love my Safe Zone helmet mirror, it lets me get out into the road away from these bombs when no one is approaching from behind.

I also regularly run red lights. For a variety of reasons, sometimes I don't feel like waiting for a light when I am cycling home at 0400 and there is no one else out. Sometimes it is easier to roll through a five way Stop signed intersection than stop and wait for five cars to figure out who is going next and then inevitably dodge two or three of them. I also often go just before a light turns green if there isn't cross traffic at that moment. It's safer to get out in the road ahead of the cars and establish that you are there with them than try and merge as they all take off from the light and are trying to pass you.

Pretty much this. Drivers are terrible at judging the speed of cyclists. The assumption is once they overtake a cyclist they will never see them again.

Once you understand this it's way easier to ride in a defensive manner. Basically my philosophy is set myself up to be reasonably visible and approach every situation as if I'm invisible.

my biggest problem by far is other cyclists. the motorists actually behave very rationally.

Other - I'd say making a left-turn in traffic.

Come to Arkansas.

been there several times ... never cycled there for obvious reasons :(

we have excellent cycling infrastructure but cyclists still screw around. i see a lot of ninjas in the city. however, the salmon going the wrong way in the cycle land usually get out of your way if you're heading the right way. they need a little more cycle traffic enforcement. cyclists running red cycle stop lights is one of biggest pet peeves, especially when there's a "only on green, the children are watching" sign on top of the ped and cycle traffic signals.

I answered #2 & #4 for the same reasons listed by others.

Had an incident last night that I would like opinions on.

I was first at the light. Rolled all the way to the crosswalk to give the car behind me room to pull up and trip the switch for the traffic light. The light went through the cycle and did not trip. I motioned the driver to go ahead and pull up some. They did not. Then noticed they had put on their right turn signal. I moved farther to the left and motioned them to go on past me (plenty of room on my right). Still sat back there. Light cycled again. Now the block after the intersection is lined on the right with parked cars. I know when the light ever changes, this car turns right, the other drivers in line, who probably have not been able to see all of the proceedings, are good and steamed by now. What is at the front of the line? A da_ _ bicycle! I couldn't stand it any longer. Got a break in cross traffic on the 3rd light cycle and ran the red light. I hate to do that. Not out of fear, but rather trying to build some understanding (with the vehicular traffic) that bikes have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicles on the road. I just don't want to use my carcass as the foundation for the build!

Suggestions on how to have handled this?

Cars are the most dangerous in my book specially when they are texting on their phones or talking, pedestrians get insulted some times when you ring your bike bell some smile at you and my last one will be Ninja Bikers, I so want them to buy a light....but they feel like the conquer the roads with out having lights on their bikes...lol....that is what I think.

Hey neighbor !

I have that happen occasionally in the 'Ville. I move left to let right turners go--sometimes they do, sometimes they dont. I try to keep in mind, we out in the open and our spacial stuff is a higher level than theirs, I mean, even though we think we are giving them plenty of room to squeak by, a 5'1" women in a huge SUV might think she cant. I like to think cap people appreciate seeing one of "them" who is obeying traffic laws, though . . . As for what other people think, well, you never know. No matter, you cant please all people all the time. I try to remember that I have done nothing wrong, if they are in that much of a hurry and that angry, it is a "them" problem, nothing to do with me.

Be safe :beer:

Voted "other".

These kind of cyclists are the reason I feel most vulnerable and at risk on my bike.

riding in the city on crowded urban streets always lined with parked cars, my two greatest fears are doorings and jaywalkers popping out between parked cars. you can't see them until you're right on top of them; very difficult to anticipate.



exurban arterial streets are the absolute worst in my experience. thank god i don't have to deal with them often. they have all the crazy, hectic, high-volume, rage-inducing traffic of the city, and the fatal high-speeds of country roads. riding a bike on a 4 lane exurban arterial with no shoulder is NOT my idea of fun. when i ride up to my sister's house in the far northern burbs of chicagoland (lake county), i have to ride about a 2.5 mile stretch of grand avenue to make the final leg to her house and it freaking sucks. i'd gladly ride out of my way to avoid it, but none of the subdivisions up there in the boondocks communicate with each other, so there's absolutely no way to side street my way around it. no shoulder, 50 mph speed limit (which means cars are running 60 mph), and enough traffic that trying to take the lane will get you promptly run over. it sucks.

As a motorcyclist from age 16, I viewed all motorized vehicles as irresponsible/unlikely to give any attemtion when it came to my safety, thus adopted a defensive driving attitude which carried over to cycling. Doesn't matter if I'm on a MUP or highway. My longtime goal is to raise the odds of avoiding an accident and that means time and place, that is picking the time and place where I ride. It also means awareness, visibility, descionmaking.

I'm a recreational rider. It'd be more difficult if I was a commuter as time and place would be more constrained unless I made other decisions (where to live or work).

As to occasional forum comments from posters advocating a more aggressive attitude (take the lane for example)...well..if an aggressive attitude results in a negative attitude about bikers in general, that's counter productive... I save such energy for advocacy on capital improvements that truly increase safety. Be it MUP planning/construction, tunnel safety, shoulder improvements, signage, organized rides, etc.

What is/are your big safety "problem(s)" with other cyclists? Besides being "peeved" at them for not being like you?

Classes

A. Ninjas (about 15 of the 100 cyclists I see every evening)
B. Salmon (about 5 of the 100 cyclists I see every evening)
C. People running red lights (about 3 of the 100 cyclists I see every evening)

Reasons

A. I can't see them and when I have a green in the bike lane and someone joins without a light it makes it very hard to see them coming out of a side street (Copenhagen solved this with a fast and slow lane in each direction)
B. Most salmon get out of the bike lane if they're going the wrong way but it's a hassle for the pedestrians and gives us a bad name
C. If there are 4-6 of us stacked at a major intersection and someone pushes their way around to the front of us and then runs a red in a traffic gap it makes drivers hate us. Also, why spend billions of € on infrastructure (we have our on bike lane signal with sensors to trigger the entire intersection) if it's not going to be used properly. If these people get snipped by traffic I won't shear a tear.

+1 Arterial roads in the suburbs are the absolute worst. We have a lot of them in my area.
Luckily for me I have figured ways to get around these type of roads. Getting around and bypassing these roads takes a bit of extra effort and adds extra time to my commutes, but I'd rather take longer route then risk getting run over by some speeding driver texting on their cell phones. Some cyclist on internet forums just fail to realize that taking a lane or even riding on some roads would be a suicidal thing to do. That's why I have my own style of riding which I adapted to the conditions which I have to deal with each day, I don't care what other people do.

Most at risk at intersections, all of the various situations.

see, when a cyclist doesn't follow his/her track of lines and individual signals it can easily mess everyone up ... that's why they're painted clearly on the street.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=291648

That's mine, too. Last night it almost happened twice from the same parking lot. One car was turning left and almost pulled out in front of me. Just as I was pulling past it, another car to its right was making a right turn and had to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting me.

Granted, you can avoid accidents in most of these situations by being aware and ready with your brakes, but there are so many times when I see people pull out into the street without paying attention that it seems like it's only a matter of time before my timing is bad and someone hits me before I get a chance to brake.

Bolded text is important...


Again, checkout the bolded text.

I'm not a commuter (that could change in the summer), so my opinion is invalid as I'm not a "real" rider (yet). However, my point is that as a cyclist you should try be as predictable as possible. As a driver, I am constantly scanning the road ahead of me. I want to know who is doing what and where I need to be to avoid/accommodate them. When I am in the car, know who scares me the most? It isn't the peds, it is the bikers who run red lights etc.

Just a rant on a similar situation-

I ride straight ahead on this road with a green light. People can merge from my right, but they have to yield. It's common for people to just merge without looking or to see me and pull right in front of me. I even had one guy honk at me like I was the ******* when he was the one who had to yield.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...pse9876628.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps82da4cc1.jpg

I understand that their sartorial choice upsets you but it would be nice if you could provide a single example where a "Ninja" harmed or injured you.

I am pretty sure the OP did not ask about "pedestrian hassles" or the psychosocial perception of cyclists by motorists.

You are awfully concerned with the thoughts of motorists, aren't you. This makes me wonder whether you are answering this question from the perspective of a motorist or from the perspective of a cyclist.

May I suggest a more appropriate venue for your fantasies of cyclists being hit by motorists:

http://forums.automotive.com/69/1031/suvs/