Need Safety Input from "Real" Cyclists
 

I have been noticing over at the Advocacy and Safety forum that there is a huge divide regarding when cyclists feel safe or unsafe on roads with cars. I am here asking you "Real" cyclists how you feel when cycling under certain conditions. By Real I mean people who use their bikes daily (or very often) for utilitarian purposes like getting to work, running errands, getting groceries, etc. I am NOT interested in input from people who use a bicycle strictly as a toy or a workout tool. Those "Other" cyclists can drive to a starting point to pick and choose when and where they ride.

I want input only from cyclists who have someplace to go and a time frame in which to get there - preferably going to and from work regularly.

You can select more than one situation but please don't select more than three. Stick to the most nerve-racking situation(s)! The less you select, the better the poll data will be.

Thank You!

What is your question?

"I have been noticing over at the Advocacy and Safety forum that there is a huge divide regarding when cyclists feel safe or unsafe on roads with cars. I am here asking you "Real" cyclists how you feel when cycling under certain conditions."

Can you narrow the question down , i am more scared of pedesntians than i am of cars.


Also.... Dividing groups in to real and not real .... will not end well :)

Route selection is a pretty important variable for me. If I'm running low on time, I'll mix it up on the most direct route, then bail once I get to the first major intersection. Otherwise, I'll pick a parallel route through the side streets- if going into town proper. I avoid high density, high speed traffic as much as possible.

The problem wit the A&S snake handlers are that they feel their version of riding in Davis CA is better than yours in NYC. There are no magic formulas or rules that are all-inclusive regardless of what they might think. Take the lane on Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach . . . Go ahead, I dare you. I believe the people you are addressing almost have a 6th sense and know when a road will work for them or not. Although Im almost car free, I'll always pick the easier, more laid back route home even if it adds a mile or two. Not because Im scared, just because the faster pace road is not one I want to deal with if I dont have to. If I had to pick one that is the most unsettling, I would say back roads with lots of blind corners and no shoulders. :)

I prefer not to mix it up with cars and peds on my commute,
but in New York City; with its limited bike paths that's just
not possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFf8l6kZtlU

This is why I am here asking commuters and not in the Road Bike Forum.

I think anyone who says they feel safe around traffic is deluding themselves. Anytime you mix cars and bikes there's the potential for bad things to happen and the guy/gal on the bike is going to lose. Safety and risk is something you manage through skill, awareness and planing. I never feel safe in traffic, fear keeps you alive. I guess that's what getting rear ended at speed does for you. Lesson learned.

That sucks. So being overtaken (Selection 1) would be high on your list I assume. Also tergal above mentioned pedestrians. I considered adding peds as a selection but I wanted to narrow down the mix to just motor vehicles.

Peds scare me, Cars around here seem to follow the rules and are normally predictable ...peds not so much

1nterceptor, all I can say is WOW! I know a lot of you folks have a commute similar to that, but all I can think is WOW. At the same time, it would be really bad trying to get around by car. So, learning how to ride in that kind of traffic would be most beneficial. My hat is off to all who have similar commutes.

I feel far safer cycling in PDX then I do driving. In fact, I worry a lot more about my better half's car commute. I've also found that most of those who emphasize the perceived risk of cycling (often the car/truck wins physics canard) are sanguine about their motoring. Given the 33-40K per year killed by motor vehicles in the USA this strikes me as irrational.


To address the OP:

*Being cut off by an impatient driver. I guess this fits under over-taken.
*Having a driver pull out in front of me (e.g. from a driveway or stop) because they misjudge my speed.

I am mostly only bothered when I find myself in a situation with a lot of "fast" cars (40+) and no safe shoulder. Urban driving doesn't bother me because the cars are generally slower, and country riding doesn't bother me because the cars are generally fewer.

Suburban riding (at least around the commercial areas where everyone is flying down the road and swerving into shopping centers) is the worst.

Other. High speed arterials (50+ mph actual) with no (or very narrow) shoulder and heavy traffic. This feels the most unsafe for me. Seems other cyclists agree 'cause I almost never see any riding on these types of roads. I have to do a couple miles of this if I want to ride to work though.

Peds? What are those? :lol: No peds on my suburban commutes.


I do this on part of my work commute. It's not bad because usually the traffic is much lighter, and speeds lower than the main streets I avoid. Drivers can see me before I enter a curve, and can tell I'm in the center of the lane. Well timed "hold back" hand signals and/or look backs prevent most from trying to pass me while entering a blind curve.

For me personally, riding through intersections at green light is most dangerous, that's why I prefer to run through reds if an oppurtinity to so is there. Another danger is getting rear ended, when taking a lane on some of the busy major roads.... Around here nobody ever takes a lane, instead you ride as far right as possible and deal with close passes. If you do take a lane in my city, your remains will be splatered all over the road and you won't be typing on bikeforums about your VC cycling exploits. A couple of cyclists around my area have also died from right hooks,

So when drivers in your area can plainly see a cyclist in their path they just drive over them? I don't believe that for a minute.

I live in the suburbs, too many cars moving too fast...no time for drivers to see a bicycle riding in the middle of the road. If you don't believe me then you're more then welcome to come here and try it. I guarantee that you not gona see bicycles riding in the middle of the road around here.

Who are you to say who is real?

On my commute here in Los Angeles county, peds are by far the most dangerous. I've had two very serious crashes due to taking avoiding action to keep from hitting peds.

Rick / OCRR

I voted other, because I can't think of any traffic situation that bothers me more than other situations. I might be fooling myself :lol: but I feel pretty comfortable in all the described scenarios. It might be because I've done this for so long . . .

Peds and cats are the most random creatures on the road. Cats don't have as good of lawyers...

Usually a siren/horn works well enough on the peds around here, cars for the most part are deaf or the typical northeastern indifferent. Generally however they will not intently hit a well lit rider who is using the lane. Edgers on the other hand get picked off more frequently, though admittedly neither has presented fairly high numbers. Right hooks are very common, especially around the schools in the morning(go fig).

It's harder to get right hooked by taking the lane at an intersection. Most of the close calls with right-hooks I've seen are with cyclists that filter ahead along the curb in the driver's blind spot. Drivers don't expect bikes on their right when there's only a foot or two between them and the curb.

As for running reds in traffic... that's just impatience. Safety my rear.

Going through an intersection with a green light feels most dangerous to me, especially since many left-turners have the habit of starting to "go" when there is only a cyclist proceeding through, and I can't tell if they have seen me yet.

I hate getting 'buzzed' when being overtaken.

I also hate it when drivers misjudge my speed and think they have time to turn or change lanes in front of me. I'm huh, well, not skinny. But I can move pretty fast on my hybrid. I've often surprised drivers by how fast I can catch up to them.

I agree about taking lane at some intersections to avoid getting right hooked, I do that sometimes and I've never been right hooked yet. Avoiding right hooks is more about awareness and reading traffic then lane position. But I would never just ride along in the middle of a lane on a high speed road..nobody who is in their right mind will ever do that around here.
As for red lights, it may sometimes be safer to run a red then stop and wait for it to change.

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.