rachel120

Wow, I don't know what Sunday drivers have against bicyclists, but today's ride was scary.

Twice going to work drivers didn't give an inch on the road. It's 4 lanes divided, 2 lanes each way, so there should be no problem going around me by moving partially into the inside lane. Traffic is fast, and heavy enough to be scary to a novice bike rider but not heavy enough to not be able to change lanes when you are driving it. Yet two drivers didn't vary from the lane at all when passing me by inches. Um folks, 3 feet of space and you can't get back over until I'm fully in your rearview mirror. Did you flunk that part on the written version of your driving test?

Another scary part was all my own fault though. I try to stick really close to the white line so drivers can easily get around me. That's not such a smart move when I get to a major intersection where I'm going straight and some cars have to make a right turn in dedicated turn lane. Tomorrow I'm hogging the straight lane when I get to where traffic gets a dedicated right turn lane for that intersection.

(Speaking of, they need to repave that intersection. There should be no reason there's enough asphalt missing to where I'm thankful I've got a mountain bike while going over the bumps.)

Tonight though......ugh. I'm riding home at 10pm and it turns out they closed the road I needed right on the other side of the light. They were diverting traffic onto the crossroad. I had no choice, had to turn right and some.....yeah.....held down his horn as he went on by me with inches to spare. Um, again, flunk the written portion where bicycles have right of way?

But the worst part was that the next intersection is squirrelly, the road I was on has traffic lights and the crossroad on the left side has traffic lights, but the crossroad on the right has no traffic lights and a mandatory right turn. So I couldn't bail and turn right, I had to make it out of the right turn merge lane, across three straight lanes and into the left turn lane by the time I got to the intersection at 10pm at night, with road construction diverting traffic onto the same road I was on. The intersection beyond that is worse, major US highway that carries the bulk of the traffic here. Oh, and none of these intersections have pedestrian crosswalks. Somehow I made it without getting squished and without doing something so stupid a car had to dodge me, the breaks in groups of cars worked out just right.

It's scary to me because I did just get my bike last week after a 25 year lapse. Back then I lived in an extremely rural area so I have very, very little experience with being on a road also traveled by cars. So I'm pretty much operating on theory doing all this, not on years of practice, and yesterday was my first time on the road. The drivers were a lot nicer yesterday about allowing ample room while passing.

Tomorrow's going to be my first time on the road on a workday, so wish me luck in not getting squished.

f4rrest

Please consider using a glasses-mounted mirror, such as Third Eye.

It takes a week of regular use to get used to it, but it can help you see situations developing behind.

Also, use bright red light racing rear, and white front lights if riding at night.

rachel120

I've got both a rear red light and a red light on the back of my helmet, and I've got a front light. I put the rear ones on blink, and I have no clue why the front light would also have a blink function, I keep that one on steady lighting. Having that front one helped me miss both the rock and the deer last night.

I do need to get a mirror but work was out of stock on Friday. I'm going to check again tomorrow. I want to buy it from where I work because of the employee discount and because I have a hard time getting the car from my husband to drive elsewhere. I'll admit getting one wasn't high priority because Friday when I was getting my helmet someone else was buying lights. While chatting I found out that he bikes 15-20 miles at a time and is a police officer. He said I really didn't need any other safety equipment when I told him I already had lights and I was getting the helmet, so the mirror became low priority based on the police officer's assessment. After tonight though, it's become a lot higher on the priority list.

f4rrest

Honestly, merging across 3 busy lanes to turn left is somewhat risky, particular if you haven't been riding recently.

You could post this in the commuting subforum or the Advocacy and Safety subforum for more ideas on how to do this safely.

Also, if you post a Google maps link, the folks that visit those subforums love to give their opinions.

JohnJ80

Amazingly bad advice from a police officer. There's a reason that mirrors are required equpment on motor vehicles. The same benefits in use accrue to cyclists who use them. In my view, they are a necessity when riding in traffic.

After riding with a mirror, I wouldn't be without it. I use the Take A Look mirror that attaches to my riding glasses. It's the best that I have found. Second best is the Bike Hub mirror that attaches to the helmet but the view is less clear becasue there is more vibration.

J.

kbarch

My advice? Don't rely so much on your right of way, and try to cooperate and let them assist you now and then. It doesn't happen often, but if you keep this mindset, when the speeds are reasonable/manageable, it's very safe - sometimes safest - to "chase the tail" or use other vehicles as blockers when they're making a move you want to make.

Where there is a dedicated right turn lane and you don't want to turn right, stay out of it, or to the far left side of it. Remember that even if it seems like cars don't care about how close they are to you, generally they don't like to pass close to each other. Usually there is PLENTY of room between them in situations like dedicated turn lanes. If you find yourself to the right of a car that wants to make a right and can't turn on red, but you want to go through, get in front and across the intersection as quickly as you can; not because you're afraid the car will hit you, but just to be nice and get out of his way. Bikes get off the block MUCH faster, and often enough through intersections before cars. Better yet, if you see it coming (or if you've stopped and there's time) make your way to his left side to go around instead and if you have to stop, you can safely wait nearly touching his front fender, especially if he's angled into the turn. Similarly, at protected and dedicated left turns, take your place at the front, right up against the lead car's right fender. You may be surprised how safe it feels to be CLOSER to vehicles when you know they intend to move away from you.

Bear in mind, all of this is stuff I do when riding during the day, but I think I may have ridden in heavy traffic after dark only a couple of times, and then only on the brightly lit streets of Manhattan. For diving right into night rides in traffic, you're definitely braver than I!

By the way, I didn't take it the police officer advised against getting a mirror, just didn't mention them or say they were required. If it was NYC, the cop would have said to get a bell and might not have said to get a helmet - the former are required, the latter are not (except for children).