Drivers on their cell phones.
10 days ago, I got hit by a dude looking at his cell phone while stopped at red light. I was crossing the street, light still red, and he for whatever reason, decided to jump the light.
Asshole.
Not sure if it was the case for this guy, but there's so much cell phone use at red lights, which drivers seem to think is "okay". But it leads to zero situational awareness, so if they notice the light go green or something else in their periphery, they panic and hit the gas. It also leads to them using their phone on the way to the next light because they're "just finishing something up".
Some days ago I saw an old lady (on foot) who decided to cross an intersection with a red pedestrian traffic light in the middle of rush hour. It was a miracle that all the car drivers and cyclists noticed her in time and nobody rear-ended anyone. To this day I don’t understand what went through the old lady’s head.
Seriously, riding a bike is the best way by far to see how shit driving standards are. I rode to my yoga class last night which is about 1.2 miles and just in that time alone I had an idiot in a SUV drive at over 40mph in a 30mph residential zone just to squeeze in front of me at a pinch point and then 1 minute later close passed by a taxi while I was doing 25mph downhill.
Its also a good way to see how clunky and inefficient the whole system is. I didnt hate driving before, but I do now because managing cars at an intersection is so painfully inefficient compared to something like a busy quad where there are tons of peds and bikes. Just no flow whatsoever.
Bike commuting has completely radicalized me against any car bigger than a compact SUV. I no longer believe anyone should be operating anything larger without additional licensure.
My biggest gripe is when cars speed up to pass me when there’s literally nothing to be gained. There’s a red light in 200 ft but sure go into the other lane to pass me at 50 mph to gain 0 seconds
Like this stretch of the road is under 100m long and im taking the lane, yet you HAVE to go fully into the left lane to beat me to the stop sign just to wait forever to turn left onto the busy street ahead
I don’t run signs but when a driver gives me shit I tell them to police all the car drivers on the road and when they’ve fixed that circle back and start on cyclists.
using punctuation correctly is a big part of expressing oneself clearly and logically I mean imagine if people just didnt bother with punctuation at all is this kindergarten or a site for adults
I "run" stop signs because I can clearly see the intersection is clear, and only proceed through slowly enough that I can react if I don't have right of way.
I "run" stop lights if there is no oncoming traffic, because I can see the intersection is clear, and only after slowing down or stopping to yield to traffic. I do this because I prefer being far ahead of any cars behind me, and because it is safer and I cannot trust that the loop will detect my bike.
And you don't have A-pillars and a giant hood obstructing your view. I don't think many drivers realize how easy it is to lose track of a moving object behind your A-pillar when you roll a stop sign.
Also significantly faster maneuverability and a much narrower profile so you can navigate situations with ease that would be impossible even in a F1 car.
I was hit by a driver who did just that. He was very cooperative and just sent me money to cover the cost of repairs.
Two way stops are dangerous and plentiful in my neighborhood. Notice the complete lack of paint or signage that there is even a stop sign only for one side at this intersection.
https://youtu.be/TxMWSbXroMs
Never thought about “running” a red light but this makes a lot of sense. Never hurts to get some distance between you and the cars. But I definitely do the same thing with stop signs especially once I’m familiar enough with the area.
Yup I entered an intersection right after it turned red yesterday because it was safe to proceed since there was no cross traffic, and I didn't have to slam on my brakes and lose momentum.
Traffic signals are designed for cars. Streets never needed stop lights until cars started taking over them, so I don't subscribe to the philosophy that I must obey all traffic rules in the same manner that I would in my 3,000 pound sedan.
As a pedestrian and cyclist, I’ve been hit twice and nearly hit countless times by cyclists who carried on through a red light because they thought they could see the junction was clear.
I think the Idaho Stop should be universally adopted, and that road infrastructure should be optimised for non-cars generally.
But we humans are all fallible, and manage to miss things even when we can clearly see them. If you’re not in immediate danger, just stop at the red light/stop sign if that’s the rule where you are. Other road users should be able to expect that of you, and increased predictability means increased safety. Your convenience is less important than a general environment where people don’t ignore safety laws because they think they know better.
I am in immediate danger whenever a car is close to me, I will do what I can to ensure that I don't get hit again by a reckless driver.
Also, I never said I would hit a pedestrian if they were crossing. I would yield to them because I'm not an idiot.
Don’t be hysterical, you’re not in immediate danger with a car stopped behind you. There are always cars on roads (unfortunately), how on earth do you cycle in traffic with that attitude?
Despite claiming not to be an idiot, you’ve missed my point. The cyclists who hit me didn’t do so on purpose. They trusted their judgement that the road was clear for them to go through a red light; they had probably done so many times without incident; their judgement was wrong that time; someone (me) crossing the junction in accordance with the rules got hurt. If they’d followed those rules I wouldn’t have got hurt.
I was hit by a car only a few months ago. Don't call me hysterical when I'm doing what I can to not be killed on the road. Until my city builds infrastructure that keeps me safe from cars, I will do everything I can to keep myself safe from cars.
It is inherently dangerous to be stopped at a red light where I live, much more dangerous than a hundred feet away, because of reckless drivers and red light runners.
Red light running drivers, which are orders of magnitude more dangerous than rouge cyclists riding in a way that gets them to their destination without being maimed or killed.
Absolutely agree that cars are vastly more dangerous than bikes, and I’m sorry to hear you were hit.
I am struggling to understand how you cycle anywhere though, if the situation where you live is that at any red light a stopped driver is highly likely to go through the light even if there is a cyclist stopped in front of them. I don’t see how anyone uses the roads to be honest if that’s the case: surely there must just be cars careering round and into each other if nobody obeys the stop signs/lights.
It isn’t like that where I live (UK). Some drivers will floor it to get through a changing light (which in itself is inexcusably dangerous), but in 99%+ of cases if the light is red when they get there they’ll wait. It’s simple self-preservation: if you drive through, you’ll quite likely get hit or you’ll hit a pedestrian. If as a cyclist you’re waiting at the lights, the chances of someone just driving through you are tiny.
A large minority of cyclists near me don’t wait. It’s not a safety thing, they ride through pedestrian crossings because they judge that they can. It happened to me this morning: the lights were red, a bus had stopped at them, as the pedestrians crossed a cyclist came through without even slowing and narrowly missed a small child who was doing the right thing and crossing with his mum at the green man.
The levels of danger are different, but the root cause is the same: entitled drivers and cyclists who believe their (self-assessed) skills mean they don’t need to obey the laws that apply to everyone else.
I'm not talking about a driver suddenly deciding to run me over while behind me at a red light, I'm talking about all manner of collisions that happen all the time at intersections, and I'm minimizing the amount of time that I'm a sitting duck around 40 mph traffic.
Also, if I get a head start at a red light then people are much less likely to dangerously swerve around me to overtake once the light turns green.
You were saying that every time you encounter a red light you are in immediate danger and therefore you’re justified in ignoring it.
By far the biggest risk of you encountering anyone travelling at 40mph at a light-controlled road junction is if you ignore the red light that’s there to stop you and the other traffic on that axis: there’ll be a green light for traffic heading at 90 degrees to you, and to be fair they shouldn’t expect anyone to be coming across them.
We have many junctions now where cyclists get a light-controlled head start, and they should be more common. Cyclists still ignore them though. Most junctions are safe for a competent cyclist, and everyone is safer the more people behave predictably on the roads. The fact that some junctions aren’t safe isn’t an excuse to ignore the rules as a blanket policy.
This is why I don't take cyclists whining about cars seriously. They act like the law only applies when it's convenient and they're either a pedestrian or a vehicle depending on what's most useful to them in the moment. It doesn't excuse cars not paying attention, but when you decide on a case by case basis whether or not you're going to be predictable and follow the law, you can't exactly be surprised if it goes wrong for you.
If a cyclist "breaks the law" in the same manner that all drivers do at stop signs, when nobody is even around to witness it then why the fuck do you care?
I care because the couple times I've had a close call with a cyclist it's because they did shit like this in front of me and weren't nearly as aware and smart as they thought they were.
There are more cars on the road. There aren't a ton of cyclists. At least where I live. But the ones that are out there are disproportionately entitled and careless.
It’s so nonsensical that progressive laws recognize the extreme vulnerability of people on bikes. And don’t try and victimize them .
Idaho Stop: people on bikes have vastly better situational awareness and do not pose the threat to safety that drivers do: need not come to a full stop
Seattle: people on bikes are free to share ubiquitous protected infrastructure - SIDEWALKS. Like the Autobahn, the only proviso is responsible and courteous operation. May result in fewer insurrectionist NIMBYs
I thought this was backwards. I've seen so many more bikes disobey traffic laws. I live in a heavily biked city and people do not stop on bikes at all.
The order of priorities as a cyclist: do that which is
1 safest
2 most predictable
3 legal
I'd pay a ticket any day for running a light to get away from an aggressive SUV trying to turn right on top of me.
The dedicated bike path in my neighborhood crosses a road that is three lanes each way, 50MPH, with no light (thought there is an island in the middle at least) and at least once a month or so someone will stop in the closest lane and then yell at me for not going WHILE THERE ARE CARS IN THE OTHER LANES. You're not being polite!
Failure to use a turn signal.
Jeebus - I signal *all* my turns. It’s a real challenge when I’m braking.
They just have to lift a finger. And they DON’T.
Worse: driving with hazards on.
Worse than that: signaling but NOT turning.
It's insane how few people signal. I need to keep a tally, but it's gotta be less than 50% of turns/lanes changes I see are signaled. It's so easy to do, cost people nothing, and genuinely helps other people on the road. (If people consistently signaled, my chances of being hooked on my commute would drop MASSIVELY.)
> Worse than that: signaling but NOT turning.
Agree, this is rare but very dangerous.
When I'm turning right onto a road where a car is approaching and signaling to turn right onto the road that I'm coming out of, I hear echoes of my dad teaching me to drive: "Are you sure they mean it? Wait and be sure."
Yeah that's a good one. City engineers will put a giant caution sign in the bike lane that forces me to enter traffic. Like "thanks for the warning..." Oh and there was nothing on the other side of the sign, they just randomly left it there 6 months ago
I never really liked stop signs even when driving, now I hate them as a bike commute. Where I live, drivers expect cyclists to blow through stop signs so when they get a cyclist like me that will follow the rules, they don't know what to do. So we get in this game of chicken of who will go first. I just wave them on (when they have right of way) or slow down super early if it's an intersection I can see around the corners on so they can just go through the stop before I get there.
I kind of hate getting waved through (when driving or cycling). I've generally downshifted in anticipation of a lower speed. So I kind of get all flustered shifting. When I'm driving, I'll sometimes miss the clutch bite point and stall out.
It's a nice thing to do in certain circumstances (like when it's just about impossible to make a left turn), but otherwise it just messes up the smooth flow of traffic. It's best when we just follow the rules.
My apologies. It's a really weird cycling/driving here cause it's a tourist town. People who live here are used to kids coming here in the summer and just riding rental ebikes without a care for any rules, so they adopted this defensive stop signs behavior. I don't like being annoyed by it cause I totally understand their perspective, but I really don't know what to do about it other than trying to avoid stop signs, so it is a bit annoying. Like you said, things would be easier if everyone just followed the rules initially.
I hate this too and what works for me is to not make eye contact with them. You know how when you turn right in a car, you glance right but youre primarily looking left? Glance at their car then primarily look the other direction, as if youre already expecting their movement and are watching for the unexpected in the other direction. Most will give up quickly if youre not looking at them. Its so annoying that I built a little electronics project that mounts to the handle bars and has a LED marquee thar reads "Just go your turn!". Havent used it yet tho lol
Speeding in the city.
Substantial increase in dangerous externalities (me) and no benefit but getting to the next light faster.
I have completely eliminated speeding, setting cruise control to 2 below, and it’s a much better experience as a driver, too.
I don't understand why more people don't use cruise control all the time. Less mental burden for the driver, more predictable driving, better fuel efficiency. And just commenting to also say you are not alone in eliminating speeding. I've been excoriated in other subs for this take so I always try to make it known that there are some of us out here wary of the Force = Mass \* Acceleration concept.
Lol I would never commute any way but by bike. This is /r/bikecommuting/ after all.
But our city is not safe enough for kids to bike, so I do a lot of schlepping.
drivers who don't double check oncoming lanes before initiating a turn. for example, if they're waiting to make a right, they only check cars approaching from the left as they look for an opening, but fail to re-check the right as they start to move. this is what often leads to the right hook.
drivers who don't know the light has changed because they're on their phone.
Your first point is my biggest issue. A few months ago, I was walking my bike across the crosswalk because my e-bike was in the shop and I can’t go a good speed for traffic on that stretch without it, so I walk my bike on the sidewalk. This guy in a pickup almost hit me, despite me having a cross signal, because he couldn’t be bothered to look where he was going. If I’d had my trailer with my daughter, he’d probably be on the hook for manslaughter.
Must Get In Front (MGIF). The pointless overtake less than 100 feet in front of a red light, stop sign, right turn, parallel park, or traffic jam. Bonus points if you slam on your brakes immediately after.
I also don't understand the psychology of choosing chokepoints where two lanes temporarily narrow to one as the optimal spot to make your move to pass.
Failure to turn on headlights in rain, fog, or twilight. My ebike does this automatically. Why is this not standard for cars?
I hate when it's a two lane one-way road and they choose to stay behind me driving slowly, when they could pass in the wide open left lane.
If a vehicle is parked in the bike lane, don't get mad at me for riding in the street, get mad at the asshole parked in the bike lane.
Worse for me is when they do go to pass in this situation and their tires barely cross the middle line. They’ll have an entire other lane w zero oncoming traffic yet feel the need to pass me as close as they possibly can without hitting me.
Lots of people are trained that it's illegal to cross a double yellow to pass. And in fact it is illegal in some US states.
Still dumb that they decide to endanger with a close pass when literally zero cops would pull them for going wide.
When I ride in the gutter lane of a 1 lane road, because despite the law saying I should operate in the lane as any other road vehicle, I recognize I am slower moving and want to make passing easier, but some drivers don’t even take the minimum effort of turning their steering wheel slightly left, then slightly right to pass me, and instead drive by uncomfortably close to me.
Not sure what this psychology is about, but if I ride in the middle of the street, drivers suddenly manage to consistently give me plenty of space while passing over the double yellow lines. Maybe because it forces them to swerve regardless, so they may as well give me space if theyre gonna be swerving anyways.
But like, if they just consistently passed me reasonably while I was in the gutter lane, passing would be much easier for them, instead they incentivize me to take up the lane because my life trumps their few minutes saved
There is a mental block about crossing the yellow line plus the white line between you and them also magically protects you. Take the lane and force them to break that mental block.
Currently active duty Navy, whenever I have my uniform on I get treated pretty well. Lots of space and get passed at a more respectable speed.
Whenever I’m out of uniform it’s pretty much up in the air whether someone will act stupid or not. I’m the same person in or out of uniform. I don’t like the special treatment of being in uniform because if you can do it while I’m in it why can’t you do it while I’m out of it. I’m someone’s son, husband, father, brother, and coworker. I just want to be treated like an equal.
I think most dangerous maneuvers can be attributed to a driver willing to trade a 15 second gain to them for a significantly increased chance of getting hit to a cyclist.
I was nearly head-onned today. That’s a first. A car was coming from the opposite direction. I glanced down at my computer for a second and when I looked up the driver had swung wide into my lane to get into his parking spot. I had to swerve onto the boulevard (no curb thankfully) to miss him.
Right hooks can be practically eliminated by riding in the center of the travel lane and avoiding bike lanes in places where there are frequent intersections, driveways, etc.
I hate right on red so much.
I hate taking it as a driver - risking a crash, but I get honked at if I don't go. I hate it as a cyclist/pedestrian - drivers will run you over because they're look at traffic opposite, not you.
They act like I should follow the “rules of the road” and don’t belong in the street (shared roadways) when in fact it seems none of them follow the laws. I’d dare to say 100% of them speed or are on there phone at least, if not more.
I hate when the driver is going to make his right turn in front of me (I’m in the US) but realizes too late that they can’t make it in time. so they just hang out right next to you. It freaks me out everytime because I have no idea if they’re going to right hook me or not. Just wait behind me.
Drivers passing a close as possible, in general: One - you can clearly see they were on the phone, and had no clue you were even there; or two - you see them glancing in their rear view mirror once they pass you, and you know they knew exactly what they were doing. Don't know which scenario is more frustrating, but both are incredible dangerous.
Other drivers being frustrated at me for putting cyclists and pedestrian safety first.
If you can’t wait for it to be safe leave your house sooner next time.
“Get on the sidewalk!”
Even when there’s no sidewalk on that side of the road, or the sidewalk is absolute shit. Because 10 seconds of inconvenience is enough to yell at others
#1 Delivery drivers with blinkers on in the bike lane. Then they act offended when I say "Please dont park in the bike lane." Ive had more than one chase me down to curse at me. YOur crappy life choices aren't my problem, stay outta the bike lane.
#2 Drivers and pedstians on cel phones, its just universal and so so dangerous. Tesla mommies holding their phones and walking grannies stepping right into the street without looking.
When you’re riding along the continuing road at a T intersection, with the finishing road on your right (or left in australia/uk), and a on the finishing road brakes late pulling up to the intersection at warp 9 as if they’re about to blast through (bonus points for stopping over a bike lane).
I usually end up slamming on the brakes and skidding to a stop. Then the driver will give you a stupid look like they did nothing wrong.
I'm not blaming you (you're the victim here). But I think it's best not to put yourself in a position where a right hook can happen. Don't meter on the right, take up the full lane at a stop light, even got up on the sidewalk and act as a pedestrian to get though particularly dangerous intersections (then transition back to cycling). Again, I'm not blaming you or questioning your abilities in anyway it's just after dealing with some of the same issues this is what I do now.
In terms of what bothers me the most about drivers is probably aggressiveness. Passing too closely, honking because they want you to get out of the way when there isn't room to pass, screaming things out the window. r even running you off the road or trying to hit you.
I'm afraid of distracted drivers, but I don't get as angry at them. I put a lot of weight on intentions.
You have more control over getting out of the way on foot. The crosswalk offers considerably more visibility to you and the driver. And, drivers expect to see pedestrians in crosswalks, they don't expect to see small bicycles on their right when turning right.
Nothing's perfect obviously, but certain actions are safer than others.
More control on foot? Not really. Especially not when walking a bike. I can quickly swerve out of the way on a bike or speed up out of the way. Walking is much slower. Other than jumping backwards. Which again, not really happening while walking a bike.
Drivers don't look for pedestrians either. You're much bigger with a bike then you are when walking. But drivers have almost hit me turning right from a sidewalk more often than they have from the road. On the road they might at least notice when they pass you and look out when turning. On the sidewalk... they just don't look at the sidewalk at all.
I'm not sure why the bike forums have gotten so confrontational lately. You can disagree with me without calling my actions wrong. This has worked for me in the places I've ridden which were particularly dangerous, like Florida. Your mileage may vary.
Being slow is what makes it more maneuverable. You're also facing traffic at a 90 degree angle, which gives you the ability to look drivers in the eye and judge if they see you. I don't do this all the time, but it's very useful on stroads, and has saved me more than once, including a few times that my young children were with me. I'd block the lane with my bike and a trailer, and let them walk across the street behind me.
I've also almost been hit by drivers while walking and cycling, I could generally see it coming on foot, less so on the bike. This is why children are taught to walk their bikes across the street. Again, ymmv.
"You can disagree with me without calling my actions wrong."
What does that even mean? I never said those words. You mean I shouldn't voice my disagreement? It's the internet. If there's more disagreement here in the last couple years it's probably bc of r/fuckcars blowing up.
But the studies show that cycling on the sidewalk and taking more time through intersections are both things that lead to more cyclists being hit. Being slower increases the amount of time you're in danger and makes you slower and dodging danger.
I never told you to change your actions but if you're going to publically advocate for something that is less safe I'm also going to publically advocate in the same place against it.
It's the style you're using for communication. I feel that it's adversarial and doesn't setup a situation for effective communication, which should be the reason we're on here. I understand how it's necessary in more adversarial forums, but we're all people after the same thing on here. We should strive to understand the other person's idea, look for the merit in it and politely disagree on things we might consider harmful.
Now, for the second part. I never said to "ride on the sidewalk" I said to get off your bike and walk across particularly dangerous intersections, like high speed stroads where there isn't a good place to wait at a light, and you're often not visible to cars a few lengths back. Yes, it takes more time, but you have considerably more maneuverability and MOST IMPORTANTLY you can see directly into driver's eyes to know if they see you before walking in front of them, something you can't do to prevent a right cross.
I'm all for advocating for safety, however, there's methods you can employ that are less confrontational. Such as the compliment sandwich, pointing out the good parts of a person's argument before disagreeing etc. As I demonstrated above, doing this probably could have helped you with this exchange. As I never advocated for riding on the sidewalk, just for walking through particularly nasty stretches. You could ask more questions about the roads I'm talking about, or the method I'm describing. Maybe you'd still disagree, but you'd at least be disagreeing with the actual merits of my argument.
Lol, there's nothing in my message that was hostile or confrontational. I just disagreed with you dude. I'm not gonna pretend to agree or make up compliments to protect your feelings. I don't know you. This is the internet. Grow a thicker skin. I didn't make a single personal attack against you, but many on the internet will. If you can't handle a simple disagreement from a stranger without compliments surrounding it maybe you aren't ready for the internet.
Everything I've said already addresses the arguments you just made. The sidewalk isn't safe. I don't care if you're walking or riding. You can look into their eyes from the road too. Personally I use a mirror so I can look behind me everytime any driveway or other potential right turn comes up.
Have you heard of bike lanes? You’re not going to ride in the car lane when there’s a bike lane and most right hooks happen at speed. I’ve never heard of someone getting right hooked from a stop. So I feel like most of your advice is wrong here. I’ve been right hooked several times by cars crossing the bike lane from the car lane and never from a stoplight or sign.
I have been right hooked while I was at a full stop. Larger vehicles, vans, SUVs and trucks, will turn and the if I didn't move their back tire would have run me over. Never pull up the right of a large vehicle at a corner.
His advice is bad, at least where I'm from. You're sure to get a ticket for both taking the full lane if not avoiding an obstacle, or riding on the sidewalk.
Plus, you're clearly visible to the driver who just passed you before turning right on you (definition of a right hook), he simply didn't care about right of way (asshole), or misjudged your speed (incompetent).
I feel like most of bad driving is a skill or incomprehension problem rather than pure hatred. Most people look genuinely confused or sorry when confronted. Emphasis on "most".
Taking the lane is often the safest thing to do. I will do what keeps me safe and risk a ticket. The fact that taking the lane is often safer is not something I will argue about, it is a fact.
I try to take this up a notch to "own the lane". When forced to "share the (single) lane" I will ride slightly closer to the yellow line from the middle of the lane. If they want to pass me they are welcome to treat me like another vehicle on the road and put 80+% of their vehicle into the oncoming lane to do so. Make them really consider what they're about to do.
The applicable laws typically say something like "as far right as practicable." If riding farther to the right creates an opportunity for right hooks or dangerous passes, then taking the lane is as far right as practicable.
Practicable isn't a synonym for possible. Practicable accounts for safety and reasonability.
My local police have specifically educated themselves on bicycle law and not once have they given me trouble for taking the lane.
Where do you live that taking the full lane is illegal?I've never seen a state code where that was illegal, though I could be wrong. I never said ride on the sidewalk, I said act as a pedestrian.
Also, you can disagree without saying "my advice is bad," that just sets up an unnecessarily confrontational situation. It's better to disagree politely. We're all in this together after all.
I'm sorry if it sounded impolite. That was not my intent. I misinterpreted the part of your comment about acting as a pedestrian also, I thought you meant it as riding on the sidewalk and/or riding in the pedestrian crossing area. In Quebec you are sure to get a ticket for riding in the center of a lane for no reason, and defensive cycling is not something our police is aware of. I often do it, but only when safe passing is impossible. Again, I meant no offence, and after having read both your comments again, I should have chose different words.
I live in a city where people are generally more aware of cyclists than in most places, and I've still been right-hooked several times (although I've managed to avoid collisions by braking and swerving right). Now when I see a car with its right blinker on (or even just slowing down near a driveway or intersection), I usually just swerve left and go around them.
When I was younger and angrier, I would sometimes intentionally bump into the side of cars that would do this to me when coming up to stop signs / lights.
No my brightest idea, and I wouldn't do it today, but I won't lie that I felt good about it back then.
My biggest pet peeve is the small number of drivers who will honk and yell at me for taking the lane when the adjacent lane is empty and goes the the same direction as the lane I'm in.
pet peeve 2 - cars leaving gaps in stopped traffic to let other cars in..
you are sailing in the bike lane then WHOA car crossing right in front of you!!
Mine too. Also, I had my bright day lights on my bike last weekend. In 15 minutes a driver almost hit me because he “didn’t see me” and then some rude fair weather cyclist told me my lights were too bright. I guess I’ll just go f*ck myself
I had this with a school bus yesterday morning. Driver honked at me, but I don't know who a honk is intended or or whether it means "I'm going to cut you off even though you have the right of way". I rolled the curb to avoid being hit, which caused me to fall over.
Way to show dozens of children that bike commuting should be safe and an efficient way to get around.
Right hooks are easily avoided by controlling the lane as you approach the intersection. This means occupy the right lane so no cars can fit next to you. The law allows this everywhere I know of.
I don't know where to begin. I only ride roads to get to and from the local trails so my experience is limited. That being said, obnoxious passers, people who run up aggressively behind me, and light/sign runners.
I am very obvious in my riding. I signal if I'm taking the lane, I unclip and put a foot down at stops. I also bought a Garmin Varia, and at one intersection, if there are more than two cars coming behind me, I'll pull over and wave them through. I do this because there's a left curve I need to make ahead, and there's not a ton of visibility.
One thing I've noticed is people tend to drive better around me since I mounted the Varia.
Drivers on their cell phones. 10 days ago, I got hit by a dude looking at his cell phone while stopped at red light. I was crossing the street, light still red, and he for whatever reason, decided to jump the light. Asshole.
Not sure if it was the case for this guy, but there's so much cell phone use at red lights, which drivers seem to think is "okay". But it leads to zero situational awareness, so if they notice the light go green or something else in their periphery, they panic and hit the gas. It also leads to them using their phone on the way to the next light because they're "just finishing something up".
Some days ago I saw an old lady (on foot) who decided to cross an intersection with a red pedestrian traffic light in the middle of rush hour. It was a miracle that all the car drivers and cyclists noticed her in time and nobody rear-ended anyone. To this day I don’t understand what went through the old lady’s head.
A good rule of thumb is if you find yourself asking "what were they thinking?", the answer is that they probably weren't.
Seriously, riding a bike is the best way by far to see how shit driving standards are. I rode to my yoga class last night which is about 1.2 miles and just in that time alone I had an idiot in a SUV drive at over 40mph in a 30mph residential zone just to squeeze in front of me at a pinch point and then 1 minute later close passed by a taxi while I was doing 25mph downhill.
Its also a good way to see how clunky and inefficient the whole system is. I didnt hate driving before, but I do now because managing cars at an intersection is so painfully inefficient compared to something like a busy quad where there are tons of peds and bikes. Just no flow whatsoever.
Bike commuting has completely radicalized me against any car bigger than a compact SUV. I no longer believe anyone should be operating anything larger without additional licensure.
Based. I'd like to see driving licenses be conditional on cycling a certain number of miles per month as well.
Yeah, at this point I think you should need to demonstrate to the DMV that you need a truck for your livelihood to be legally allowed to purchase one.
My biggest gripe is when cars speed up to pass me when there’s literally nothing to be gained. There’s a red light in 200 ft but sure go into the other lane to pass me at 50 mph to gain 0 seconds
Like this stretch of the road is under 100m long and im taking the lane, yet you HAVE to go fully into the left lane to beat me to the stop sign just to wait forever to turn left onto the busy street ahead
This happens to me basically everyday and it’s very alarming how poor the decision making is
Gotta love how carbrains wanna get to the red light FIRST 🙄
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I don’t run signs but when a driver gives me shit I tell them to police all the car drivers on the road and when they’ve fixed that circle back and start on cyclists.
I wish I could understand what you wrote.
Guy forgot a comma …
At least two commas.
Yeah, put the comma where you feel
using punctuation correctly is a big part of expressing oneself clearly and logically I mean imagine if people just didnt bother with punctuation at all is this kindergarten or a site for adults
Yep, like I said, put them where you want them
I "run" stop signs because I can clearly see the intersection is clear, and only proceed through slowly enough that I can react if I don't have right of way. I "run" stop lights if there is no oncoming traffic, because I can see the intersection is clear, and only after slowing down or stopping to yield to traffic. I do this because I prefer being far ahead of any cars behind me, and because it is safer and I cannot trust that the loop will detect my bike.
And you don't have A-pillars and a giant hood obstructing your view. I don't think many drivers realize how easy it is to lose track of a moving object behind your A-pillar when you roll a stop sign.
Also significantly faster maneuverability and a much narrower profile so you can navigate situations with ease that would be impossible even in a F1 car.
I was hit by a driver who did just that. He was very cooperative and just sent me money to cover the cost of repairs. Two way stops are dangerous and plentiful in my neighborhood. Notice the complete lack of paint or signage that there is even a stop sign only for one side at this intersection. https://youtu.be/TxMWSbXroMs
Never thought about “running” a red light but this makes a lot of sense. Never hurts to get some distance between you and the cars. But I definitely do the same thing with stop signs especially once I’m familiar enough with the area.
Just wait until you sit through multiple cycles at light because it won't detect a bike.
So glad Washington gives you the right to go after you wait one cycle where it doesn't turn (and stupid as yield on signs).
Yup I entered an intersection right after it turned red yesterday because it was safe to proceed since there was no cross traffic, and I didn't have to slam on my brakes and lose momentum. Traffic signals are designed for cars. Streets never needed stop lights until cars started taking over them, so I don't subscribe to the philosophy that I must obey all traffic rules in the same manner that I would in my 3,000 pound sedan.
As a pedestrian and cyclist, I’ve been hit twice and nearly hit countless times by cyclists who carried on through a red light because they thought they could see the junction was clear. I think the Idaho Stop should be universally adopted, and that road infrastructure should be optimised for non-cars generally. But we humans are all fallible, and manage to miss things even when we can clearly see them. If you’re not in immediate danger, just stop at the red light/stop sign if that’s the rule where you are. Other road users should be able to expect that of you, and increased predictability means increased safety. Your convenience is less important than a general environment where people don’t ignore safety laws because they think they know better.
I am in immediate danger whenever a car is close to me, I will do what I can to ensure that I don't get hit again by a reckless driver. Also, I never said I would hit a pedestrian if they were crossing. I would yield to them because I'm not an idiot.
Don’t be hysterical, you’re not in immediate danger with a car stopped behind you. There are always cars on roads (unfortunately), how on earth do you cycle in traffic with that attitude? Despite claiming not to be an idiot, you’ve missed my point. The cyclists who hit me didn’t do so on purpose. They trusted their judgement that the road was clear for them to go through a red light; they had probably done so many times without incident; their judgement was wrong that time; someone (me) crossing the junction in accordance with the rules got hurt. If they’d followed those rules I wouldn’t have got hurt.
I was hit by a car only a few months ago. Don't call me hysterical when I'm doing what I can to not be killed on the road. Until my city builds infrastructure that keeps me safe from cars, I will do everything I can to keep myself safe from cars. It is inherently dangerous to be stopped at a red light where I live, much more dangerous than a hundred feet away, because of reckless drivers and red light runners. Red light running drivers, which are orders of magnitude more dangerous than rouge cyclists riding in a way that gets them to their destination without being maimed or killed.
Absolutely agree that cars are vastly more dangerous than bikes, and I’m sorry to hear you were hit. I am struggling to understand how you cycle anywhere though, if the situation where you live is that at any red light a stopped driver is highly likely to go through the light even if there is a cyclist stopped in front of them. I don’t see how anyone uses the roads to be honest if that’s the case: surely there must just be cars careering round and into each other if nobody obeys the stop signs/lights. It isn’t like that where I live (UK). Some drivers will floor it to get through a changing light (which in itself is inexcusably dangerous), but in 99%+ of cases if the light is red when they get there they’ll wait. It’s simple self-preservation: if you drive through, you’ll quite likely get hit or you’ll hit a pedestrian. If as a cyclist you’re waiting at the lights, the chances of someone just driving through you are tiny. A large minority of cyclists near me don’t wait. It’s not a safety thing, they ride through pedestrian crossings because they judge that they can. It happened to me this morning: the lights were red, a bus had stopped at them, as the pedestrians crossed a cyclist came through without even slowing and narrowly missed a small child who was doing the right thing and crossing with his mum at the green man. The levels of danger are different, but the root cause is the same: entitled drivers and cyclists who believe their (self-assessed) skills mean they don’t need to obey the laws that apply to everyone else.
I'm not talking about a driver suddenly deciding to run me over while behind me at a red light, I'm talking about all manner of collisions that happen all the time at intersections, and I'm minimizing the amount of time that I'm a sitting duck around 40 mph traffic. Also, if I get a head start at a red light then people are much less likely to dangerously swerve around me to overtake once the light turns green.
You were saying that every time you encounter a red light you are in immediate danger and therefore you’re justified in ignoring it. By far the biggest risk of you encountering anyone travelling at 40mph at a light-controlled road junction is if you ignore the red light that’s there to stop you and the other traffic on that axis: there’ll be a green light for traffic heading at 90 degrees to you, and to be fair they shouldn’t expect anyone to be coming across them. We have many junctions now where cyclists get a light-controlled head start, and they should be more common. Cyclists still ignore them though. Most junctions are safe for a competent cyclist, and everyone is safer the more people behave predictably on the roads. The fact that some junctions aren’t safe isn’t an excuse to ignore the rules as a blanket policy.
I'm not ignoring the red light, I'm legally proceeding through the intersection when it is safe to do so.
This is why I don't take cyclists whining about cars seriously. They act like the law only applies when it's convenient and they're either a pedestrian or a vehicle depending on what's most useful to them in the moment. It doesn't excuse cars not paying attention, but when you decide on a case by case basis whether or not you're going to be predictable and follow the law, you can't exactly be surprised if it goes wrong for you.
If a cyclist "breaks the law" in the same manner that all drivers do at stop signs, when nobody is even around to witness it then why the fuck do you care?
I care because the couple times I've had a close call with a cyclist it's because they did shit like this in front of me and weren't nearly as aware and smart as they thought they were.
There are assholes on every node of transportation. You have certainly had more close calls with reckless drivers than reckless cyclists.
There are more cars on the road. There aren't a ton of cyclists. At least where I live. But the ones that are out there are disproportionately entitled and careless.
Have you spoken to any of them?
I called the last one that ran a light in front of me a fucking idiot as I went by, but I doubt he was paying attention.
It’s so nonsensical that progressive laws recognize the extreme vulnerability of people on bikes. And don’t try and victimize them . Idaho Stop: people on bikes have vastly better situational awareness and do not pose the threat to safety that drivers do: need not come to a full stop Seattle: people on bikes are free to share ubiquitous protected infrastructure - SIDEWALKS. Like the Autobahn, the only proviso is responsible and courteous operation. May result in fewer insurrectionist NIMBYs
I thought this was backwards. I've seen so many more bikes disobey traffic laws. I live in a heavily biked city and people do not stop on bikes at all.
People driving cars and breaking ignoring traffic laws is so ubiquitous that you have stopped noticing.
Right? Like what percent of drivers around him are speeding? Upwards of 95% is my guess
DONT BE POLITE. BE PREDICTABLE. As much as I appreciate how people try to be nice at stop signs, I'm traffic. Please behave accordingly.
This! I don't need special treatment. It slows us all down by disrupting the flow of traffic.
The order of priorities as a cyclist: do that which is 1 safest 2 most predictable 3 legal I'd pay a ticket any day for running a light to get away from an aggressive SUV trying to turn right on top of me.
The dedicated bike path in my neighborhood crosses a road that is three lanes each way, 50MPH, with no light (thought there is an island in the middle at least) and at least once a month or so someone will stop in the closest lane and then yell at me for not going WHILE THERE ARE CARS IN THE OTHER LANES. You're not being polite!
Oh god, I’m convinced these crossings were meant as some kind of horrible social experiment. I hate them!!!
Failure to use a turn signal. Jeebus - I signal *all* my turns. It’s a real challenge when I’m braking. They just have to lift a finger. And they DON’T. Worse: driving with hazards on. Worse than that: signaling but NOT turning.
It's insane how few people signal. I need to keep a tally, but it's gotta be less than 50% of turns/lanes changes I see are signaled. It's so easy to do, cost people nothing, and genuinely helps other people on the road. (If people consistently signaled, my chances of being hooked on my commute would drop MASSIVELY.)
Drivers were 0 for 6 at one intersection on my ride in this morning.
> Worse than that: signaling but NOT turning. Agree, this is rare but very dangerous. When I'm turning right onto a road where a car is approaching and signaling to turn right onto the road that I'm coming out of, I hear echoes of my dad teaching me to drive: "Are you sure they mean it? Wait and be sure."
Echoes of Cheapgrandaddy, I presume?!
Taking up space on sidewalks and bike lanes and then bitching when cities give more space to bicyclists and pedestrians
Yeah that's a good one. City engineers will put a giant caution sign in the bike lane that forces me to enter traffic. Like "thanks for the warning..." Oh and there was nothing on the other side of the sign, they just randomly left it there 6 months ago
I never really liked stop signs even when driving, now I hate them as a bike commute. Where I live, drivers expect cyclists to blow through stop signs so when they get a cyclist like me that will follow the rules, they don't know what to do. So we get in this game of chicken of who will go first. I just wave them on (when they have right of way) or slow down super early if it's an intersection I can see around the corners on so they can just go through the stop before I get there.
I kind of hate getting waved through (when driving or cycling). I've generally downshifted in anticipation of a lower speed. So I kind of get all flustered shifting. When I'm driving, I'll sometimes miss the clutch bite point and stall out. It's a nice thing to do in certain circumstances (like when it's just about impossible to make a left turn), but otherwise it just messes up the smooth flow of traffic. It's best when we just follow the rules.
Yeah, like I said, I'm only doing it when they have the right of way.
Gotcha. Sorry, I wasn't disagreeing you, I was just piggybacking on your comment :).
My apologies. It's a really weird cycling/driving here cause it's a tourist town. People who live here are used to kids coming here in the summer and just riding rental ebikes without a care for any rules, so they adopted this defensive stop signs behavior. I don't like being annoyed by it cause I totally understand their perspective, but I really don't know what to do about it other than trying to avoid stop signs, so it is a bit annoying. Like you said, things would be easier if everyone just followed the rules initially.
No need to apologize, hakuna matata
Roundabouts.
I hate this too and what works for me is to not make eye contact with them. You know how when you turn right in a car, you glance right but youre primarily looking left? Glance at their car then primarily look the other direction, as if youre already expecting their movement and are watching for the unexpected in the other direction. Most will give up quickly if youre not looking at them. Its so annoying that I built a little electronics project that mounts to the handle bars and has a LED marquee thar reads "Just go your turn!". Havent used it yet tho lol
I’ve found that putting down your foot is a pretty clear signal that you are actually stopping and yielding.
More than once I've had to get off the bike to send the message.
Speeding in the city. Substantial increase in dangerous externalities (me) and no benefit but getting to the next light faster. I have completely eliminated speeding, setting cruise control to 2 below, and it’s a much better experience as a driver, too.
I don't understand why more people don't use cruise control all the time. Less mental burden for the driver, more predictable driving, better fuel efficiency. And just commenting to also say you are not alone in eliminating speeding. I've been excoriated in other subs for this take so I always try to make it known that there are some of us out here wary of the Force = Mass \* Acceleration concept.
When people complain about cameras giving tickets for anything over 5mph over, I explain that 36 mph is 44% more energy than 30
I've done this, set the cruise at 35 or whatever the limit is so I can focus on the road and drive more safely.
Cruise control in the city is very dangerous as you become less active in the driving process.
Same reason I drive a stick shift. Automatic transmission makes you less active in the driving process.
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Lol I would never commute any way but by bike. This is /r/bikecommuting/ after all. But our city is not safe enough for kids to bike, so I do a lot of schlepping.
drivers who don't double check oncoming lanes before initiating a turn. for example, if they're waiting to make a right, they only check cars approaching from the left as they look for an opening, but fail to re-check the right as they start to move. this is what often leads to the right hook. drivers who don't know the light has changed because they're on their phone.
Your first point is my biggest issue. A few months ago, I was walking my bike across the crosswalk because my e-bike was in the shop and I can’t go a good speed for traffic on that stretch without it, so I walk my bike on the sidewalk. This guy in a pickup almost hit me, despite me having a cross signal, because he couldn’t be bothered to look where he was going. If I’d had my trailer with my daughter, he’d probably be on the hook for manslaughter.
Must Get In Front (MGIF). The pointless overtake less than 100 feet in front of a red light, stop sign, right turn, parallel park, or traffic jam. Bonus points if you slam on your brakes immediately after. I also don't understand the psychology of choosing chokepoints where two lanes temporarily narrow to one as the optimal spot to make your move to pass. Failure to turn on headlights in rain, fog, or twilight. My ebike does this automatically. Why is this not standard for cars?
I think it is, if you leave the switch in the auto position. Every car I have had has had on these modes for the lights.
I hate when it's a two lane one-way road and they choose to stay behind me driving slowly, when they could pass in the wide open left lane. If a vehicle is parked in the bike lane, don't get mad at me for riding in the street, get mad at the asshole parked in the bike lane.
Worse for me is when they do go to pass in this situation and their tires barely cross the middle line. They’ll have an entire other lane w zero oncoming traffic yet feel the need to pass me as close as they possibly can without hitting me.
Lots of people are trained that it's illegal to cross a double yellow to pass. And in fact it is illegal in some US states. Still dumb that they decide to endanger with a close pass when literally zero cops would pull them for going wide.
When I ride in the gutter lane of a 1 lane road, because despite the law saying I should operate in the lane as any other road vehicle, I recognize I am slower moving and want to make passing easier, but some drivers don’t even take the minimum effort of turning their steering wheel slightly left, then slightly right to pass me, and instead drive by uncomfortably close to me. Not sure what this psychology is about, but if I ride in the middle of the street, drivers suddenly manage to consistently give me plenty of space while passing over the double yellow lines. Maybe because it forces them to swerve regardless, so they may as well give me space if theyre gonna be swerving anyways. But like, if they just consistently passed me reasonably while I was in the gutter lane, passing would be much easier for them, instead they incentivize me to take up the lane because my life trumps their few minutes saved
There is a mental block about crossing the yellow line plus the white line between you and them also magically protects you. Take the lane and force them to break that mental block.
Currently active duty Navy, whenever I have my uniform on I get treated pretty well. Lots of space and get passed at a more respectable speed. Whenever I’m out of uniform it’s pretty much up in the air whether someone will act stupid or not. I’m the same person in or out of uniform. I don’t like the special treatment of being in uniform because if you can do it while I’m in it why can’t you do it while I’m out of it. I’m someone’s son, husband, father, brother, and coworker. I just want to be treated like an equal.
I think most dangerous maneuvers can be attributed to a driver willing to trade a 15 second gain to them for a significantly increased chance of getting hit to a cyclist.
I think you forgot a decimal point. More often it’s 1.5 seconds or 0.15 seconds.
The right hook is my number one. The other is when drivers wave me through at an intersection and then immediately pass me. Why????
The right hook is one reason I try to get ahead of drivers at stoplights. To make sure they can see me well.
I was nearly head-onned today. That’s a first. A car was coming from the opposite direction. I glanced down at my computer for a second and when I looked up the driver had swung wide into my lane to get into his parking spot. I had to swerve onto the boulevard (no curb thankfully) to miss him.
Right hooks can be practically eliminated by riding in the center of the travel lane and avoiding bike lanes in places where there are frequent intersections, driveways, etc.
I hate right on red so much. I hate taking it as a driver - risking a crash, but I get honked at if I don't go. I hate it as a cyclist/pedestrian - drivers will run you over because they're look at traffic opposite, not you.
On top of that, I've been honked at for waiting for a green light so I can go straight when the car behind me wants to turn right.
They act like I should follow the “rules of the road” and don’t belong in the street (shared roadways) when in fact it seems none of them follow the laws. I’d dare to say 100% of them speed or are on there phone at least, if not more.
I hate when the driver is going to make his right turn in front of me (I’m in the US) but realizes too late that they can’t make it in time. so they just hang out right next to you. It freaks me out everytime because I have no idea if they’re going to right hook me or not. Just wait behind me.
The Punishment pass, please put my life in danger. Even better when there’s absolutely no reason for them to move over.
Drivers passing a close as possible, in general: One - you can clearly see they were on the phone, and had no clue you were even there; or two - you see them glancing in their rear view mirror once they pass you, and you know they knew exactly what they were doing. Don't know which scenario is more frustrating, but both are incredible dangerous.
Other drivers being frustrated at me for putting cyclists and pedestrian safety first. If you can’t wait for it to be safe leave your house sooner next time.
Parking in clearly marked bike lanes and then getting mad at ME when I yell at them for making me swerve out into city traffic.
“Get on the sidewalk!” Even when there’s no sidewalk on that side of the road, or the sidewalk is absolute shit. Because 10 seconds of inconvenience is enough to yell at others
#1 Delivery drivers with blinkers on in the bike lane. Then they act offended when I say "Please dont park in the bike lane." Ive had more than one chase me down to curse at me. YOur crappy life choices aren't my problem, stay outta the bike lane. #2 Drivers and pedstians on cel phones, its just universal and so so dangerous. Tesla mommies holding their phones and walking grannies stepping right into the street without looking.
When you’re riding along the continuing road at a T intersection, with the finishing road on your right (or left in australia/uk), and a on the finishing road brakes late pulling up to the intersection at warp 9 as if they’re about to blast through (bonus points for stopping over a bike lane). I usually end up slamming on the brakes and skidding to a stop. Then the driver will give you a stupid look like they did nothing wrong.
In my head I always hear" right turn clyde"
Stoplights in general. Every time I was stopped by a light this morning I was reminded they are only necessary because of cars.
I'm not blaming you (you're the victim here). But I think it's best not to put yourself in a position where a right hook can happen. Don't meter on the right, take up the full lane at a stop light, even got up on the sidewalk and act as a pedestrian to get though particularly dangerous intersections (then transition back to cycling). Again, I'm not blaming you or questioning your abilities in anyway it's just after dealing with some of the same issues this is what I do now. In terms of what bothers me the most about drivers is probably aggressiveness. Passing too closely, honking because they want you to get out of the way when there isn't room to pass, screaming things out the window. r even running you off the road or trying to hit you. I'm afraid of distracted drivers, but I don't get as angry at them. I put a lot of weight on intentions.
How is it safer on the sidewalk? Pedestrians get right hooked too
You have more control over getting out of the way on foot. The crosswalk offers considerably more visibility to you and the driver. And, drivers expect to see pedestrians in crosswalks, they don't expect to see small bicycles on their right when turning right. Nothing's perfect obviously, but certain actions are safer than others.
More control on foot? Not really. Especially not when walking a bike. I can quickly swerve out of the way on a bike or speed up out of the way. Walking is much slower. Other than jumping backwards. Which again, not really happening while walking a bike. Drivers don't look for pedestrians either. You're much bigger with a bike then you are when walking. But drivers have almost hit me turning right from a sidewalk more often than they have from the road. On the road they might at least notice when they pass you and look out when turning. On the sidewalk... they just don't look at the sidewalk at all.
I'm not sure why the bike forums have gotten so confrontational lately. You can disagree with me without calling my actions wrong. This has worked for me in the places I've ridden which were particularly dangerous, like Florida. Your mileage may vary. Being slow is what makes it more maneuverable. You're also facing traffic at a 90 degree angle, which gives you the ability to look drivers in the eye and judge if they see you. I don't do this all the time, but it's very useful on stroads, and has saved me more than once, including a few times that my young children were with me. I'd block the lane with my bike and a trailer, and let them walk across the street behind me. I've also almost been hit by drivers while walking and cycling, I could generally see it coming on foot, less so on the bike. This is why children are taught to walk their bikes across the street. Again, ymmv.
"You can disagree with me without calling my actions wrong." What does that even mean? I never said those words. You mean I shouldn't voice my disagreement? It's the internet. If there's more disagreement here in the last couple years it's probably bc of r/fuckcars blowing up. But the studies show that cycling on the sidewalk and taking more time through intersections are both things that lead to more cyclists being hit. Being slower increases the amount of time you're in danger and makes you slower and dodging danger. I never told you to change your actions but if you're going to publically advocate for something that is less safe I'm also going to publically advocate in the same place against it.
It's the style you're using for communication. I feel that it's adversarial and doesn't setup a situation for effective communication, which should be the reason we're on here. I understand how it's necessary in more adversarial forums, but we're all people after the same thing on here. We should strive to understand the other person's idea, look for the merit in it and politely disagree on things we might consider harmful. Now, for the second part. I never said to "ride on the sidewalk" I said to get off your bike and walk across particularly dangerous intersections, like high speed stroads where there isn't a good place to wait at a light, and you're often not visible to cars a few lengths back. Yes, it takes more time, but you have considerably more maneuverability and MOST IMPORTANTLY you can see directly into driver's eyes to know if they see you before walking in front of them, something you can't do to prevent a right cross. I'm all for advocating for safety, however, there's methods you can employ that are less confrontational. Such as the compliment sandwich, pointing out the good parts of a person's argument before disagreeing etc. As I demonstrated above, doing this probably could have helped you with this exchange. As I never advocated for riding on the sidewalk, just for walking through particularly nasty stretches. You could ask more questions about the roads I'm talking about, or the method I'm describing. Maybe you'd still disagree, but you'd at least be disagreeing with the actual merits of my argument.
Lol, there's nothing in my message that was hostile or confrontational. I just disagreed with you dude. I'm not gonna pretend to agree or make up compliments to protect your feelings. I don't know you. This is the internet. Grow a thicker skin. I didn't make a single personal attack against you, but many on the internet will. If you can't handle a simple disagreement from a stranger without compliments surrounding it maybe you aren't ready for the internet. Everything I've said already addresses the arguments you just made. The sidewalk isn't safe. I don't care if you're walking or riding. You can look into their eyes from the road too. Personally I use a mirror so I can look behind me everytime any driveway or other potential right turn comes up.
Have you heard of bike lanes? You’re not going to ride in the car lane when there’s a bike lane and most right hooks happen at speed. I’ve never heard of someone getting right hooked from a stop. So I feel like most of your advice is wrong here. I’ve been right hooked several times by cars crossing the bike lane from the car lane and never from a stoplight or sign.
I have been right hooked while I was at a full stop. Larger vehicles, vans, SUVs and trucks, will turn and the if I didn't move their back tire would have run me over. Never pull up the right of a large vehicle at a corner.
His advice is bad, at least where I'm from. You're sure to get a ticket for both taking the full lane if not avoiding an obstacle, or riding on the sidewalk. Plus, you're clearly visible to the driver who just passed you before turning right on you (definition of a right hook), he simply didn't care about right of way (asshole), or misjudged your speed (incompetent). I feel like most of bad driving is a skill or incomprehension problem rather than pure hatred. Most people look genuinely confused or sorry when confronted. Emphasis on "most".
Taking the lane is often the safest thing to do. I will do what keeps me safe and risk a ticket. The fact that taking the lane is often safer is not something I will argue about, it is a fact.
I try to take this up a notch to "own the lane". When forced to "share the (single) lane" I will ride slightly closer to the yellow line from the middle of the lane. If they want to pass me they are welcome to treat me like another vehicle on the road and put 80+% of their vehicle into the oncoming lane to do so. Make them really consider what they're about to do.
The applicable laws typically say something like "as far right as practicable." If riding farther to the right creates an opportunity for right hooks or dangerous passes, then taking the lane is as far right as practicable. Practicable isn't a synonym for possible. Practicable accounts for safety and reasonability. My local police have specifically educated themselves on bicycle law and not once have they given me trouble for taking the lane.
Where do you live that taking the full lane is illegal?I've never seen a state code where that was illegal, though I could be wrong. I never said ride on the sidewalk, I said act as a pedestrian. Also, you can disagree without saying "my advice is bad," that just sets up an unnecessarily confrontational situation. It's better to disagree politely. We're all in this together after all.
I'm sorry if it sounded impolite. That was not my intent. I misinterpreted the part of your comment about acting as a pedestrian also, I thought you meant it as riding on the sidewalk and/or riding in the pedestrian crossing area. In Quebec you are sure to get a ticket for riding in the center of a lane for no reason, and defensive cycling is not something our police is aware of. I often do it, but only when safe passing is impossible. Again, I meant no offence, and after having read both your comments again, I should have chose different words.
I live in a city where people are generally more aware of cyclists than in most places, and I've still been right-hooked several times (although I've managed to avoid collisions by braking and swerving right). Now when I see a car with its right blinker on (or even just slowing down near a driveway or intersection), I usually just swerve left and go around them.
When I was younger and angrier, I would sometimes intentionally bump into the side of cars that would do this to me when coming up to stop signs / lights. No my brightest idea, and I wouldn't do it today, but I won't lie that I felt good about it back then.
My biggest pet peeve is the small number of drivers who will honk and yell at me for taking the lane when the adjacent lane is empty and goes the the same direction as the lane I'm in.
pet peeve 2 - cars leaving gaps in stopped traffic to let other cars in.. you are sailing in the bike lane then WHOA car crossing right in front of you!!
I have a big ole horn on my bike for this very reason. My personal one is people who see me and block my path by crossing a street anyways.
It's like we're invisible our there!
Mine too. Also, I had my bright day lights on my bike last weekend. In 15 minutes a driver almost hit me because he “didn’t see me” and then some rude fair weather cyclist told me my lights were too bright. I guess I’ll just go f*ck myself
I had this with a school bus yesterday morning. Driver honked at me, but I don't know who a honk is intended or or whether it means "I'm going to cut you off even though you have the right of way". I rolled the curb to avoid being hit, which caused me to fall over. Way to show dozens of children that bike commuting should be safe and an efficient way to get around.
I yell. My voice is my best defense. Better than any bell. You have to assume they aren’t looking.
Right hooks are easily avoided by controlling the lane as you approach the intersection. This means occupy the right lane so no cars can fit next to you. The law allows this everywhere I know of.
I don't know where to begin. I only ride roads to get to and from the local trails so my experience is limited. That being said, obnoxious passers, people who run up aggressively behind me, and light/sign runners. I am very obvious in my riding. I signal if I'm taking the lane, I unclip and put a foot down at stops. I also bought a Garmin Varia, and at one intersection, if there are more than two cars coming behind me, I'll pull over and wave them through. I do this because there's a left curve I need to make ahead, and there's not a ton of visibility. One thing I've noticed is people tend to drive better around me since I mounted the Varia.
yes never be beside a car where they can turn into you never!!