<p>Every cyclist should wear a helmet. And wear it correctly. So many wear them tilted back instead of down over their forehead to protect the frontal lobes.</p>
<p>Well then, let’s just see if the articles identify whether dead or injured motorists were wearing seatbelts, shall we?</p>
<p><a href=“Second driver dies in wrong-way crash on I-280 in Palo Alto”>http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Second-driver-dies-in-wrong-way-crash-on-I-280-in-5766897.php</a>
Nope.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/2-dead-in-longmont-head-on-crash”>http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/2-dead-in-longmont-head-on-crash</a>
Nope.</p>
<p><a href=“http://findmyaccident.com/california/2013/07/25/motorist-hurt-in-route-85-collision-in-cupertino/”>http://findmyaccident.com/california/2013/07/25/motorist-hurt-in-route-85-collision-in-cupertino/</a>
Nopety nope nope nope.</p>
<p><a href=“Man Driving Mercedes About 100 MPH Killed After Striking Another Car On I-880 In San Jose - CBS San Francisco”>http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/22/man-driving-mercedes-about-100-mph-killed-after-striking-another-car-on-i-880-in-san-jose-fatal-crash-the-alameda-interstate-880/</a>
Not that one.</p>
<p><a href=“Amtrak Train Slams Into SUV, Killing Driver In Oakland - CBS San Francisco”>http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/02/driver-killed-after-vehicle-was-struck-by-amtrak-train-in-oakland/</a>
Not that one either.</p>
<p><a href=“3 Injured When Car Crashes Into San Francisco North Beach Bar; Driver Arrested On Drug Warrant - CBS San Francisco”>http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/15/2-injured-after-car-crashes-into-comstock-saloon-in-san-franciscos-north-beach/</a>
Nope, no mention of seat belt.</p>
<p>Those were just random articles I pulled up. I didn’t eliminate the ones that talked about seat belts-- there were none that talked about seat belts.</p>
<p>Everyone should wear a seatbelt too.Both are essential. This isnt a competition. Its about common sense and safety. So, if you are trying to emphasize that people should wear seat belts, I totally agree.</p>
<p>It would be nice if I ever even once saw a driver who knew how to make a right turn when there was a bike lane. Just once, I’d like to see a driver who knew the basic skill of making a damned right turn: Merge right, to get to the curb, before turning, people. </p>
<p>This is not rocket science-- you don’t make right turns across straight through traffic, whether that straight-through traffic is on a bike or in a car. Do you make a right turn from the middle of three lanes? No, you do not, because you don’t make turns across traffic. And yes, if you get on the curb like you should when you plan to turn right, I will go around you to the left. Because I don’t ever want to be to the right of right-turning traffic if I’m going straight.</p>
<p>When there is no bike lane - just an all purpose lane in each direction is it OK for the bicyclist to pass a signaling motorist on the right while speeding (down hill)? If yes is it still OK for the cyclist to just blow by if the motorist is stopped to let a pedestrian cross at a crosswalk? Shouldn’t the cyclist have to act like a car and stay behind all the other waiting cars?</p>
<p>I don’t think I have to stay behind all the waiting cars if I have a bike lane, or a wide shoulder that is functioning as a bike lane. I am then in my own lane. One doesn’t have to wait for cars in adjacent lanes. Of course, I have to yield to the pedestrian, but if the pedestrian is not in front of me, I’m free to proceed.</p>
<p>If I am sharing the lane with a car, or taking the lane, then I have to wait my turn.</p>
<p>If I am approaching an intersection, I have to be careful. I don’t want to get to the right of right-turning cars. That’s the suicide hole where I can get squeezed and hit, and I don’t want to be there. I get in the bike lane (which is of course to the left of right-turners) if one exists, or share the lane if there is room; otherwise, I line up behind the car in front of me.</p>
<p>As to passing a right-turning motorist on their right, if I have room to do that, that motorist is in the wrong place. They should merge right, and then turn. If they are in the process of merging into my lane, then I of course have the right of way because I’m already in it. If they are planning to turn without merging, they are incompetent. It’s not always clear how to deal with incompetent motorists, because who knows how they will act? If they appear to be planning to turn right without merging, I move around them to the left and yell at them.</p>
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If you don’t know how they will act, why would you yell at them. that seems ill-advised. They are bigger and faster than you.</p>
<p>Wow - I guess that answers it. If there is not three feet between the motorist and the sidewalk and the motorist has slowed and is signaling to turn right shouldn’t the cyclist honor the three feet rule by not whizzing by on the right?</p>
<p>I would also ask if you have 3 feet to pass a signaling motorist on the right indicating that they “are in the wrong place” is it some kind of moral victory in the event that you are hit? How about a truck or bus that signals and take wide turns by design.</p>
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<p>Absolutely. The cyclist has no business there. I know that cyclists do it, but it’s foolish and dangerous and they shouldn’t, and I cringe every time I see it. </p>
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<p>That’s when I go around the idiot to the left. If the dope is in the wrong place, I don’t want to give him a chance to do something dopier and hit me. But my defensive swerve to avoid bunglers doesn’t excuse the bungling.</p>
<p>This thread just sounds very angry to me.</p>
<p>rn when making a right turn is that the visibility behind me is not always terrific to the right hand side of the vehicle. Plus if you are making a right on red, you are also trying to look left. </p>
<p>I think it makes sense for cyclists to yield at intersections, and perhaps to merge into the lane where they are going. If they are going straight, does it make sense to be in the lane where the cars are going straight, as opposed to the shoulder? I ask this uncritically. Of course it would help if drivers always signalled their intentions. Which they don’t.</p>
<p>I worry terribly about how to advise my 16 year old new driver on this topic. They aren’t very experienced in judging when it is safe to get in the opposite lane to pass or making turns with approaching cyclists. This lack of judgement could lead to a fiasco. </p>
<p>So I guess my last question is why are drivers the “idiots” and “dopes” deserving of being yelled at and flipped off when cyclists are also sometimes less than prudent and courteous? How about everyone drive and ride defensively and avoid road rage incidents by giving one another the benefit of the doubt? Pulling up on a driver’s left and yelling at them is not going to help the cause of cyclists everywhere or make drivers more attentive. </p>
<p>As cyclists I have always told my kids to follow one set of rules . . . either act like a car using signals, stopping at signs and lights and predictably following other rules of the road or act like a pedestrian. Don’t do both. Whatever you do, assume that nobody sees you. While driving I point out all the traffic infractions and dangerous situations so that as they have become drivers they are looking for cyclists and expecting the unexpected. In our area we have the added level of interest with recumbent bikes, those adaptive hand crank bikes (both about the height of a go-cart) and now racing unicycles. Yep . . . unicycles have transitioned from the purely ironic vehicle to ride to Whole Foods on your lunch break (yes, I have seen this) to a sportier mode with a giant wheel, tiny handle bars and lycra wearing aficionados. </p>
<p>CF, there are some pretty miserable and inconsiderate bicycle riders out there too…as has been noted upstream. No matter what the rules awe…three feet or whatever, the rules of the road do not apply to them. My husband is a long distance road bike rider…does at least two century rides a year. Rides at least 25 miles a day. He rides on the roads.</p>
<p>He used to ride with a well organized bike club after work. But he got tired of them riding three and four abreast on the roads. He also got tired of them not adhering to road rules. Now he rides with one friend, or by himself. </p>
<p>Re: helmets…no, a helmet won’t save you from being hit by some driver who isn’t being mindful of the road. But really, a helmet is better than nothing in terms of head protection, especially if a rider gets a good one, and replaces it when it’s crappy and old. No one is saying it’s going to save you…when my husband had his accident (which did not involve another car), his helmet was totally scraped up. He was happy it wasn’t his head. It was bad enough that he had a collapsed lung, and broken shoulder. But a banged up head would have been just another thing to make it all worse.</p>
<p>No one is telling YOU that you should wear a helmet (actually, you do). But I would hope that you would encourage others to do so, as well as encouraging them to adhere to road rules. </p>
<p>CF, I have a question. When my girls were younger and were learning how to drive we were on a road through a park that is commonly shared by bikers, especially on weekends. This was 5 PM on a Monday though. There were two bikers riding one in front of the other BUT they would suddenly swerve out into the road in a big curve, taking turns, but being utterly unpredictable about it. The park road is narrow and curvy so I didn’t dare try to pass them until I could go way over to the other lane.</p>
<p>My girls asked me, “what are they doing?” and I answered, “they’re trying to die” because that’s what I thought at the time. But I’ve thought about it since then and I wonder if it isn’t some (dimwitted) strategy to make drivers alert to their presence? Have you heard of this?</p>
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<p>This.</p>
<p>A bicyclist gettting into a verbal altercation can be a deadly stupid mistake <a href=“http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-driver-intentionally-hit-bicyclist-dragged-/ngHnq/”>http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-driver-intentionally-hit-bicyclist-dragged-/ngHnq/</a></p>
<p>I can’t at all defend or sympathize with drivers who are intentionally hostile or unsafe around cyclists. I imagine, though, that if one rider cusses out a driver that driver could be less courteous still to the next cyclist that he/she encounters. That type of behavior doesn’t really serve to instruct and educate, but can breed ill will. With a motorist who is already wired that way it could be bad news for riders down the road.</p>
<p>Road rage is stupid no mater what the circumstances. But cyclists dont get a pass or a break just because they are on a bike. Common courtesy goes both ways.</p>
<p>Living in NYC, I’ve noticed a few things. The people who commute by bike are more likely to respect the laws of the road and the people who share it with them. People who cycle competitively are almost as dangerous as people who make their living from delivering things by bike. Two people have been killed by cyclists recently in Central Park, alone. The CitiBike program encourages people who may not have been on a bike since they were five years old to wobble their way through Manhattan traffic with no helmet and no clue. People who aren’t experienced riders should absolutely not ride a bike on the streets of Manhattan. they are dangerous to everyone. But anyone driving a vehicle needs to remember that cars (and trucks) are more dangerous to bikers than bikers are to them, and bikers need to remember that they can kill pedestrians, too. This is one of the reasons why it’s good that we don’t have right on red here in NYC.</p>