hey folks
geez - seems i have had too much time to cruise the internet these days! here is something you should watch -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJmxCuPiM0c&eurl=http://www.ecovelo.info/...
a couple of things come to mind for me...first being that the rider has obviously had his fair share of near misses, i guess thats what prompted him to start filming his rides. also, it also appears that he is riding on some fairly busy roads - and there is no way for us to know if that is all there is for him to ride or if he is out there looking for "trouble".
i know we have all had our own personal share of these experiences - what i am wondering is what do you do to minimize these incidences yourself?
I always ride at least two
Submitted by anon on
I always ride at least two feet from the curb and try to shoulder check often (going to buy a mirror soon). Depending on the situation if a car is going to pass and the driver appears unwilling to provide a safe distance I will take more of the lane forcing them over and providing a larger buffer space. I have noticed that all I need to do is move an extra foot into the lane and the motorist will get the idea 80% of the time.
Awesome video
Submitted by pinkrobe on
The Calgary Safety council recommends a full meter out from the curb, and that's what I shoot for. If there's a shoulder, I'll use it, especially on the highway. When the city neglects to clear the streets after a snowfall [I know - it's rare], I ride in the clear track. If I can reasonably keep up with traffic [usually in rush hour], I'm taking the lane.
Please help me Ride to Conquer Cancer
Typical for Calgary traffic too
Submitted by PedalFaster on
I ride on the street almost exclusively and would say this video represents the attitude of the average Calgary driver pretty well too. About 50% of cars pass safely, another 25% pass too close, and the last 25% seem to be out to scare you intentionally. I was almost run over today on Edmonton Trail by a driver gunning it to cross from a side street, she either didn't see me or didn't care and I had to do a full on emergency stop in front of a bus stop full of people. It was broad daylight and I had high viz clothing on and lights flashing too. Remarkably, school buses, city buses, other city vehicles and other well marked commercial vehicles such as Handi-buses are often the culprits, the buses being some of the worst.
My strategy is simple, I ride where I am supposed to ride, try to be courteous to drivers, signal properly and so on. There's not much else you can do. I frequently call in complaints against aggressive drivers if they are in a company or city vehicle as well and have been lucky enough to pass a police car shortly after being squeezed by a car so have been able to get them involved a couple of times as well.
lane position for a cyclist....
Submitted by tyler883 on
with my motorcycle, I was taught to stay in the left side of the lane, so the drivers are naturally encouraged to get into the lane to the left of me before they pass.
A few times, I have been careless and have riden in the right side of the lane, and some idiot will come burning past me while sharing my lane.
The dilema with a bicycle is we seldom ride on the left side of the lane, so there is always a possibility to have a motorist burn past you while getting dangerously close to your bicycle.
I have a solution, but I'm not sure if it will be well liked by drivers or cyclists....the cyclist should take the shoulder when the shoulder is very spacious and offers a safety buffer between the cyclist and the motorvehicle...
AND, ( this is where the controversy will be )
whenever the cyclist has taken the lane, he should take enough of the lane to force the motorvehicle traffic into the other lane.
Riding just to the left of the white line is going to get one of us killed someday.
Take it, it's yours
Submitted by pinkrobe on
I don't feel bad about taking the lane at all. Riding downtown during rush hour, drivers like to do quick lane changes to get ahead in traffic. I have no problem with this, as I would do the same thing. I position myself so that I have a decent amount of space to react to a sudden lane change ahead of or beside me. This usually means being just left or just right of the middle of the lane. I'm safer, and I can't be passed in my own lane without making contact [not that I want that to happen]. Even on residential streets, I always position myself so that I won't be easily forced into the parking lane and the eventual parked car.
Please help me Ride to Conquer Cancer
buggie whip to establish width
Submitted by tyler883 on
One idea that we discussed in the coffee room today was orange buggy whips, but place the horizonal instead of vertical. We could use them to establsih that safety buffer between you and other vehicles. I'd recomend that you mount them so they are designed to be ripped away from your bike. if the buggy whip ever gets caught on the body of a car, it is better for you to lose the whip than to go for a tow.
like, old curb feelers...?
Submitted by critninja on
like, old curb feelers...? car feelers.
Only if we can use the whips
Submitted by PedalFaster on
Only if we can use the whips on the drivers.
But seriously this product has been available for years as a safety attachment for your bike or kids trailer. It is a 1 meter long fluorescent arm with an orange flag on the end that attaches to your stay with a small clamp. The arm pivots at the clamp so that you can have it sticking out horizontally into traffic or store/use it upright. The arm is flexible so that you can ride through narrow spaces (or be sideswiped) without damaging it or throwing you off of your bike.
You used to be able to find them at Canadian Tire, Walmart, and sports stores like Tuxedo cycle. Probably still can but I haven't checked.
Here's a link to a forum discussing flags in some detail including some funny and interesting posts. I like the idea of using a clear tube with led's or something inside as a light source for visibility. I have a small led kit that I have yet to mount on my bike, got it recently but don't ride in the dark much this time of year.
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-184372.html
Canadian Website
Submitted by tyler883 on
Here's a canadian website that sells the horizontal whip, plus a ton of other safety related products. The prices are darn reasonable, too
http://www.flashback.ca/index.html
PS: NO, I don't own stocks in the company ;-)