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Cyclists’ Rights & Making it Right in the Media
USA Today’s Drive On Blog recently had a provocative piece asking whether motorists have let cyclists rights go too far – apparently missing the irony that it was cyclists in the 1880s that literally paved the way for motor vehicles, while simultaneously laboring under the misunderstanding that people’s right to use the public right of way is held at the whim of motorists.
While no doubt hoping to stir a lively debate, the author rehashed the tired – and false – notion that motorists and cyclists are at war and cannot coexist peacefully. The overwhelming majority of cyclists has absolutely no intention or desire to deliberately obstruct motorists. A tiny minority of riders may be oblivious and thoughtless about what’s going on behind them – and very, very occasionally a critical mass ride or equivalent will deliberately fill up a street or intersection for a few minutes, once a month, in a handful of cities across the country. Not exactly apocalyptic stuff.
To be honest, drivers are very much more effective at clogging up city streets, twice a day, every work day, 52 weeks of the year, all by themselves without any help from cyclists. Seriously, if a few more people walked, took transit or biked instead…?!
In one case highlighted in the article, a driver – apparently already notorious among the Los Angeles bicycling community for similar prior behavior – passed a group of cyclists heading down a canyon road and deliberately slammed on the brakes in front of them, with fairly obvious consequences. He was mad at having to wait behind them.
By chance, my son and I were in the LA area the week after this happened. As we drove down some of the amazing canyon roads, at the speed limit, we were illegally passed by impatient motorists who crossed the solid yellow center lines on blind corners and as we approached intersections – not just once or twice, but enough times that it became something of a standing joke between us. Except that it isn’t funny when people get hurt.
The other case involved a Maryland driver who hit and killed a cyclist in front of her that she “didn’t see”. The USA Today article, local media and even early statements from the Maryland Highway Patrol suggested that if the rider had been in the right portion of the lane instead of the middle, the crash might have been prevented – a little hard to fathom, given that the motorist didn’t see the cyclist when he was straight in front of her. Surely we should expect drivers to be aware of what is going on right in front of them – and surely the news media and police should bolster that expectation, not excuse careless, dangerous or inattentive driving.
The author contacted the League for a “little perspective”. He used a “little” of what Jeff Peel had to say in response. He actually managed to single out phrases that had both cyclists and motorists irritated with us at the same time, which is no small feat!
Our Smart Cycling program teach that there are times when cyclists do need to take the lane, even on streets with bike lanes: when the bike lane or right hand side of the travel lane is blocked, or has a dangerous drainage grate or pothole, or has broken glass, piles of snow or leaves – all things which can cause a cyclist to crash. It’s really no different for motorists encountering delivery trucks, wheel-swallowing potholes, broken down vehicles, illegally parked cars, etc. You don’t just drive over them if you can help it.
There may be times when the travel lane is simply too narrow to share side by side with a car, and rather than ride in the gutter or on the sidewalk (surprising to many, sidewalks are among THE most likely places for everyday cyclists to get in a crash with a car) it is safer for the bicyclist and the motorist for the cyclist to ride in the center of the lane. Not to get in the way; and not on the interstate. A cyclist is more visible, and frankly more predictable, where you can see them and see their intentions.
There are times when a cyclist may be going straight ahead and there’s a right turn only lane – to the motorist, it may appear that the cyclist is “in the middle of the road”; to the cyclist, they are just trying to get where they are going without having someone turn right in front of them. The same is true if a cyclist is making a left turn – they should usually be making it from the left side of the lane or left-turn lane.
Truthfully, this whole debate isn’t really just about bicyclists and bicycling versus motorists and cars – even though that makes for better copy and more strident discussion. It’s about civility and safety on our streets, for which we all share responsibility. There are rogue cyclists and rogue drivers; and failure to comply with traffic laws – be they stop signs for cyclists or speed limits for motorists – is sadly endemic in our culture, and we tolerate it at our individual and collective peril every time we hit the road.
And don’t even get me started on cell phone use and texting while driving…or cycling.
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October 31st, 2009 at 11:56 am
If being “rogue” is failing to comply with traffic laws then everyone is rogue, which is nonsense. No one follows all of the traffic laws.
I find it absolutely frustrating that the LAB tells cyclist to always follows laws, such as stop signs, when doing so makes cycling a completely ineffective means of transportation in most communities. Stop signs make group bike rides impossible.
The easy way out is to put this burden on cyclists, as is being done above. It’s more difficult to fix the Uniform Vehicle Code and advocate for reasonable biking laws throughout the U.S.
Something, by the way, that bicycle advocates did in the 1880s and 1890s.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I’m going to have to disagree with Todd and go with LAB’s recommendation that cyclists obey traffic signals, including stop signs. My personal observation is that scofflaw cyclists are responsible for some of the hostility many drivers feel toward cyclists generally. If car-centric stop signs are breaking up a group ride or regular commute, lobby the local transportation department to change them to yield signs or to hybrid stop (motor vehicles)/ yield (bicycles) signs.
My thinking is that both drivers and cyclists need to know the rules of the road, obey the rules of the road, have a minimum level of competence at driving or cycling, and be considerate, reasonable, and patient.
These are the biggest things drivers need to be reminded of:
* Don’t pass a cyclist with less than 3 feet of clearance.
* Don’t underestimate how fast a cyclist might be traveling before pulling out into the road in front of him.
* Always check your blind spots before changing lanes, making a turn, or opening a door.
* The right side of the road is frequently full of debris that causes punctures. This may force cyclists to ride in the center of the lane.
* When cyclists ride less than 3 feet away from a line of parked cars, they risk getting doored. This too may force cyclists to ride in the center of the lane.
* Generally, try to be patient with cyclists who appear to be riding responsibly and in good faith.
* When cyclists have been hogging the road unreasonably long, give the horn a quick, light double-tap — not a long, angry honk — and give them a reasonable time to safely respond.
* More cyclists means more free parking spots for you.
These are the biggest things cyclists need to be reminded of:
* Never ride at night without lights, reflectors, and (preferably) at least one article of light-colored or reflective clothing.
* Always use hand signals.
* Always obey traffic signals and the rules of the road.
* Whenever there is a safe line of travel farther to the right of the road, take it to avoid holding up traffic.
* In jurisdictions that allow cyclists to ride several abreast, go single-file as soon as a car approaches from behind.
* When there is no safe alternative to riding in the center of a single lane for a prolonged stretch, pull over at reasonable intervals to let cars pass.
* Generally, be considerate of drivers and share the road in a way that doesn’t slow them up unreasonably.
* Don’t react angrily if you get honked at. (It just fuels the hostility; verbal expletives and obscene hand gestures appear to have triggered the LA swoop-and-stop doc’s assaults.)
Better traffic education and enforcement — for drivers and cyclists alike — would go a long way toward making the roads safer and more civil for everybody.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Todd, as a bicycle educator, I have totally disagree. In what way is exempting cyclists from the basic rules of the road going to make cycling safer, or make our roads safer for everyone? While stop signs may make group rides more difficult, they don’t make individual cycling more ineffective. Inconvenient sometimes? Sure. Lot’s of things in life are inconvenient. Wouldn’t everyone love to have the convenience of being able to blow through stop signs and red lights? But then there’s the little matter of crashes at intersections which invariably result from people (including cyclists) thinking that stop signs are inconvenient and obeying traffic laws is optional. If cyclists think stopping at a stop sign is inconvient, try a trip to the emergency room, the morgue, or a lawsuit against a cyclist who caused someone else to crash.
As a daily cyclist, I’ve had too many close calls with cyclists running red lights and stop signs. Yes it is serious–a 180 lb man moving at 15-20 mph is going to cause serious damage to another cylist or pedestrian’s body in a collision. A NYC Dep’t of Health study of 10 years of cyclist fatalities noted that cyclists themselves caused 11 pedestrian fatalities in that period.
Just last night a cyclist (no lights) flew through a stop sign, and I had to swerve to avoid him. If cyclists want safer roads, we can’t be exempting ourselves from rules that we want others to follow. We need to remind ourselves of Gandhi’s dictum: “Be the change you want to see in this world”.
Rich
November 11th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
The city I live in offers little in the way of any on-street amenities for cyclist. My route to work, on a city designated bike route, has no bike lanes and most traffic lights aren’t even activated by bicycles. I haven’t even seen one of those “Share the road” signs. So, most mornings, I feel like I’m out there alone against the traffic. While I try to be a good advocate for cycling, by offering a wave and “Thank You” to drivers who allow me the right of way, especially when it is due, it is clear to me that most drivers find me to be a hindrance on their commute.
As it appears that any on-street infrastructure, geared toward offering cover to cyclists, is years away, the best I can hope for, as the author points out, is for “civility and safety on our streets, for which we all share responsibility.”
One problem we face though is that our local bicycle clubs seem more geared toward promoting group rides than advocating for individual cyclists. These group rides do offer good opportunities for cyclists on the road and provides some safety in numbers, but let’s be honest; they are a hassle for drivers akin to encountering a funeral procession. When many of my neighbors read a news article about cycling, they aren’t equating it with me trying to get through the intersection down the street, they are thinking about the 25 guys strung out for a quarter of a mile at the end of rush hour on Tuesday evening. One local ride through a neighboring suburb has apparently resulted in a large number of riders being ticketed for not stopping at a stop sign. What the public read in the paper is that “Cyclists aren’t obeying the laws…”
The line about “we all share responsibility” is key. Especially when, what I think we are all fighting for is “legitimacy on the road”, both as individuals and as a group.
As I ride home from work tonight, in the dark and dressed up like a traffic cone, I’m hoping for two things: That the guy coming up behind me will cut me some slack by letting be pass through the intersection before he passes me and that he didn’t encounter the Tuesday night ride this week.