Street skills

Editor's Notes

1. Introductions Feedback
2. Certified instructors from League of american bicyclists
3. Bicycling safely on the street involves being seen by other drivers, and communicating your intentions through your position and signaling. Being visible is essential for all of these. The 64-dollar technical word for this being visible to others is “ conspicuity ”. Let’s explore options for making you and your bicycle more visible, or conspicuous, whether you’re riding in the daytime , at night , or in early morning or evening .
4. Until the other drivers see you and recognize what you are and how fast you’re going, they can’t adjust their speed and direction to yours. Before you can be recognized, you must be seen – that’s detection . Making yourself and your bike more conspicuous helps this occur at a greater distance , and also faster in the other driver’s visual system. Seeing you isn’t enough. To react properly they must also recognize you and judge your speed and direction . By making yourself not only visible but also quickly identifiable as a bicyclist , you help recognition occur faster. Using lighting, reflectors, and clothing colors that say “bicyclist” speeds up this process. Only after you’re both seen and recognized can a driver react to you. By taking steps to speed up detection and recognition, you give that driver more time and distance to react safely and smoothly.
5. Here’s a figure that shows the importance of early detection and recognition . Notice that for some time and distance after seeing the object ahead, the motorist hasn’t reacted by braking or steering. That’s because their brain hasn’t yet completed the detection and recognition process, and activated the muscles. This “perception-reaction delay” occurs in all traffic interactions. By making yourself detectable and recognizable from further away, you leave more time – possibly much more time – for the driver to accommodate you, whether that involves braking, steering, yielding, slowing to let you in, or delaying a turn.
6. So how can you make yourself conspicuous ? Conspicuity means standing out from the background . The way to achieve this is different depending on whether it’s day or night . In the daytime your surroundings are lit by sunlight . The eye’s color receptors are active, and you can use both brightness and color to stand out. Special colors such as neon green and bright yellow not only stand out especially well against the usual streetscape (which aids detection), but also identify you as a cyclist (which helps with recognition ). At night your surroundings are mostly dark, with lighting only by streetlights, car headlights, and your bike’s headlights and taillights. Even high contrast colors don’t help much because the human eye’s color receptors require a lot of light input. Lights let you be seen and recognized at night whether or not a car’s headlights are pointing at you – that’s especially important when entering an intersection . Reflectors on your bike’s frame and pedals can form a “ signature ” that helps drivers recognize you, and additional reflectors can greatly exceed the legal minimum requirement with which most bikes are equipped, at a low cost.
7. Remember that for a driver to react to you they must first detect and recognize you. Certain colors can help with both tasks. U.S. road workers have worn bright orange for decades, so that color now helps drivers detect them and recognize them earlier. Yellow and fluorescent lime-green can give you the same advantages because they have become identified as “ bicyclist colors ”. Remember this when choosing jerseys , windbreakers , rain gear , and helmets . A helmet is your highest point of visibility in traffic – sometimes it’s the only thing that a driver 2 cars behind you can see – so make it bright . When buying bike accessories for visibility, realize that any bike shop can get a brighter version of an item in their store in just a few days from the same big national distributors. If you’ve waited a while to buy some gear, take a few extra days to get it in a bright color. Flourescent materials such as lime-green bike jackets are exceptionally bright in the daytime because they “steal spectrum” from other colors. Ordinary materials absorb all wavelengths except the color they show, but fluorescent materials also convert other wavelengths into their color. This is why lime-green fluorescent material jumps out at twilight – it’s converting the extra ultraviolet rays available at that time of day into more bright green photons. Flourescent Yellow-Green , also known as “FYG” in the safety trade, has been used for many years by road agencies in Europe and is now being adopted in the U.S. because it’s so effective. You may have also seen new pedestrian-crossing and school safety signs in this color. Although flourescent colors are super-bright in the daytime, they offer only a minor advantage at night , when reflectivity and illumination are more important.
8. The law establishes minimum equipment requirements for night riding. These assume that car headlights may illuminate the bike from behind or to the sides, but don’t assume illumination from the front. In the absence of a taillight, the red tail reflector and yellow pedal reflectors are most important for safety because they let you be detected from the rear. However, bike lighting technology has advanced quite a bit since these rules became law. For example, Vistalite didn’t invent the red Light Emitting Diode (“LED”) taillight until the 1980’s. Side reflectors are not much help because they can only be illuminated by headlights when the bicycle is already in the path of the car. To warn other drivers before crossing their path, you must use a headlight. Street-legal bike headlights must serve two functions: visibility to others, and lighting the road . The headlight must be seen from ahead and to the sides , and must illuminate the road at least a bit. Even a flashlight attached to the handlebars with a bungee cord is a legal bike headlight if it lights the road.
9. As an adult street cyclist you can, and should,exceed the minimum for front and rear illumination. There’s another reason to do better – the legal minimum requirements were written with kids’ toy bicycles in mind. Since the introduction of the mountain bike in the early 1980’s, bike headlight technology has been driven by nighttime off-road trail riding . Lights as bright as 85 watts (brighter than a car headlamp) are available if you have money to burn. For around-town riding, 10 watts is plenty and even 3 watts in a well-designed headlamp will suffice on city streets. The headlight need not be on the bike – some cyclists use head- or helmet-mounted lights alone or in combination with bike-mounted units. Some cyclists use both a legal main headlight and a “backup” warning headlight , so if the batteries run down on the main light they still inform drivers ahead and to the sides of their approach. With today’s technology there’s no excuse for not using a taillight. LED taillights run as long as 1,000 hours on two AA batteries, in blinking mode. Both blinking and solid modes are legal in California. (In parts of Europe, blinking lights are reserved for emergency vehicles.)
10. This video shows the importance of having a headlight on the front of your bike, and how a front reflector alone isn’t safe.
11. Before we learn the safest ways to ride a bike on the street, let’s find out how a bicycle is defined under the law, and what rights and responsibilities the law gives a bicycle driver .
12. Many states use a standardized set of traffic laws called the Uniform Vehicle Code, or UVC . California didn’t adopt the UVC; it has its own California Vehicle Code , known as the CVC . In the UVC a bicycle is defined as a vehicle, but in the CVC it’s something else – a “device”. As we’ll see in a few slides, this obscure difference turns out to be a good thing for cyclists.
13. The important thing is that the CVC says that cyclists and motor vehicle drivers are the same under the law. In other words, cyclists are drivers . The CVC also says that its entire content applies to cyclists except for sections having to do with engines and other motor vehicle specific things. (So when a judge “throws the book at you”, it’s the same book – the CVC – that she’ll throw at a motorist :-)
14. In summary, California cyclists may use the same roads as motorists, with 2 exceptions: a) Most urban freeways (because there are nearby alternate routes) b) The traffic lanes of all toll bridges (unless specifically permitted by a sign) California cyclists also have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle drivers. And, although it might not appear so at first, all wheeled traffic follows the same operating rules regardless of whether it is motorized : 1. When proceeding straight, keep to the right if you’re slower (“ speed positioning ”) 2. At intersections, proceed according to where you’re going (“ destination positioning ”) 3. When approaching any intersection, transition to the right or left to exchange places with other drivers to get ready for destination positioning ahead Bike lanes follow these 3 rules if they’re striped correctly. A bike lane follows speed positioning between intersections, because cyclists are faster than parked cars and usually slower than motor vehicles (and fast cyclists are allowed to move out of the bike lane). When a bike lane approaches an intersection with a right turn pocket, what happens? First it goes dashed, then it vanishes (that’s the transition area ), then the bike lane reappears to the left of the right turn lanes -- that’s destination dositioning . As you’ll see later in the class, experienced cyclists choose their line of travel in the same way regardless of whether there’s a bike lane .
15. Now that we’ve discussed crash types and visibility, let’s cover riding between intersections – what engineers call the “midblock” environment. Between intersections, traffic sorts itself out by speed – pedestrians off the street, parked and stopped traffic at the curb or edge, slow traffic next, and faster traffic out toward the center of the roadway. When choosing a line of travel between intersections, experienced cyclists stay clear of debris near the roadway edge and the door zone along parked cars. Then they position their bicycles according to two factors: How fast they’re moving relative to other traffic Whether their lane is wide enough to share side by side with vehicles Let’s explore the possibilities.
16. Cyclists are required to ride as far to the right as “practicable”, which means “safe and reasonable”. This usually means you’ll travel to the right of other through traffic, except when you’re moving as fast as they are, or when the space is too narrow to share side by side. On a multilane one-way street the “slow side” is the left edge of the leftmost through lane, and you’re allowed to travel there too.
17. First, recall that the California Vehicle Code allows you to leave the right edge of the roadway, or a bike lane if one exists, for 5 good reasons . Two follow from destination positioning – you don’t want your path to conflict with others who might cross paths with you: Preparing for left turns, and Avoiding right turn areas The remaining three follow speed positioning (faster is toward the center, slower is toward the edge): Traveling as fast as normal traffic Passing slower traffic, and Avoiding obstacles (objects whose speed is zero, which is slower than yours) These reasons are spelled out in two separate CVC sections, one that applies to bike lane, and one for streets without bike lanes.
18. You may be surprised to learn that you’re allowed to use the shoulder of any freeway unless there is a “Bicycles Prohibited” sign at the entrance. California freeways are open to bicycles unless posted. Bikes are allowed on over 1,000 miles of California freeway shoulders . In rural areas that’s often the only direct way to bike between towns. In a few urban areas there is no reasonable way to bike between interchanges so the freeway may be opened to bikes for one or more exits. The CVC treats toll bridges and toll tunnels differently. On these facilities bikes are prohibited unless specifically allowed by a sign at the entrance -- the opposite of how freeways are regulated. In the Bay Area’s, none of the shoulders of toll bridges are open to bicycles. The Golden Gate, Dumbarton, and Antioch bridges have separate pathways for nonmotorized traffic, and the remainging bridges have transit service. The Bay Bridge also has a commuter bicycle shuttle van with a trailer.
19. Remember that in California a “bicycle” is a device, not a “vehicle”? The reason that’s good for cyclists is that the CVC allows local agencies to decide which streets certain classes of vehicles can use -- one example is truck routes. If bicycles were “vehicles” in California , cities and counties could ban them from any street unless the CVC specifically excluded bicycles from this permission. Because bicycles are “devices”, local agencies can’t ban bicycles from public streets. The two signs in the top half of this slide are illegal and could be challenged in court. However, the CVC does allows local agencies to regulate sidewalk cycling . If there’s no local ordinance, it’s legal. Some cities ban it everywhere, some ban it above a certain age, and some only ban it where there are lots of walkers, such as in business districts. That’s Palo Alto’s approach. On the bottom part of the slide, the sidewalk regulation sign and curb ramp marking are both legal in California.
20. When riding on paths, don’t travel faster than is reasonable for conditions. Your “stopping sight distance” may change frequently on a path -- more so than on the street. Whenever you can’t see behind landscaping or fences where a person or animal might dart out, slow down enough that you could stop safely if you needed to. In general, overtake on the left just as you would on the street. It’s courteous to warn others when you’re preparing to pass, and a bike bell is ideal for this. Because many walkers don’t follow the “pass on the left” rule, it works best if you move into passing position before issuing the warning. If you don’t, they may not know which way to move after they see you. Some path users wear headphones and may not hear your warning. If necessary -- especially around animals -- slow to walking speed.
21. One of the challenges of street cycling is staying clear of the “door zone” along parked cars – even when that means holding a line of travel that’s closer to moving cars than you might prefer. Experienced cyclists know that the door zone is more dangerous than moving traffic , because if you’ve established your position on the road each driver who passes you will see you and move past you, even they’re delayed a bit. An opening car door, however, can kill or severely injure you instantly. More on this in the next slide. As this slide shows, staying out of the door zone also makes you more visible when approaching a driveway or minor cross street . When you leave space between your bike and the line of parked cars, you’re positioned where the cross-street driver is looking for approaching vehicles. If the last parked vehicle is a truck or a big SUV, keeping a good separation lets you be seen a second or two earlier than if you hug the fenders. Experienced cyclists ride where other drivers will be looking.
22. Here’s a video that shows the difference between riding in the door zone and riding safely outside it. For your safety you may have to ride with your tire next to the stripe, or even outside the bike lane. The law allows you to avoid hazards along the roadway edge – even potential hazards like car doors that might open.
23. At normal bike riding speeds of 12 to 15 mph, you simply can’t stop in time to avoid a car door that opens 1 car length in front of you. (You can only stop in time if you’re traveling at “half speed” or less, which we’ll discuss when we talk about riding in downtown areas.) Riding at normal speed in the door zone while watching for car doors that might open is like playing Russian Roulette because: Many vehicles have rear doors or tinted windows that you can’t see through . A driver or passenger may be leaned over to pick something up, then open the door. The door may turn out to be wider than you had counted on avoiding. An opening car door can kill or injure you in at least 3 ways : Your body and head impact the door and window Your torso impacts the door, but your head keeps going . (Consider your neck height relative to the top of the door. Think “French Revolution”!) Your body misses the door completely, but your right handlebar strikes the door , jerking the bike to the left and throwing you into traffic . Right-handlebar impact apparently led to the dooring fatality shown here. An experienced commuter cyclist was traveling legally within what looks like a 5-foot-wide bike lane – but only the leftmost 2 feet is somewhat safe. A bus was on her left; you can see it in the first image. Experienced cyclists don’t waste time guessing whether a door might open. Instead, they negotiate a safe line of travel outside the door zone before reaching the parked cars, even if it puts all or part of their bike outside a bike lane . Obtaining and holding a safe line of travel can be stressful in busy traffic, but it’s not dangerous. It also frees up your attention to interact with other drivers rather than worrying about doors.
24. Some cyclists who know enough to ride outside the door zone still dart in toward the curb between parked cars. Maybe they think staying far from moving traffic keeps them safer. However, when they reenter traffic just before the next parked car, they can surprise motorists behind them who haven’t noticed them until now. In this image the cyclist made this mistake. If the street wasn’t curving to the left, and the cyclist wasn’t wearing visible clothing , a driver coming up behind might not notice the cyclist until he or she merged back out into the lane at the next parked car. Experienced cyclists try to remain continually visible from behind, so they’re noticed as early as possible. You don’t want any surprises! It’s safer to hold your line so you stay visible and maintain control of the space ahead of you. This frees you from having to merge back into traffic at the next parked car. If you want to move a bit to the right in a long gap between parked cars, shift over only to the fender line so you can always be seen from behind . When preparing to reestablish your safe line of travel before the next parked car, do your shoulder check well in advance, and signal “moving left” with your left arm pointed downward at an angle (DEMONSTRATE). Approaching drivers, whether coming up behind you, coming toward you from the opposite direction, or on a side street, aren’t always looking where you’ll be . They’re busy paying attention to other things on the street. It’s safer to remain a constant visual feature so you’re picked up when their “ visual radar ” sweeps across your path. This often means riding where the other drivers will expect a car to appear.
25. Being safe on the road includes being seen , and seeing . We’ve covered the first part - choosing clothing, reflectors, and lights to keep ourselves visible day or night. Now for the second part -- seeing other traffic, even if it’s behind you. Before moving into another driver’s way, you need to be able to look back long enough to see what’s there and how fast it’s going. Looking is an essential part of yielding safely. Q: How do you do this when you’re driving a car? A: Turn your head A: Use your mirrors (driver’s door, overhead rear-view, passenger-side door) Both options are available to cyclists. Can you comfortably check over your shoulder without swerving ? If not, you’re almost guaranteed to feel scared on the street. Fortunately, mastering this fundamental skill takes only 10 to 20 minutes . The pictures show 3rd graders and adults doing shoulder-checks . The kid on the left is checking for traffic before moving out and around an obstacle . (The teacher is holding a poster of a truck that’s blank on the back.) The other child is checking before a left turn . The adult cyclists are both preparing to move into the street to safely cross diagonal railroad tracks . If you’re uncomfortable looking behind while moving, first practice while stopped , with both feet on the ground. Turn your head to either side without turning the handlebars. Add brief backward glances, and practice looking longer until you could see a car and decide whether the driver will let you in. Then practice while riding on a schoolyard or empty parking lot . If you have a helper , have them hold up fingers for you to count . When ready, practice on a street with very light traffic . [IF DOING DEMO] I’ll demonstrate the shoulder check outside after the next break .
26. Every time you want to change your line of travel to the left or right, you must check over that shoulder . In moderate-speed traffic – no more than about 15 mph faster than you – you can negotiate with other drivers to change lanes. One reason you might do this is to get ready to turn left into a driveway or get into a left turn pocket. When you’re negotiating across lanes like this, it’s safer if you do 2 shoulder checks and moves per lane. Do the first check before you start to move left. Instead of crossing over into the next lane immediately, only move to the lane line and do another check. This lets you deal with only one lane of traffic at a time. Don’t attempt this if traffic is moving a lot faster than you , because overtaking motorists won’t have time to negotiate with you after they see you. Instead, either wait for a safe gap to cross all the lanes at once, or find another way to make the turn. The next section of the class deals with intersections, and we’ll learn 3 safe ways to turn left.
27. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Q: Is this a bike lane ? No? Why not? [DON’T CLICK YET] A: [Some possible answers:] The bike area isn’t wide enough The stripe isn’t wide enough There’s no BIKE LANE pavement marking . There’s no BIKE LANE sign . Q: OK, if it’s not a bike lane – what is it? A: [CLICK] It’s an “edge line”. Q: What’s it for? A: To show where the driveable area of the road ends. Before there were bike lanes, there were lines striped to the right of where cars drive. Their purpose is right-side guidance for motorists , not left-side guidance for cyclists. Q: Are you required to ride to the right of this stripe? A: No! Q: Does the right lane look wide enough to share side by side with cars? A: Pretty much; it’s a fairly shareable lane at this point
28. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Since we’re on the subject of stripes, remember that a bike lane with parking doesn’t always provide enough width for you to safely ride entirely to the right of the stripe. Here’s a really wide bike lane with parking, where you could safely do that. It’s 2 feet wider than the 12-foot minimum. We’ve shown the door zone in red and a cyclist’s possible wheel track in green.
29. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Here’s a narrower bike lane with parking. Once you’ve subtracted the door zone, can you safely ride to the right of the stripe? No, you’ll need to ride outside it or risk having your right handlebar strike an opening door. This isn’t a busy street, but if it was, you’d have to negotiate a safe line of travel outside the bike lane beforer you reached the parked cars.
30. Let’s discuss two factors that determine your line of travel: lane width , and relative speed . You don’t need to know exactly how wide a lane is, but you should be able to tell which of these 3 lane width categories your lane matches: “ Narrow” (also known as “unshareable”): Too narrow to ride side by side with cars, regardless of your speed. “ Normal” (also known as “wide” or “shareable”): Wide enough to ride side by side with cars, but not extra-wide. “ Extra wide”: Shareable, but with enough extra width that cars could double up if you let them, or cut you off at intersections. It’s always unsafe to try and share a narrow lane , because you can be forced off the road by an impatient driver. Instead, establish a line of travel that leads drivers approaching from behind you to pass safely , either using another lane on a multilane road, or the opposite lane on a 2-lane road. To force this conscious passing decision, you need not ride in the exact center of your lane – only far enough out that cars can’t squeeze by you. Motorists will try to squeeze by you if they think they can keep their left fender inside the lane. Usually, moving your line of travel just a foot or two to the left makes the difference, and it looks appropriately assertive rather than “aggressive”. As with any lateral move, you don’t just shift your position – you check behind you and negotiate if necessary.
31. This slide shows a cyclists claiming the lane in a downtown area. This is also called “taking the lane”. Using her road position, she controls the space around her and can make it easy or hard for motorists to pass just by shifting a bit to the left or right. Cyclists should claim the lane: When the lane or travel space is too narrow to safely share side by side When traveling as fast as motor traffic, as is the case in this scene When the space is wide enough to share, but doing so would invite a cutoff by a motorist who wants to make a turn
32. Here’s a video that shows the wrong way and right way to ride in a lane that’s too narrow to share.
33. The second lane width type is called “shareable” – wide enough that cars can pass , but not so wide that they can double up . (Lanes of this width are sometimes called “wide lanes” by bicycle planners, because road designers who aren’t thinking about bikes tend to make all the lanes 12 feet wide, which we call “narrow”. A “wide outside lane” makes a busy street much more comfortable for cycling, even in heavy traffic.) In a shareable lane your position depends on your speed relative to other traffic. If you’re moving slower, share the lane and make it easy for other traffic to pass you. However, if you’re moving as fast as other traffic – either because motor traffic is moving slow, or you’re biking fast – it’s safest to get in line with vehicles so the driver behind you can keep you in view. If you share side-by-side at the same speed, you risk being in the adjacent driver’s blind spot , where you could be forgotten and cut off if they move to the right.
34. Here the street is wide enough that even though it has on-street parking, there is room to be passed safely without having to ride in the door zone. We’ve highlighted the street to show this. The cyclist is allowing the vehicle to pass by sharing the remaining space. If the street was narrower, so that the remaining space after subtracting the door zone was too narrow to safely share, the cyclist would have to either claim the lane (which is fairly easy to do on a slow downtown street) or else slow to a speed that enables stopping in one car length -- that’s only half of normal “cruising” speed, or even less.
35. The third and last lane width category is “extra wide”. As with a shareable lane, you allow passing if you’re moving slower than other traffic. However, don’t put the “extra” width between you and the cars that are passing you, because doing so makes it easy for a motorist to cut you off at a cross street or driveway. Instead, maintain the same distance from passing traffic as you would have in a normal shareable lane. If you’re moving as fast as other traffic , you single up as you would in a normally-wide shareable lane, leaving all the remaining width to your right. On many streets, the usable outside lane width may change frequently due to turn lanes or unmarked turning areas at intersections, parked cars, and other factors. You have to look ahead and determine whether you’re riding into a narrow, wide, or extra-wide lane situation. Be prepared to negotiate a different line of travel for your safety. When looking ahead, be sure to subtract the door zone from the usable width of the lane. Changes in the effective lane width are one reason why experienced cyclists may adjust their line of travel fairly frequently , unlike motorists who can basically keep their car pointed in a straight line block after block.
36. Here’s an example of an extra wide lane at an intersection . There’s room for 2 or even 3 vehicles at the limit line, and probably for 2 vehicles on the approach beside the parked car. This cyclist is waiting to go through , so he positions his bike in the normal sharing position relative to the car on his left. This clearly indicates that will proceed through, and it also lets right turners pull up on his right and even turn right on red if desired.
37. Here the cyclist was traveling in a lane that was wide enough to share side by side while staying safely out of the door zone. However, she has decided to “single up” with cars for two reasons: A truck is double-parked just ahead, so this shareable lane briefly becomes a narrow lane She is traveling as fast as the slow downtown traffic anyway, and doesn’t want to ride in the rolling blind spot of motorists on her left.
38. The cyclist passes the double-parked truck using a “lane taking” position that’s appropriate for this narrow space.
39. Most car-bike crashes that happen to adult cyclists involve turning or crossing movements. Most of those occur at intersections – either between two streets , or between a street and a driveway . We’ll explain how to choose the correct lane, and the correct position in the lane , for any intersection. We’ll also show 4 ways to make left turns .
40. If part of your route is on a shared-use path, be careful when entering and leaving the path from the street. Cyclists are almost always required to stop or yield where a path meets a street. Only when a path crosses a very low-volume street will an agency give path traffic priority over street traffic by posting a STOP or YIELD sign on the street. Even if there is no STOP or YIELD sign posted on the path, proceed as if there was such a sign. Path-street intersections basically happen in two places: at a street-street intersection (like the big image) and at midblock (like the small image). If the path connects into a street-street intersection, motorists may not realize that cyclists will be entering and leaving the roadway. Because the path effectively adds a 5th leg to a 4-way street-street intersection, communicate with drivers to be sure it’s your turn to go. If the paths meets a street at midblock, motorists may not be aware that bicycle traffic may be entering the street at that point. When you reach the street, move up far enough to see and be seen. Avoid violating the “Rules of the Road”when turning into and out of paths. If necessary for your safety, walk your bike through a crosswalk rather than making an unexpected and dangerous movement across a street.
41. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Here’s a bike lane approaching an intersection. The stripe is solid between intersections (except when crossing major driveways), dashed when leading up to the transition area, and there might be a through bike lane at the limit line. Q: This particular bike lane is also dashed across the transition area. Should you depend on its path to tell you where to do your shoulder check and move left? A: No, you decide when to make your move depending on traffic conditions. Q: There’s a bit of history on this slide. Can you see it? A: The dark line slanting toward the curb is where an old shoulder stripe was ground off. Some stripes are painted on, but others are “thermoplastic” that is applied with heat, like an iron-on T-shirt transfer . When you want to change a painted marking you just scuff it off the pavement. However, more and more agencies are using thermoplastic because modern environmental regulations prohibit the use of smog-forming oil-based paints on the streets, and the environmentally safe traffic paints only last a year or two . “Thermo” lasts much longer – 15 years or more depending on traffic and weather – but if you need to change it you have to grind it off , and that leaves a gouge in the paveement like you see here.
42. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Here’s that same bike lane closer to the intersection. Unlike a shoulder stripe, which we saw a few slides back, a through bike lane next to a right turn only lane will always be to its left, which follows destination positioning.
43. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Q: OK, suppose you’re going through and you got here first on a red light. Where should you position your bike to be safest? A1: In the bike lane by the curb? What could happen? (A car driver could pull up on your left and want to turn right on red or when the light changes) A2: On the right edge of the through-and-right lane ? (Are you far enough over to the right that someone could still squeeze a car up to your left and try to turn right in front of you?) A3: On the left edge of the through-and-right lane ? (What if a car pulled up on your right but didn’t turn right – maybe the driver thinks you’re turning left? [Actually, left turns are prohibited here] That car could zoom ahead of you when the light changed, forcing you to work your way back over to the right. A4: Centered in the through-and-right lane , blocking right turn on red That’s a good approach. You get to choose whether to allow right turn on red, but the downside is that some drivers will pull up on your right and want to continue through. If this happens, just let them go and signal to drivers behind them that you want to get back over to your right.
44. At intersections where right turns are permitted but there is no right turn lane, the rightmost car lane is always a through-and-right lane . If you’re going through and you stay along the curb like the cyclist in the left-hand figure, you can get cut off by a right turner. Where there is no right turn lane, a bike lane will often be continued up to the stop line or crosswalk , either with a dashed or solid line. Don’t stay in it unless you’re turning right. The California Vehicle Code specifically allows you to move out of a right turn area whether or not there’s a bike lane. Whether or not there’s a bike lane, it’s safer to move to the left of right turning traffic . You do this by checking over your shoulder before you get to the conflict area, and negotiating a change of place with drivers who want to turn right. What if you get there first and a motorist pull ups behind you and wants to make a right turn on red ? You decide whether there’s a safe place to move your bike that will allow them to do that – it’s your choice . You don’t want to simply move left, because the next motorist might want to go through, and they’d be on your right side. Sometimes the only way you can achieve this is to move forward into the crosswalk. This is technically illegal – you’re supposed to wait behind the limit line, which is the first line of a crosswalk. But at suburban intersections where there aren’t a lot of pedestrians it’s a reasonable thing to consider. If you’re not comfortable moving your bike to let a motorist turn right, just hold your ground – don’t move to the curb.
45. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com OK, here’s another test. Q: Which lane would you choose to turn right ? A: (The right lane.) Q: Why not the bike lane ? A: Because it’s not the rightmost lane that goes where you’re going. That’s right – bike lanes don’t change the destination positioning rule! Q: Which movements does this bike lane serve? A: Only the through movement. Q: So how would you make a left turn? A: From the through-and-left lane.
46. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com This is the same bike lane, up at the intersection. Remember the lane assignments? Q: Could this cyclist turn left ? A: Not from the bike lane – at least until the through-and-left lane is empty . A: The cyclist could do a box turn by going through and then turning the bike. The cyclist could also go through to the far corner, and then use the crosswalk like a pedestrian
47. To explain intersections we’ll mostly use the flip-chart, but let’s start with the cyclist’s rule for approaching any intersection . Choose the rightmost lane that goes where you want to go The set of lanes that go where you want to go is your channel . A channel may have more than 1 lane, and a lane may serve 2 or more channels. If there is no right turn lane, the curb lane serves both the through and right-turn channel. Always choose the rightmost lane in your channel – even if it serves another channel. You do this because cars accelerate faster – otherwise you’ll be on the left of faster traffic and have to negotiate your way back over. (The only exception is if you’re turning left just after the intersection.) 2. Don’t share the lane or space unless it’s wide enough and has no turning conflict When you’ve identified the correct lane in your channel, decide whether you can share it safely. If it only goes one place AND it’s wide enough, it’s OK to share. Don’t share it if it also serves another destination and a car on your left or right side could cross your path. One example is trying to share a through-and-right lane when you’re going through – the car on your left might turn in front of you. On the other hand, if you’re going through from the rightmost through-and-left lane, a car on your left can only go where you’re going, or turn left. Also, don’t share a narrow lane . If it’s not safe to share or you can’t be sure , just line up with cars and get ready to pedal.
48. To turn left like a car , use the rightmost left turn lane. (Make U-turns from the leftmost lane.) At some signals, the oncoming left turn phase runs at the same time as your left turn, or may overlap its interval. If this is the case at your intersection, don’t swing wide in the middle of the intersection to give extra room to cars turning left with you. Instead, stay in the stream until you’re past the oncoming left turn hazard. When exiting any intersection, watch out for “corner hazards”. One is the motorist making a right turn on red. Another is the “McDonald’s Effect” -- a destination on the corner such as a fast-food restaurant or gas station that motorists turning left with you may want to turn right into. If this is a possibility, stay singled-up in the outer line of turning traffic as you exit the intersection, to deter right turn cutoffs until you’re past the corner property. Return to side by side sharing only when it’s safe to do so. If you were going to turn left soon after leaving this intersection, you might want to move to the left side of the left-turning stream while making your turn, rather than having to negotiate across the new street from right to left. That’s called a “linked turn”, and we won’t cover it on these slides.
49. As kids we learned to make left turns by getting off our bike and becoming a pedestrian, then getting back on the bike when we leave the intersection. This “pedestrian-style” left turn is still legal and safe for adults. Whenever you’re walking your bike, you’re legally a pedestrian. However, that not the case if you ride your bike in the crosswalk from corner to corner. That’s a “gray area” in the law, so you could be found at fault if you had a collision while riding in a crosswalk. There’s another legal issue about riding in crosswalks. Remember that cities can regulate sidewalk cycling, and even prohibit it? If the boundary between two cities falls in the middle of the street, as is often the case, you might be riding from a city where sidewalk cycling is permitted, into one where it’s prohibited.
50. If you’d like to stay on your bike but don’t want to turn left with vehicles, another option is the “box turn”, where you start through but then turn your bike and wait in the cross street through channel . This requires knowing the signal timing , because you must allow time to reach the cross street waiting position and turn your bike. For this reason, don’t attempt this unless you’re familiar with the intersection . Each movement of the box turn is legal and is safe if done properly. You begin by approaching the intersection as if you’re going through, avoiding the right turn conflict area. In fact, you do start through, but once you’re past the right turn area you head for the cross street approach. Not all the way to the corner, because that would put you in a through-and-right conflict, but instead to the rightmost through lane on that street. This part of the maneuver may get you some quizzical looks from cross street motorists, but they’ll understand once they see you turn the bike. Stop in the crosswalk or beside the first through vehicle, then lift your bike and align it with your new street. If you have time and its safe in terms of the destinations your lane serves, back your bike out of the crosswalk and wait beside the front of the first car, where the driver can see you. When the light turns green for the cross street, just proceed normally. For intersections you visit frequently, you may find that doing a box turn can get you through the intersection faster than using the left turn pocket, depending on when you arrive in the signal cycle.
51. Now that we know how to approach intersections and get through them safely, how do you get the light to turn green if there are no cars going where you’re going? Here are 3 ways to do it. The first one is the pedestrian pushbutton , which we used when we were kids and we walked our bikes across the intersection. Some intersections have bike crossing buttons too; they have a green plate and a bike symbol, and they’re located at the curb instead of at the crosswalk. They often just trigger a pedestrian cycle , but sometimes they call for a longer than normal green light without a Walk cycle. The third way is to trip the signal like a car . Now that we know how important it is to choose the right position when approaching an intersection, let’s examine these 3 options for tripping signals.
52. Putting aside the pushbutton options for a moment, how do cars trip signals ? You’ve seen these dark shapes in the road, right? What are they? [WAIT FOR RESPONSES]
53. Those shapes in the road are called “inductive loops”. They’re metal detectors , just like the ones people use to find lost jewelry at the beach. The coil in the road carries a weak radio-frequency signal that’s produced in the big box behind the curb. When metal gets in the way, the signal changes – just like a cheap radio – and the signal controller can sense this like an on/off switch . It can’t tell whether the metal is a bike or car or truck , only that there’s enough in the lane to trip the switch. The whole circuit is called a “loop detector”, or “inductive loop detector”. Loops come in different shapes . Some have wires in the middle where a bike might wait. Others only have wires around the perimeter so they have a dead spot in the center for bikes. The loop in the photo is a “Type D” shape that’s sensitive to bikes over its entire area. (Installing a loop is a labor-intensive process. First, grooves are cut into the pavement using a giant circular saw blade like you’d see in a sawmill. Next, a worker blows the dust out of the grooves and threads wires around the cuts several times and then back to the box by the roadside. Last, a sealant glues the wires into the cuts – that’s the dark stuff you see on the pavement. Of course all this is done with the lane closed .)
54. Sometimes you’ll either see no loop or what appears to be many overlapped cuts : Q: There are several reasons why you might not see a loop . Can you think of 3 ? A1: The street was repaved and the loop was covered over (they still work OK) A2: There are no loops because the signal is on a fixed time cycle (clock-driven). This is often the case in downtowns and business districts with a signal every block. A3: There are no loops because the signal uses video detection instead. (Look for a big white camera up on the signal support pole. More on video detection later.) If you see lots of cuts, the loop was probably replaced , and there’s probably an active loop somewhere in there. If you’re pretty sure there’s a loop but you’re not sure where it is, try centering your bike in the lane , 1 wheel length before the stop bar or crosswalk. If your bike isn’t loaded with cargo, “dip it” toward the pavement to get more metal near the loop. If the signal still doesn’t change, and no cars have shown up to trip it for you, you have several options. If you’re waiting to go through or turn left and there’s a pedestrian button at the crosswalk that serves your movement, use it carefully , being sure not to get cut off if a car shows up and goes when you do. If there’s no button, you have the legal right to proceed against the red light – just as if you were driving a car and the detector was not working . There may be one last possibility, depending on where you’re going. Is there another route you could take by turning right from where you’re waiting? Be sure to report non-functioning detectors to the city’s Traffic Engineering department , and to its Bicycle Advisory Committee if there is one.
55. Progressive cities now have a way to tell cyclists where the loop is, and the best place to wait on the loop. If you see this white symbol with two “tire marks” and a cyclist icon, it’s right over the “sweet spot” of the loop, usually in the rightmost through lane . Sometimes you’ll also see one in the rightmost left turn lane . Roll your bike onto the symbol as shown in the figure . It’s still possible that the signal won’t respond – loops do wear out , and some signal technicians are still learning how sensitive to make the circuit that “listens” to the loop. (They don’t want to make it too sensitive, because it will start to detect big trucks in the next lane .) If your bike doesn’t trip the signal, report the intersection , travel direction , and specific lane to the city traffic engineer. Does your city use this symbol on its loops? It’s not just for bike lanes , but for any lane where a cyclist may have to wait on red.
56. Now that we know about loops, let’s see how they work with the safe intersection positioning rules we learned earlier. If no cars show up while you’re waiting for the light to change, there’s no safety issue. But if a car does arrive, will you be in the safe position for your destination ? Let’s review the 3 possibilities.
57. This is that same intersection but turned around so you can see the approach you’d be using. It’s pretty clear that using the pedestrian button could set you up for a right turn cutoff if a right-turning car arrived while you were waiting there on the sidewalk . The bike crossing button is in a better location – at least you’re not around the corner and out of sight – but it’s still in the through-and-right conflict area. If you press the bike button, move over into the proper “going through” position. The signal controller remembers that the button has been pressed, even though it doesn’t give you any feedback such as a beep or a blinking light. The third option is the loop detector , and it’s right where you should be waiting to go through. Q: If a car shows up and waits in the through lane, do you have to worry about tripping the signal? A: No .
58. Treadle switches were the old way of tripping signals. Here’s the new way : Video Image Detection . Instead of cutting a lead loop, and maybe also an advance loop, in every lane – and wiring all those loops, and repairing them when moisture gets in or trucks damage them – now a city can do it all with image processing. At intersections that use video detection, you’ll see a camera tube up on the highest part of the pole or “mast arm”. One camera takes the place of all the loops on one approach , so at a 4-leg signal there will be 4 cameras. The more loops on each approach, the more cost-effective video becomes. That’s why cities often start with their biggest signals. The cameras may also be networked into the city’s traffic signal control center, so technicians can see when backups and crashes happen. Some cities even put live traffic video feeds on their website. Yes, they can detect bicycles – actually, bicycles and their rider . Let’s see what the camera sees.
59. This is the view from one of those cameras up on the mast arm. The orange boxes are the video detection zones – there are 4 lead zones , one in each of the through and left turn lanes, and advance zones in each of the two through lanes. Here’s how it’s set up. A technician plugs in a laptop computer or special control unit down at the signal controller cabinet , and sees what the camera sees . If the signal is networked to the city’s signal control center , this might be possible even without visiting the intersection. The software lets the technician draw the zones right onto the approach – both lead and advance zones – and program their behavior just as if they were inductive loops wired to circuit boards. All video detection software can detect presence – whether something’s in the rectangle or not – just like an inductive loop detector. The smartest software can also sense speed through the detection zone . As you can imagine, that can be a real advantage if the traffic engineer thinks about detecting bikes . Q: How could the lane striping and the video detection zones in this picture be improved for bicycles? A: Add a through bike lane beside the right turn only lane at the left side of the photo. In the bike lane, define a lead zone and one or more advance zones. If possible, program the advance loops to calculate approach speed , and give slow bicycles more time. Q: How can you increase your chances of being detected at a video intersection? A: Use high contrast gear in daytime , and lights and reflective clothing at night .
60. Sometimes the trips you want to make on your bike must cross freeway and expressway interchanges . At some interchanges, all movements are controlled by signals or stop signs so they’re no different from the ordinary intersections we’ve learned how to deal with. This section covers free-flowing interchange movements – those that aren’t controlled by signals or stop signs. These include exits , merges , and “weaving areas” that sometimes connect a merge with an exit. The “channels” technique that we used to visualize intersection conflicts works for interchanges too. Depending on the speed and volume of motor traffic and your capabilities, there may be times when you choose to cross an interchange on the sidewalk , and we’ll illustrate that option too.
61. To approach and ride through an area with free-flowing movements, you use the same techniques that we learned for intersections – except there’s no stopping . At exits, you visualize where through traffic separates from exiting traffic , do shoulder checks to see when it’s safe to proceed across the exit, signal to other drivers, and use your lane position to deter cutoffs as you make your move. Merges are usually easier because the drivers you need to see and communicate with are beside you instead of behind you. If the interchange has a lane that appears at a merge point and disappears at the next exit ramp, that’s called a “weaving area” or “auxiliary lane” . As we’ll see, you have a choice when approaching one of these – to ride straight through it or to yield across merging traffic and then yield back at the exit. The busiest interchanges may have one or more 2-lane free-flowing movements , typically the exit from the local street to the freeway. Depending on traffic speed, it may be safest to wait for a gap in both lanes of traffic before transitioning across such movements. And, if an interchange sometimes has overwhelming traffic, there’s sometimes a sidewalk option.
62. Here’s the first exit . At our sample interchange, the “through” movement actually bends to the left as exiting traffic continues straight. We’ve used a yellow highlight for the through movement and a red highlight for the exiting movement. At this exit ramp the engineers have added a dashed line to guide through traffic toward the left. You might be tempted to stay to the right of that line because it seems to keep you safe from traffic on your left, but if you visualize the conflict using the colors you’ll see that’s not the best option because exiting motorists can zoom around you. To deter this cutoff , before you get as close to the exit as this image shows, check over your shoulder and move away from the curb to signal your intention to continue through, as illustrated by the green arrows .
63. If the exiting traffic is too heavy for your capabilities, here’s your other option at this ramp – the sidewalk . On most interchange sidewalks, at least in suburban areas, you’re not likely to encounter many pedestrians so it’s a reasonable choice. We’ll illustrate the sidewalk option with a blue line throughout this section. However, by choosing to get off the roadway you’ve accepted the responsibility of yielding to all free-flowing movements for your own safety. Although the law requires that drivers approaching crosswalks must legally yield to pedestrians, many motorists fail to yield on ramps because they believe that they have the right to continue with a free-flowing movement. As a reminder, we’ll highlight each of the decision points on the pedestrian route with a yield symbol .
64. This cyclist is crossing a series of exit ramps. In the first image she tells other drivers she wants to move left, out of the shoulder area, avoiding the exit conflict ahead and staying clear of glass and thorns on the shoulder. Notice how the “moving left” hand signal differs from the “left turn” signal. Vehicle speeds through this area are moderate enough that “negotiating” with motorists is reasonable, because they have plenty of time to recognize you and adjust their position and speed safely. If vehicle speeds were much faster, you wouldn’t attempt to negotiate; you’d stay along the right edge and yield across the ramp areas. In the top right image the cyclist is approaching a ramp. The rightmost lane is an “option lane” -- it serves both the right turn and the through movement -- so it’s unsafe to share side-by-side. The usual choice with an option exit lane is to claim that lane, but here the right lane becomes an exit-only lane just past the first exit, so she chooses to move into the middle lane, which is the rightmost through lane. This allows exiting traffic to pass her on the right. In the bottom image the cyclist continues in the outer through lane. Although it appears that she’s two lanes over, there’s actually a bus stop “duck-out”. Her lane is wide enough that motorists can pass her safely, and she has chosen her line of travel to let them do this. She holds that same line of travel until she is beyond all the ramp conflicts before moving back toward the right edge. It may seem risky to hold a line that far from the roadway edge, and it can certainly feel uncomfortable to have cars passing you on both sides for several seconds, but if you know you’re visible and you position yourself according to your destination, you avoid conflicts and improve your safety. As always, the line you choose depends on visibility, traffic, and your capabilities.
65. Here’s a view back toward that same two-ramp exit lane from beyond it. This cyclist is using the same line of travel as the one on the previous slide, staying to the left of exiting traffic. Even though there is a solid white line, some motorists will still wait until the last minute to move into the exit lane. Notice how the cyclist’s position a foot or so to the left of the solid white line clearly indicates that motorists should exit behind her rather than after overtaking her. Riding on the stripe or right next to it wouldn’t send quite as strong a message, and she has the lanewidth to move further into her lane while still enabling passing by through traffic on her left side.
66. Many of you got your early bike-riding practice on paths and trails , or on quiet streets away from traffic. Some of you are just getting back into cycling after a long time off. Some of you may already enjoy day rides in groups with other cyclists, or organized charity rides . When you’re beginning to use your bike by yourself on streets with busier traffic, everything can seem dangerous . There are more cars and trucks, they’re closer, and they turning across your line of travel more frequently. More than a few cyclists have given up and hung their bikes back in the garage after having a scary experience at an intersection. The key goal of this class is to give you the knowledge to understand the traffic pattern and how you fit in, so you won’t get into trouble. This section briefly covers the types of bicycle crashes and their relative frequencies . By knowing how each one happens and how to avoid it or anticipate it, you can keep yourself safe on the street. With this knowledge you’ll know what to really watch out for and where to direct your attention , instead of worrying about everything that’s happening on the street.
67. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com You might be surprised to learn that most bicycle crashes don’t involve cars . A landmark study in the 1970’s looked at bicycle-involved crashes in all age groups and in both urban and rural situations. This first pie chart shows the distribution for urban crashes. Bike-car collisions are certainly the type that most cyclists fear, and most people think they rank #1 – but they actually make up less than 1/5 of all crashes. Most crashes are falls or other "single vehicle" crashes, which can be serious too. This class focuses on bicycles as traffic, so let’s zero in on the vehicle-involved slice – the part in red. The next pie chart expands that into all the different types of car-bike collisions.
68. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com This second chart expands the red slice from the last slide to show the different types of car-bike crashes . Note that about half are caused by the cyclist (many of these are made by kids). Let’s check off the mistakes that are completely under your control: Riding the wrong way on the street (even for a short distance) Starting a left turn from the right edge of the street, especially without looking. (Would a hand signal make any difference?) Riding out of a driveway or out between parked cars without yielding. That’s one we teach our youngest cyclists to avoid. Yielding is a fairly complex decision. Running red lights and stop signs : Never run a red light or stop sign. ( In Idaho, cyclists may treat stop signs as yield signs – it’s the only state with such a law.) Now for the motorist-caused types. Being struck from behind (“ overtaking ”) is the most feared crash, but it is rare. It usually invoves 1 or 2 drunks , an unlit cyclist at night, and a rural road. We’ll learn how to deter it with visibility and lights . Rather than overtaking, about 90% of car-bike crashes (regardless of fault) involve turning and crossing traffic. You can deter right hooks (right turns from behind) and oncoming left turns by choosing your line of travel when approaching intersections. As we’ll see later, this often means leaving a bike lane, and staying off the sidewalk. Choosing a safe line line of travel can also prevent dooring and deter driveway failure-to-yield types. With a bit of knowledge and practice you can avoid , prevent , deter , or anticipate all car-bike crash types.
69. Here’s a video that shows the hazards of sidewalk cycling.
70. Here’s a video that shows the hazards of wrong-way cycling.
71. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Now let’s look at a few of the motorist-caused crash types in more detail. One situation fairly familiar to cyclists is the so-called “right hook”, where a following motorist zooms ahead and turns right in front of a through cyclist. The best way to deter this type of motorist mistake is to approach the intersection in a position that clearly indicates that you intend to continue through. This means being on the street, not on the sidewalk, and moving far enough away from the curb that right turning motorists traveling in your direction will know you’re not turning right. As with any lateral movement, you do a shoulder check to verify that you can safely move out. You don’t have to move to the center of the lane, just far enough out that a right hook becomes difficult. Usually just a foot or two makes all the difference. Remember that to cut you off the motorist must clear your bike with both the right front fender and the right rear fender. A little change in your position has a big effect on the motorist’s being able to execute a cutoff maneuver. If a following motorist start to turn right in front of you anyway, you may be able to avoid the collision by braking -- or if it’s too late, by a “Quick Turn” to the right to stay inside their turning movement. “Quick Turns” need to be practiced -- they are taught in the on-bike Day 2 of the “Road One” class, of which this session is Day 1.
72. Here's a video clip that shows a cyclist traveling along the right edge of the roadwaybeing cut off by a right-turning motorist. This experienced cyclist notices the motorist mistake and avoids a collision by making an emergency right turn – the Quick Turn maneuver I mentioned a minute ago. We see another cyclist trying to pass a car on the right without realizing that themotorist is about to turn right. Finally, we see a through cyclist who sees that the motorist is turning right, and movesout into the lane to safely and legally pass the car on the left before returning to theright edge of the roadway. Many state vehicle codes explicitly permit cyclists to leavethe right edge to avoid a right-turn conflict.
73. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Another fairly common motorist-caused collision mode is the oncoming left turn where a motorist fails to see or yield to a through cyclist. Perhaps the best way to deter this type of motorist mistake is to approach the intersection in a position that clearly indicates that you intend to continue through, just like the deterring move for the right hook. This means being on the street, not on the sidewalk, and being far enough from the curb that right turning motorists traveling in your direction will know you’re not turning right. This position increases your chances of being seen by oncoming motorists, and lets you focus on them instead of also dealing with right-turners next to you. It’s good to face the oncoming motorist who might make a mistake -- this is another situation where wearing a bright helmet and clothing helps you be noticed Humans are built to recognize faces, even when they’re too far away for real eye contact. Some cyclists indicate “I’m going through” by pointing one arm up and forward. If an oncoming motorist does start to turn left in front of you, avoid the collision by braking -- or if it’s too late, by a “Quick Turn” to the right to stay clear of their turning movement. Don’t veer to the left (why not?)
74. Here’s a video clip that shows a cyclist traveling along the right edge of the roadway being cut off by an oncoming left-turner. This experienced cyclist notices the motorist mistake and avoids a collision by making an emergency right turn just as we saw in the previous clip to avoid a right-turn hook. The emergency maneuver is the same – it’s designed to keep you from crossing paths with the motorist or ending up on their fender because you didn’t turn sharply enough.
75. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com A motorist who runs a signal or stop sign may not see you at all, so even though your position is still important, it proably has less of a deterring effect than in the right-hook or oncoming left turn situations. Here it’s best to simply drive defensively and not assume that you can proceed safely as soon as the light turns green. Some drivers forget the “After Stop” part of “Right Turn On Red After Stop”. When you’re proceeding through a signalized intersection on green, check for right turners on the cross street before you get there. As always, being visible is an advantage.
76. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Choosing a safe line line of travel on the street can also deter driveway failure-to-yield crashes. A driveway is a minor intersection, and at any intersection the entering driver checks to the near left, to the far right, and then to the near left again. If your approach is outside the other driver’s scanning pattern, they may not see you. This is why wrong-way riding and sidewalk cycling is so dangerous. A study of intersection crashes in Palo Alto, California, published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal (September 1994) compared crashes involving 4 different bicyclist approaches to intersections: a) On-street, in the legal direction b) On-street, wrong-way c) On-sidewalk, same direction as legal on-street traffic d) On-sidewalk, opposite direction to legal on-street traffic Basically, riding into an intersection on the sidewalk doubled the risk, and so did riding on-street in the wrong direction. Sidewalk cycling in the wrong direction quadrupled the risk. We’ve already seen videos that showed the hazards of wrong-way and sidewalk cycling. The diagram on this slide shows why the motorist does not expect a cyclist traveling fast along the sidewalk, especially in the direction opposite to traffic on the street. Traveling on the street, in the legal direction, in a position where other drivers expect to see an approaching vehicle, maximizes your chances of being seen.
77. Cyclists and the Law 1.00-CA- Street Skills For Cyclists ™ Instructor Notes Copyright © 2002-2004, Bicycle Solutions www.bicyclesolutions.com Choosing a safe line line of travel can also prevent being struck by an opening car door, also known as a “dooring” crash. As we’ll see in the section on riding between intersections, doorings are infrequent but very serious. It’s far better to move away from parked cars before you reach them, and hold that safe line of travel, than to risk an opening door. If you and your bike are visible, motorists approaching from behind will simply pass you or wait briefly. The law allows you to avoid obstacles, even potential obstacles, although this may cause other drivers to wait or change course. Don’t move to the curb between parked cars. You may surprise motorists when you reappear, and you may have to negotiate back out into a safe line of travel.
78. The other important motorist-caused car-bike collision type is the one most feared by cyclists -- being struck from behind. This type is rare in urban areas, it often involves one or both parties being intoxicated, and/or the cyclist riding without lights or reflectors at night. Give other drivers plenty of time to see you -- don’t surprise them by entering the lane unexpectedly. Be sure that others can see you, especially at night -- we’ll discuss how to do this in the next section on Visibility.
79. On winding rural roads, the terrain and landscape can hide you from traffic approaching from behind. Be aware of how far you can be seen from behind, and choose a road position that either keeps you visible, or gets you out of the way of a driver who may not have seen you. Using a bicycle driving mirror can help you check behind you frequently -- we’ll discuss mirrors in the Visibility section. When a rural road curves around a hill to the right, you can stay visible longer by moving out toward the centerline just before you’re hidden by the hill. As soon as you become hidden to traffic behind you, get all the way over to the right edge until you’re around the curve and out of danger.