Being a nicer cyclist

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

What are some ways that cyclists can positively engage drivers, gain their respect, and encourage them to use caution when they are sharing the road with cyclists?

Comments

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Not a green arrow + walk light -- that would be illegal, since a green arrow means there's no conflicting traffic, including pedestrian traffic. And Cambridge actually cares enough to fix problems like that, unlike certain other local towns.

Those intersections have a green circle at the same time as the walk. Turning cars yield to pedestrians. This is a standard setup all over the country.

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

i realize i'm supposed to yield to pedestrians, but in most crosswalks all lights are stopped for at least part of the time pedestrians are crossing on a walk signal. many times when drivers see a green, they look for other cars and not people and just go. it's very dangerous and there are not intersections like that all over the country.

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are. I've seen concurrent pedestrian phases in Cambridge, Boston (they're gradually phasing them in), every single intersection in NYC, Philly, Chicago, LA, and dozens of other places. I've only seen exclusive walk phases in the Boston area, and a few isolated suburbs of other cities.

In the places with exclusive walk phases, I always see pedestrians crossing with the green anyway, so drivers certainly should look for them.

What places are you thinking of?