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

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

high visibility -- plenty of lights and bright colors. they can't respect you if they can't see you!

[desireearmfeldt]

(Speaking as a more frequent cyclist than driver): Obey the rules of the road. Don't weave in and out of traffic or suddenly leap out in front of moving cars. Don't run red lights when there's traffic. Don't ride the wrong way up one-way streets.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Don't weave in and out of traffic. Obey traffic signals. Be visible.

[jenej.livejournal.com]

As a driver: visibility, no weaving, and obey traffic rules.

As a pedestrian: I would single out PLEASE don't run red lights. I can't count high enough to tally the number of times I've had the right of way ion a cross-walk and been almost run down by a bike rider blowing through a red light.

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

Do you think that drivers regard some kinds of weaving differently than others? For instance, often I have to weave through a line of stopped cars so that I can get outside of their exhaust tail.

Be a nicer pedestrian too

[tehlunchbox.livejournal.com]

For cyclists: high visibility, stay as far right as you can (except when turning left of course), try to only weave while traffic is stopped, and keep your hands off my car at stop lights. Just because I'm parked there doesn't mean you can rest your hands on my hood/roof.

For pedestrians: quit stepping out into crosswalks when the signal still says "Don't walk". Just because the light turned green in the same direction you're walking, doesn't mean that people don't turn. I've nearly taken out 3 people in the last week because they just step right out into crosswalks. I've got the right of way, even if you are lying on the ground in a crosswalk with a broken leg.

[ifotismeni]

be visible, obey traffic laws (including not blowing through stop signs or "rolling red lights"), don't weave... and FFS right with traffic and not against it.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Be respectful of other drivers: ride in a predictable fashion where they can see you and use hand signals to make your intentions clear.

Don't cut off drivers. If a driver has their signal on and is just about to execute a right turn, or is waiting at a light to turn right, don't pass them on their right. (This seems like a completely elementary self-preservation rule but I'm amazed at how many cyclists continue to do it.)

Remember that some drivers are just going to be cranky that you're in the road no matter what you do, so expect some people to honk and yell at you. Just smile and wave cheerfully (getting mad just escalates the situation; this will confuse them instead).

[jenej.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. Yes, I think I would perceive it differently when cars are stopped. If I am in motion I want to make sure I can see where a bike rider is and anticipate where they are going.

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

If cyclists have equal rights to the lane as cars, why should they stay to the right? (I have many answers to this, but I'm interested in perceptions of drivers and cyclists.)

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

Also, I have a maybe idiosyncratic take on the don't walk situation. I'd happily promote a culture here in which pedestrians have absolute rights over other vehicular traffic. I know that's not technically legal... but IMO, people should be freely able to move about on their legs; period. It's interesting that the earliest versions of British traffic law required that motorists stop for any person giving a hand signal, and wait until they allowed them to pass. I don't know if that was ever the case here but we can certainly see how far social perceptions of the automobile have come!

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[avjudge]

No, you as the driver don't have the right of way.

[squirrelitude]

The cyclists who go upstream are known as "salmon bikers". :-P

(And oh god do I hate them...)

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

As a cyclist, I do this as a courtesy: when it's safe, since I'm usually going slower than the speed limit, I give drivers room to pass.

As a driver, if somebody doesn't do this, I take a deep breath and remember that it's not a huge fucking deal if I have to wait a block or two to pass somebody. I'm in a 2-ton metal box with AC, and they've got nothing but air between their meat (http://en-ki.livejournal.com/483850.html) and the road: I have an absolute human duty to take care for their safety.

[dancingdeer.livejournal.com]

Be consistent and predictable. If you are a cyclist on the road, you are part of traffic, and you have to interact politely with all the rest of road traffic - motor vehicles as well as pedestrians. Follow the rules of the road, take the lane when you need to, don't weave! At night, be visible. Always wear a helmet.

In my experience, the riders who don't have lights or helmets are also the worst and most impolite cyclists - it's like they're *trying* to get someone to hit them.

From the car perspective, I have no respect for a bicyclist who is treating the road like their own private road rally. If I can look and go, "oh, they're about to do a stupid" (and they always do), why would I respect that? Road laws are there to create consistency.

Regarding honkers

[squirrelitude]

This! I like to pretend that they are using their horns to say "Yay, a cyclist!" Then I smile and wave in acknowledgement.

Staying right

[squirrelitude]

It is polite. If you need to take the lane for safety, do so.

Re: Regarding honkers

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

Haha, that's an awesome coping strategy!

[ifotismeni]

same here, they make me so stabby. especially when i see them going the wrong way WITHOUT A HELMET. ughhh

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[desireearmfeldt]

True, but it's still rude for pedestrians not to give cars their turn to go. :) Especially at turns where only 2 or 3 cars can get through per light cycle.

Some things I do

[squirrelitude]

* If I am in the go straight/right turn lane (going straight) and a car is behind me with a right turn blinker, I often move my bike to let them pass. Drivers love this! (Only do it with a fresh red light, for safety.)
* I avoid using very bright flashing bike lights except at dusk.
* I ride *fast*. This is not an option for everyone (due to inability or desire to not arrive at work all sweaty) but I'm sure it makes drivers happier.
* Copious (polite!) hand signals for any change in horizontal position.

[squirrelitude]

What really burns me is that I don't have an opportunity to tell them off, since the interaction is so brief. What can I yell that will be 1) well-received, 2) easy to hear in traffic, and 3) short?

Re: Be a nicer pedestrian too

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Like they said - it's polite to stay to the right and let the faster vehicles pass, but definitely don't do it if it would push you into the gutter or the door zone, or where cars entering from side streets can't see you.

There are a lot of streets in Boston and Cambridge that are just too narrow to permit a car and a bike to pass safely side-by-side, so "as far right as you can" unfortunately means pretty much the middle of the lane. Expect drivers not to understand this and to get irascible with you -- be polite but don't back down.

Re: Staying right

[erikgarrison.livejournal.com]

Polite breaks down when people have different perceptions of safety.

I have trouble estimating how likely dooring is, and I suspect many drivers and cyclists don't even imagine it as a possibility. I'm cautious because I have heard many, many stories of injury from it, and been inches or feet away from injury myself on a number of occasions.

Watching a lot of cyclists, it seems that they regard overtaking cars as more of a danger than car doors.

Is angering a driver and encouraging them redirect their impatience into an illegal pass safer than keeping right? At least they are certain to see me, while a passenger or driver opening a car door to my right will probably not.

Re: Regarding honkers

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

There seem to still be a few drivers left who think it's common courtesy to always honk when passing a bike. To let you know they're there or something. It never fails to startle the bejesus out of me.