By Allan Edmonds
A couple of minor incidents during this Saturday's ELLSTIGOSPEWHI Ride have put safety issues on my mind. The club really should have fairly regular conversations about safe and appropriate riding habits, especially as some of our rides get larger and involve a broader cross-section of ability and experience.
One small incident involved me. As I approached a four-way stop sign, with the intent of letting the car to my left go first, another rider came up behind me and zipped through the intersection on my right, having seen the driver wave us through. No harm done. But I was disconcerted. What was at stake here was communication between cyclists and also sending consistent signals to other riders and to drivers.
Another incident on the same ride: Those on the ride may remember passing a group preparing for a funeral at a church in Gosport. It turns out that one of our club members was among the group at the funeral and observed us whiz by without much regard for stop signs. What was interesting was that this club member got to hear his fellows' observation that those cyclists didn't show much respect for the rules of the road. No physical harm was done. But harm was done to others' attitudes and opinions about cyclists.
We simply cannot be too careful when we are out on our bikes. There was a tragic story of a long-time League of American Bicyclists member and local safety advocate in South Carolina who was killed this summer when he inadvertently turned left into the path of an oncoming car. This was someone known as the most safety conscious rider and someone who constantly taught his fellow riders safe cycling. And even he made one disastrous mistake of inattention.
I don't intend to preach to the club. But I do think we need that ongoing conversation about safety and consistency as we live out the rules of the road. And in that spirit I want to offer a few more comments.
To our credit essentially everyone wears a helmet on club rides. And we all stop at red lights. (Well, there have been a couple of times over the years when we came to a red light that we couldn't trip without a car behind us. We then invoked the "three-minute rule", waiting for a safe time to cross and then just did it.)
I think we need to show more respect for stop signs, especially in town, but also in the wider area. We need to think more about how many riders should go through a stop sign as a group.
We need to do more with hand signals and voice communication among ourselves, especially as we approach intersections or stops. Some of us are good at that. But I for one tend not to do as good a job at this kind of communication as I should.
I've recently noticed more riders calling out "clear" as they go through an intersection. That's okay. But all riders should remember that it is ultimately their own personal responsibility to be sure it is safe to proceed. Someone who calls "clear" doesn't have the right to authorize you to blow through an intersection. On the other hand, warnings like "Car left" are really important reminders to watch out.
Let's do everything we can to make cycling safe and enjoyable. Let's regularly discuss safety as a club.
Posts
I have to say I agree with these comments. A lot of the safety issues I have found relate to riding as a group. When I am solo, I have a particular approach to stop signs/lights which is very effective for me. I assertively yield to any car which might conceivably have the right-of-way over me, and then I go (usually without completely stopping). In other words, I wait my turn. I feel, however, if I took this approach when I am part of a pack, I would pose a hazard to those piling up behind me (especially if I communicated that a driver should proceed while someone whizzed by me). Plus, we would tend to stretch out ridiculously at intersections. A lot of other interactions are also complicated by being in a group. For example, last weekend's encounter between CE and a dog. The dog was in the center of the pack, and CE was in the center of the pack, and there was really no way for CE to take evasive action without taking out those around him.
ReplyDeleteI don't know any solutions to these issues, they're just things that jump out at me, coming from my background of riding solo most of the time. I will say I am impressed by the way BBC members will call out street obstacles (like potholes). On the Hilly Hundred, for example, this sort of communication can be quite spotty.
I never say "clear," because I don't want to sound like I am authorizing anyone else to go on my observation. I check for myself, and cross when I see that it's safe. But I always try to call out cars when I see them.
ReplyDeleteChris Tietz brought up many of these issues earlier in the season, after witnessing a couple of preventable bike-on-bike collisions. Perhaps he can add his perspective, here.
ReplyDeleteI think all riders should be prepared to stop at all stop signs. While I appreciate when motorists yield their right of way to the group, these crossings work best for everyone when the cyclists are tightly packed. Somehow, we should figure out when it makes more sense to do multiple group crossings, with the riders and motorists yielding (and exercising) their respective stop sign rights as they should.
--Keith V.
Chris Tietz:
ReplyDeleteI know I'm late to this discussion (as a new member, I've not explored the blog before), but it is important to note:
I see a new study just released out of Toronto indicating that 90% of bike/car accidents are caused by the car...To me, this means that we need to be defensive.
1) The rules of the road apply to bikes. All cyclists are safer when cyclists and cars adhere to the rules of the road. Period. With equal access comes equal responsibility...and this includes stopping for funerals...
2) Safety is never redundant. We help one another at the same time that we take responsibility for ourselves. I would never take someone elses "clear call" as authorization to risk my own safety, but likewise, redundancy breeds safe outcomes. None of us has license to "blow through an intersection" unless it's a closed course...and those don't exist.
3) The League of American Cyclists is sponsoring an LCI Certification this weekend coming weekend in Bloomington. I will be participating (and hopefully will become certified). My wife is LCI certified. Raymond Hess at the City is LCI certified. If we need to put on a special seminar for the club and it's members, let's do it.
Safety is a priority at our house after my wife was riding with a man when he was struck and killed in Evansville about three years ago. It profoundly affected her. Then, on his memorial ride one month later, my wife wrecked and broke a wrist, 5 ribs, collapsed a lung, and was hospitalized for 2 weeks.
Chris Tietz