In this day and age, do we not know better?
With fall setting in and our days getting shorter, we all have to be a bit more aware out on the roads.
On one ride last week I had three near misses with cars. I was just riding to the trails and in the five or six blocks of road riding, I crossed a bunch of intersections. The first issue was a car, pointed to the right, across the intersection from me. I was riding straight through. The car looked to be turning right, but had no signal. I waited for a break in traffic and when it came I hesitated slightly. The car didn’t go right, or straight, but headed left and would have easily squashed me if I had gone. They did wave at me though to let me know they saw me. The other situations were similar and without some caution on my part, I would have been writing this from a hospital bed.
On the other side of the coin, four different times last week I was driving around town in the evening and was surprised to see cyclists with all black clothing and no lights. When I say surprised to see, I mean I was startled when I saw them at the very last moment as they were riding through traffic. I’m sure they saw me, but if I was driving just a bit quicker I would have run them down.
Being an avid cyclist and bike shop owner, I like to think I am hyper-aware of cyclists when I’m driving. I know exactly what it’s like riding in traffic with bad drivers, so I do my best to allow cyclists the space and time they need.
There is a responsibility to share the road and some drivers don’t understand this. We do our best as a community to educate drivers of cyclists’ rights. We push for bike lanes and alternate routes to keep everyone safe,and most of us try to ride safely and stay visible, but apparently not all of us.
Are some people suicidal, are they just lazy, or is there such a lack of intelligence out there that these riders have no understanding that being invisible, makes you more likely to get run over by a very heavy vehicle? Then add in the fact that these same riders are weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring traffic lights and riding on the wrong side of the road, and I wonder how any of them live through the week.
We hosted a bicycle a scavenger hunt on Saturday night and we had almost 40 riders blasting around town in search of clues, photos, and little tid bits. I am proud to say they were all very visible. Between flashing lights, safety vests, and reflectivity, they were lit up like a cruise ship. Every participant that started came back safe and I didn’t hear one story of poor driving, or annoying cars.
The problem drivers and problem riders are the minority, but winter is coming. It’s going to be dark and wet, so as drivers let’s try to be hyper aware and share the road. As cyclists let’s at least throw a cheap blinking light on our bike so we can live through the ride.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…