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Here’s a blog post meant to encourage discussion. What are the best ways to avoid getting hit by a car? Bicyclesafe.com has a nice informative page explaining common incidents and advice on how to avoid them. Perhaps our readership has a few more thoughts on the matter, or just some sage advice. Either way, ride safe out there, folks.
I would recommend trying to establish eye contact with drivers to let them know you are there. Also when needing to change lanes give plenty of warning and start turning well before your obstacle so you don’t get stuck needing to do a quick swerve. There’s a good video on how to avoid cycling in blindspots which was meant tohelp London cyclists. You should take a look at that over on my blog as idont havethe link handy (on iPhone!) hgv tend to be main offenders for cyclist deaths.
as a car driver and a cyclist i find the easiest way to not get hit by a car is to think everyone in the world is an idiot and is trying to kill you.
dont for a second assume people will let you through/in/out etc
Put yourself in drivers’ field of vision — don’t “cower” at the extreme edge of the “game board”.
When approaching an intersection with stop signs, move away from the curb and a bit more into the traffic lane. This puts you in the normal field of drivers’ vision, rather than in the periphery of it.
When stopped at red light, work your way out to the front of the intersection. Don’t block traffic, especially if there’s a bike lane, but do position yourself so that drivers see you through their windshields, not their side windows, or worse yet in their mirrors.
There’s a fine line between assertive and aggressive. Learn where that line is and ride on it. Drivers are likely to see other “vehicles” on the road more than they are “mice” cowering along the edges of it.
I’m with Loxlee…on the surface it smacks of extreme paranoia, but in practice it’s not as bad as it sounds.
I don’t particularly trust the “eye contact” business, either. There have been a few times when a motorist does something dangerous (turning in front of me when I have the right-of-way, rolling through a 4-way intersection when I’m clearly in the middle of it, etc.) even though I had convinced myself they were looking right at me!
drivers are like sheep — they’re easily frightened, and they’ll follow whatever part of the herd looks to be moving ahead. as such, i’ve found it helpful to learn to project the “whoop-whoop” noise that cop sirens make when they want you out of the way. you’ll lose your voice a couple times practicing it, but once you can do it loudly, you can “herd” the sheep to the right as you like.
getting hit is part of riding a bicycle. i don’t want to think about how many years i’ve spent recovering from that.
I agree with “loxlee” and “geoffrey”. To coin a really bad phrase, “the best offense is a good defense.” Don’t cower, but understand that there are things that are out of your control and hope for the best. Ride safe, ride smart and always wear a helmet. I just got hit this morning. I’m ok, a few scraps, but the bike is totalled. Better the bike than me.
One’s cycling attitude should be rooted in competence and fun, not fear.
The secret is simple yet profound: Act as if you belong on the road. Do more or less the same things you would do if you were driving a vehicle. Begin by choosing streets on which you are comfortable doing this and then proceed to busier (and, ususally, more convenient) streets.
Once you do that, collisions with cars become quite rare. In roughly half of all bike-car collisions, the bicyclist is either riding the wrong way, riding at night without lights or blowing through a stop sign or traffic signal. Avoiding those egregious errors–things you would never do while driving a car– is half the battle.
The rest of it comes more naturally over time once you adopted the attitude that you belong on the road. Positioning yourself on the roadway in a place appropriate for your speed and destination, you and your bike soon become part of the flow of traffic. One avoids unnecessary worry and instead more realistically assesses the risks. Enjoyment then trumps worry.
In California, roughly 99.998% of people who bicycle each year are not killed while doing so. What’s the worry? You’re in far greater danger taking your morning shower.
2 of the 3 times I’ve been hit has been in heavy traffic, by oncoming drivers trying to turning left across the road in front of me. Problem is they see a gap for the side street they want to turn into and gun the gas to get through it. They may give way to the cars, but never think to look for the oncoming bike. Slow down and look for these idiots. It’s one of the most common accident types on main roads.
And ditto for the eye contact and holding your lane comments previously.
Eye contact is wildly overrated. Watch the car’s front wheels; They tell you much more about what that vehicle is about to do than any driver’s eyes.
Eye contact above parking lot speeds (i.e., < 10mph) is almost useless, sometimes worth than useless if a bicyclist thinks he’s made eye contact with a motorist who’s seeing right through them.
Overall, this latest version of “How Not to Get Hit by Cars” is much improved over earlier versions, although the catchy, inflammatory title adds to the dangerization problem.
i discovered this great site a few years ago when i started commuting by bike. thanks for sharing! these scenarios are even more real than they used to be, now that i’m a more experienced rider.
Aggressive vigilance and forethought. Constantly scan for and anticipate problems and act on them before they become reality. Use your ears: the sound of a car sharply accelerating nearby is reason enough to look back to see where it is and where it may be going, for example.
Someone else mentioned this: watch the wheels! If a car is waiting to pull out of a side street, ignore the driver, and if you see even slight movement of the wheels, slow down and prepare to use evasive action.
More tangible tips: when in doubt, slow down. Reduce speed through intersections that may be a problem, even if you have a green. If you’re going to run a red light or stop sign, slow the hell down and take a look before doing it.
I can’t agree enough… if a car is waiting to pull out, always watch the wheels. A driver may be looking through you but the roatation of the wheels does not lie.
Act as if you belong there, be visible and be loud if need be (I love my police whistle in the city), but be respectful. While you have rights, you are in essence running with the bulls.
Traffic in the streets much like water in a river often flows in a repeating predictable path based on the objects and obstacles that lay before it. I always feel safer on roads I know well. Learn the traffic signal patterns on your commute or the roads you travel most often. With experience comes the ability to predict with some accuracy what is likely to happen on the road in front of you if you’re paying attention. Take the lane when you need to and know the best place to the in the lane going into an intersection and plan ahead. Make you intentions know to drivers behind you. Never assume they see you or are looking out for you.
Don’t be afraid of traffic. Be alert and be smart.