Urban Biking Safety Tips: Commute Safely

GOOD:

Plenty of people--including us--will gladly tell you to get out of your car, and get on a bike: You'll winnow your carbon footprint to a baby step; you'll get outside and get a workout in the bargain. So let's say you do. What now? A street full of whizzing cars isn't the cul de sac where you first rode without training wheels. You can't ride with the same carefree attitude.

Read the whole story: GOOD

Comments

[VanillaSeven]

10:22 PM on 04/26/2009

Ride safely guys, while singing "bicycle" by Freddie Mercury :)

http://vanillaseven.com/

[CanUFeel2012]

06:29 PM on 04/25/2009

UNLESS WE MAKE IT PATRIOTIC TO PROTECT OUR EARTH FROM POLLUTION . BIKES WILL NEVER RULE THE STREETS...........

[frantaylor]

09:44 AM on 04/26/2009

Seek out your local critical mass ride. Their ignorance of traffic laws is a little disconcerting, but it's really refreshing to ride in the city in a big group.

[KPinSEA]

01:20 PM on 05/13/2009

Possibly the most counter-productive activist group on the planet ... I'd do anything to avoid me or my bike being associated with those dangerous chuckleheads.

[lizt]

01:18 PM on 04/25/2009

I live in Portland Oregon which is easily the most bike friendly US city that I've ever lived in. The latest estimate is that almost 30% of the people here commute by bike to work. It's great! I got rid of my car last November. When the weather's bad I use mass-transit. If I need a car (about twice a month) I use Zipcar. But most of the time I'm on my bike.
I find with a little thought I can make 80% of most my trips on less travelled roads. As for the bikes blowing thru stop signs....yes, it happens. Just as there are car drivers who run red lights and practice unsafe driving, a small percentage of any group will not do the right thing. That's why we have police.
One interesting change to the laws that Oregon is currently contemplating is adopting the Idaho Stop Law. Basically it's worked for 3 decades in Idaho and allows bikes to treat stop signs as yield signs. They must yield to all other traffic including pedestrians but if they can see the way is clear they can proceed.
In any case, Portland is a bikers heaven.

[JeanPaulSatire]

09:01 AM on 04/25/2009

"Plenty of people--including us--will gladly tell you to get out of your car, and get on a bike: You'll winnow your carbon footprint to a baby step."

Actually, only about 40% of the energy we use is used directly by us as energy. The other 60% is used for the goods we buy -- everything from the manufacturing processes, to packaging, to transportation, to retail stores' energy consumption, etc. And of the energy we consume directly, the majority of it is consumed in our homes for heating/cooling, appliances, lighting, cooking, etc.

So unless you dramatically cut back on consumption of goods the production and sales of which have large carbon footprints, and your home has been thoroughly "greened" to be as efficient and as low energy-demanding as possible, your carbon footprint won't be all that much smaller if you do decide to bike instead of drive a car.

[Spiritof1982]

11:07 PM on 04/26/2009

This is BS and you know it.

[RobinSeattle]

01:10 AM on 04/25/2009

Biking to work might be a good idea for Prius owners:
http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-04-23/news/prius

Why? Turns out that they have a tendency to accelerate on their own while the brakes malfunction. Is it the new Corvair?

[frantaylor]

09:49 AM on 04/26/2009

Ever heard of switching off the ignition? It works wonders.

[devans00]

10:32 PM on 04/24/2009

Unfortunately, there are so many drivers out there not paying full attention or resent having to share the road with bicycles. These are the type of drivers who are so dangerous to cyclists. It doesn't matter how many rules of the road you observe.

This morning, I almost got creamed by a car trying to pass me on the left and make a right turn at the same time I was trying to go straight. Instead of waiting for me to clear the right turn lane enough so they could go past, they beeped me for not sticking by the right curb, I think. The car was at least one block away when I started changing lanes, so it's not like I was making sudden, erratic movements.

At any rate, I was THIS CLOSE to being maimed because a driver was half asleep and/or stupid.

[ladyvader]

01:32 AM on 04/25/2009

I was waiting at a light one day. I was at the corner with my bike where the right wheel of a car would be. The car behind me honked. I didn't move. Next thing I know the car was on my left and told me to get off the road. Then did an illegal right hand turn. 30 seconds or so later the light when green. People need to be patient. If I was in a car, I wouldn't have been honked at for waiting for the light.

[frantaylor]

09:53 AM on 04/26/2009

That bone-headed driving maneuver happens so often that there needs to be a name for it. People do it to me when I am driving in my car! It's an unusual day when it doesn't happen to me several times when I ride my bike.

[DFL]

09:43 PM on 04/24/2009

For me biking means "not" dressing up like I'm in the tour de france and since I dont go at racing speeds, no helmet!

[tinrobot]

02:53 AM on 04/25/2009

If a car hits you, you'll go a lot faster than "racing speeds" into the pavement.

If you love your brain, then always wear a helmet.

[JeanPaulSatire]

08:40 AM on 04/25/2009

ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!!

A fall at even 5 mph can cause traumatic brain injury. So, either wear a helmet or expect not to contribute to the gene pool (if you haven't already).

[stevehamlin]

08:04 PM on 04/24/2009

http://www.bikeforums.net/

[PepeLepew]

02:44 PM on 04/24/2009

I'd feel more sympathy for the dangers faced by bicyclists in traffic if -- ON A DAILY BASIS -- I didn't see cyclists consistently blowing through stop signs and red lights. Sometimes I think some of them are actually trying to get run over.

[KPinSEA]

05:07 PM on 04/24/2009

There are a few knuckleheads out there really ruining the image of cyclists everywhere, I see the same thing in downtown Seattle every day and have come within inches of being run over in a crosswalk by a light-running cyclist, multiple times.

Want to ride safely? Obey the rules of the road and never ride on a road where you can't do the speed limit and keep up with traffic.

[JeanPaulSatire]

08:45 AM on 04/25/2009

KP, the "never ride on a road where you can't do the speed limit and keep up with traffic" admonition is quite unrealistic.

Most city/town streets have a speed limit of 25 mph and most cyclists do NOT come anywhere near that speed. In smaller towns/less urban areas, the speed limit is typically 30 or 35 mph, making it even less realistic.

[Paradym]

09:51 AM on 04/25/2009

Yeah, other than a private residential area, show me any city street where the average cyclist can maintain the posted speed limit. I can do 25 mph steady, but I ride a lot. My wife's cruiser isn't geared for that and couldn't possibly hit 25 mph even if I'm stomping on it.

Also, technically, the posted speed limit is supposed to be the maximum allowed speed, not the speed you have to drive, and that's only supposed to be in perfect conditions (clear sunny day, not traffic). I concur that everyone drives at the limit if not over, but that doesn't mean it's right or legal.

[Paradym]

09:48 AM on 04/25/2009

I agree. Here in Chicago it's my estimation that at least half of cyclists completely ignore stop signs. I ride a lot, and it baffles me why anyone would do that. I've almost been hit from behind from cyclists when I stop, or as a pedestrian crossing the street and a cyclist fails to yield. Another sign of low IQ.

[tinrobot]

12:52 PM on 04/24/2009

For me, the number one rule is to simply be seen. Ride in your lane, stay off the sidewalks, and generally be conspicuous. If drivers can see you, they won't hit you.

[frantaylor]

09:42 AM on 04/26/2009

I got knocked off my bike and my elbow was broken by a rear-view mirror as I was doing precisely that. Wearing bright orange clothing in broad daylight. Minding my business, staying to the right. There is no possible way to compensate for the profound ignorance and stupidity of the average US driver. Just look at how many of themselves they kill every year.

[loki]

03:06 AM on 04/27/2009

statistics show that around 10 time more people are killed each year by auto accidents than by firearms in America. I think we need to put a ban on cars.

[wm1066]

12:21 PM on 04/24/2009

I commute in the Twin Cities(Minneapolis) and I think "claiming your space" in Number 3 is dangerous. How about defensive biking? how about viewing all automobiles as dangerous instead of trying to fight for road space with them. How about taking less used streets instead of high traffic streets? Bikes doing 15 miles an hour have no business taking up a full lane of traffic when the automobile speed is 30 MPH. I know alot of macho hardcore bikers wont agree with me but I ride every day and there are realities we must face, bikes weigh 30 puonds cars weigh 2 tons.

[frantaylor]

09:38 AM on 04/26/2009

"Bikes doing 15 miles an hour have no business taking up a full lane of traffic when the automobile speed is 30 MPH."

Maybe you need to pick up your driver's manual and re-familiarize yourself with the "rules of the road".