Instructions for Drivers?

[pooks]

Are there any websites with instructions for drivers on how to safely share the road with cyclists?

If not, what are the rules/suggestions? I need them myself, since I've never known what I was supposed to do and am always nervous about passing but also feel like I'm making cyclists nervous if I follow behind.

[KnottedYet]

Boy, that'd be a good resource to find! We have tons of info on how we riders should share the road, maybe there needs to be more info for cars!

When I see bikes, I first try to decide if they are a "serious" rider or not. I treat serious riders like I want to be treated (like a slow vehicle who follows the road rules).

If the biker doesn't look experienced or doesn't seem to be holding a line or following road rules I treat them like a child on a bike: watch them like a hawk, give them a huge amount of room, and expect them to be unpredictable.

[pooks]

If there aren't instructions out there on how to share the road with cyclists, there need to be. How many people are good intentioned but just don't know what to do? I think most of them.

[mimitabby]

most the motorists that have yelled at me either don't know the law or don't care.

once you get past driver's ed, there isn't much of a chance for people to learn more about driving. That's the problem.

[pooks]

Yes, but most motorists don't yell at you, I'm assuming. I'm talking about educating the average driver who (we hope) will be dealing with more and more bicycles in the future, and needs to know basics.

[mimitabby]

I figure for each one yelling, 10 others are thinking the same thing. But there it is again. Except for a few kind souls, most people just find bikes on the road to be an irritation.
As moving vehicles, most laws that apply to cars apply to bikes too.
the cascade bike club website has quite a bit of info. http://www.cascade.org

[SouthernBelle]

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/pdfs/05chap14.pdf

[mimitabby]

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/pdfs/05chap14.pdf

hey, thanks Susan, that's pretty good. You should share the road with... EVEN ANIMALS!!
and then I thought, there are actually people that need to be told this!

[Cassandra_Cain]

I figure for each one yelling, 10 others are thinking the same thing. But there it is again. Except for a few kind souls, most people just find bikes on the road to be an irritation.
As moving vehicles, most laws that apply to cars apply to bikes too.
the cascade bike club website has quite a bit of info. http://www.cascade.org

Mimi I'm with you on this one. While it may be only 10% of drivers that yell at you, I have strong reason to think the other 90% who don't yell, still think you don't belong on the road and would rather see you riding on the sidewalk. They just aren't quite as rude so to feel compelled to scream at you.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Right now I am reading "The Art of Urban Cycling", and it is a valuable read even if you don't ride in the city. I got my copy used and cheap on Amazon. The book goes on the premise that we should bike with the default assumption that any given car driver is going to do the wrong thing. Biking with that in the back of your mind has the effect of making you into a biker that keeps a good buffer zone around them and forsees problem situations in advance, thus able to choose alternate ways to avoid problems before they happen. It's a good concept.
It would be great if drivers knew more bike safety rules, and everyone should promote more education abou that. But I also think it is wise to just ASSUME cars don't see you and will do the unexpected, stay vigilent and position yourself to avoid certain situations in advance. Sometimes a car driver will look right at you, but not actually "register" that you are there because they are scanning for other cars.

[mimitabby]

Right now I am reading "The Art of Urban Cycling", and it is a valuable read even if you don't ride in the city. I got my copy used and cheap on Amazon. The book goes on the premise that we should bike with the default assumption that any given car driver is going to do the wrong thing. Biking with that in the back of your mind has the effect of making you into a biker that keeps a good buffer zone around them and forsees problem situations in advance, thus able to choose alternate ways to avoid problems before they happen. It's a good concept.
It would be great if drivers knew more bike safety rules, and everyone should promote more education abou that. But I also think it is wise to just ASSUME cars don't see you and will do the unexpected, stay vigilent and position yourself to avoid certain situations in advance. Sometimes a car driver will look right at you, but not actually "register" that you are there because they are scanning for other cars.

Boy you got that right!

[SouthernBelle]

The doing the wrong thing statement reminded me. It happens frequently, I'm riding along and just as someone gets to me they will honk and wave. This is people being friendly, not obnoxious. But they don't realize they may startle me into a ditch or curb.

[pooks]

I have strong reason to think the other 90% who don't yell, still think you don't belong on the road and would rather see you riding on the sidewalk.

Absolutely. And that's where I think education needs to come in. There are communities where cyclists are more "normal" and the average driver grows more accustomed to seeing cyclists, I'd think. Where I live, they're very rare. But I have to believe there are going to be more, and somebody has to start looking seriously at how to educate everybody.

While it's true that most people may feel like cyclists shouldn't be on the road, that they create hazards, etc. -- we can't just view people with that attitude as the enemy. The roads will only get more dangerous. If we're going to survive on the roads and increase our numbers, it's partly by convincing more people to join us, and partly by educating those who don't.

I think this comes in the way of public safety commercials, webpages, etc. It seems like some communities might already have such things?


Right now I am reading "The Art of Urban Cycling", and it is a valuable read even if you don't ride in the city. I got my copy used and cheap on Amazon. The book goes on the premise that we should bike with the default assumption that any given car driver is going to do the wrong thing.

I agree with that, too.

Education is needed on both sides. I think that's the book I was told to get but it's out of print. I'll go the used book route, too. Thanks!

[pooks]

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/bikeped/pdfs/05chap14.pdf

Thanks! I'm going to print it out and look at it more closely!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Pooks - well you are right, in some communities seeing cyclists is say, more typical. Like in Minneapolis, San Francisco. Now whether drivers treat you better, that is another story.

What about this - until gas goes to $10/gallon, public transportation gets decent funding - why not make a bike course for drivers part of the driver exam & cirriculum when people first get a license? For those that already have a license, make it a course required to renew the license.