Road etiquette

[jusdooit]

I have been riding about a year. Most of that time has been on paved trails, or on a national park trace. I have little experience riding on roadways. However, as my confidence and abilities have grown I find myself wanting to ride on more public roads. My main concern is how to handle left hand turns. Do I get into the left turn lane just as a vehicle? Or do I cross the intersection as a pedestrian would?
I must admit I'm a little concerned about my safety. Here "share the road" means become part of the road to many motorists. A local radio DJ said on-air recently that it was ok to throw water baloons at cyclists. Stupidity abounds!!!
Thanks in advance to all responses.

[Zen]

If you feel confident that you can push off at a decent speed when the light changes, take your LT lane.

As for the moron on the radio, did you contact that station? A typed letter sent through real mail can be a powerful too. Send the same letter to the station's general manager and to the corporate head.

[F8th637]

As a cyclist you have the option of doing either. You can ride like a vehicle and take the left turn lane or you can take it like a pedestrian and cross like you mentioned. I suggest checking out "The Art of Urban Cycling" at your local library or book store. It has a lot of great information about riding especially on the streets. I think all riders should read it. Good luck!

[equus123]

hello good question!

my suggestion for left turns....you always generally "act like a car" in the way you move or the timing you use. you generally always do this with two or more riders but you can get away with more things if you're by yourself. but the main objective is to make sure the vehicles around you 1) know you're there and 2) know which way you're going. you generally don't get too many buttheads that won't ever let you go. most people are either overly polite or treat you like another car. if you're fearful or nervous about turning then the best thing to do is be overtly obvious about where you're going. move over earlier than you probably would which enables more cars to see you sooner and see where you're going. this way you won't have as many fears that they don't know what's going on. also, if a car waves you on to go or waits for you, always make it a point to just put a hand up as a thank you. i always try to be as polite as possible every time i'm on the road. it makes drivers happier and helps giving a nice first impression for someone who's never driven past a cyclist before. it's also important because it lets them know if what they did was good or not for the cyclist.

if you're making a left in the middle of the road you're on (i.e. not at an interection): wait until traffic coming up behind you ends or there's a break, point your left arm out to signal you're going left, and move into the lane or near the yellow lines and turn when oncoming traffic is clear.

if you're making a left at a stop sign or light with no left turn lane: you act like a car whether there's one lane or two. if there's two, get in the left-most lane. if you're in a line of cars stopped, it's usually better to act like a car (or motorcycle for that matter) and take up a space in the line of cars.

if you're making a left at a stop sign or light with a left turn lane: whether there's no cars or a line of cars, i generally ride up to the front line and wait on the right-side of the left turn lane (i.e. at the first car's front passenger side). it makes it easier for everyone, especially yourself. when the light or arrow turns green then you just pick your turning line so that the cars pass by you on your left and everybody wins. haha

[Nokomis]

hello good question!

my suggestion for left turns....

Everything she said!

If you chose to use the sidewalk route - be sure to get off & walk it across as a pedestrian.

[Torrilin]

Everything she said!

If you chose to use the sidewalk route - be sure to get off & walk it across as a pedestrian.

Seconded. For some left turns I'm comfortable turning like a car (2 lane road, light traffic). For heavier traffic, it depends on how alert I am. For an awful lot of turns downtown, there's building construction or road construction that makes a left hazardous by eating one or more travel lanes. In that case I walk my bike period. Lot easier to go slower for a block than munge up poorly signed construction traffic.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

hello good question!

my suggestion for left turns....you always generally "act like a car" in the way you move or the timing you use. you generally always do this with two or more riders but you can get away with more things if you're by yourself. but the main objective is to make sure the vehicles around you 1) know you're there and 2) know which way you're going. you generally don't get too many buttheads that won't ever let you go. most people are either overly polite or treat you like another car. if you're fearful or nervous about turning then the best thing to do is be overtly obvious about where you're going. move over earlier than you probably would which enables more cars to see you sooner and see where you're going. this way you won't have as many fears that they don't know what's going on. also, if a car waves you on to go or waits for you, always make it a point to just put a hand up as a thank you. i always try to be as polite as possible every time i'm on the road. it makes drivers happier and helps giving a nice first impression for someone who's never driven past a cyclist before. it's also important because it lets them know if what they did was good or not for the cyclist.

if you're making a left in the middle of the road you're on (i.e. not at an interection): wait until traffic coming up behind you ends or there's a break, point your left arm out to signal you're going left, and move into the lane or near the yellow lines and turn when oncoming traffic is clear.

if you're making a left at a stop sign or light with no left turn lane: you act like a car whether there's one lane or two. if there's two, get in the left-most lane. if you're in a line of cars stopped, it's usually better to act like a car (or motorcycle for that matter) and take up a space in the line of cars.

if you're making a left at a stop sign or light with a left turn lane: whether there's no cars or a line of cars, i generally ride up to the front line and wait on the right-side of the left turn lane (i.e. at the first car's front passenger side). it makes it easier for everyone, especially yourself. when the light or arrow turns green then you just pick your turning line so that the cars pass by you on your left and everybody wins. haha

I agree with all this except the last one. When you are on the passenger side of a stopped car alongside it, you may be in a blind spot to the driver. Often a car in the left turning lane will change their mind or realize at the last second they are in the wrong lane, and they will TURN RIGHT instead, and run over you. Yes, they are "wrong", but it will hardly matter whose wrong when you get run over. I NEVER wait alongside a car at an intersection during a red light. Not only does the alongside position make it harder for the car next to you to see you, but it also makes it harder for all the OTHER cars to see you when you start moving forward alongside the car next to you.
In this situation, I always take the lane and stay in the middle of the left turning lane. I act just like a car, and I wait in line like the other cars. I make BIG hand signals and watch for weird turning cars when the light turns green and I go slowly into the intersection making my turn. As soon as my turn is safely made I go back to the right side of my new lane.

I second the recommendation of the book "The Art of Urban Cycling" (now annoyingly re-titled "The Art of Cycling- a guide to bicycling in 21-century America"...two titles, same book). It's my biking bible.

[Kalidurga]

Bicycle Safety: How to Not Get Hit by Cars. Excellent site of tips for riding on the road!

[Keely]

In Melbourne (Australia) we have trams and there are a number of intersections where cars have to do "hook turns". This type of turn is very useful as a cyclist in urban areas. So here's what it is... When doing a hook turn... wait I have to translate this because you guys are on the other side... too hard... I'll post a picture instead! I've drawn the picture from the Australin perspective so you'll need to reverse it.



The concept is pretty simple once you understand it. In Victoria (Australia), cyclists are allowed to do hook turns at any intersection. It can be a lot safer.

[Blueberry]

As for the moron on the radio, did you contact that station? A typed letter sent through real mail can be a powerful too. Send the same letter to the station's general manager and to the corporate head.

A couple of years ago, one of our local radio jerks advocated keeping a stash of yoohoo bottles in the car to throw at cyclists. He ranted and raved on the air for a good 15-20 minutes about how bikes didn't belong on the roads.

The cycling community banded together, wrote the station and then *here's the key* started calling and writing sponsors and organizing boycotts. The station lost a bunch of ad dollars, and the idiots were suspended for a while. This was back when lots of Clear Channel stations were getting in trouble for the same thing...

For more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_and_the_Showgram

Just an idea.

[Starfish]

I would also just like to reiterate what someone already wrote: make sure the motorists actually see you.

Last weekend, I almost got T-boned while making a left turn. I had the right of way. There was only one car and me anywhere near the intersection. He was stopped at a stop sign, and I saw him turning his head and waiting, looking both directions more than once. I was in a bright yellow jacket on a clear day. I had been in a long and well-marked turn lane for 75-100 yards, with my yellow arm sticking straight out in a constant signal.

I thought he was being careful, and I made a stupid mistake: I was going about 25 mph (down off a slight hill), and I kept approaching the intersection fast because (1) I thought he saw me and I didn't want to keep him waiting too long for me...I was trying to be polite, and (2) I had seen he was at a full stop and really looking back and forth, and I assumed he saw me. DUMB. He did not see me, and because I was going fast, I really had to maneuver when he started to pull out to hit me.

I swerved and really yelled at him (out of fright and reaction, really), and I could see by his expression that he was chastened...he wasn't angry...he just had not seen me, for some reason, despite my full yellow jacket, turn lane, and signal.

I was chastened, also. From now on, I will go slower and make the cars wait until I am SURE they have seen me. I'm glad I didn't learn it the hard way.

[Crankin]

I always proceed slowly at left turn intersections. I have 2 major ones on my commute home, one with a light and one without. However, I want to say something about the comment Lisa made in reference to which side of the lane you should be in. On my way to school I have a 2 lane left to make on a slight uphill. Ignoring the fact that it is 6 AM and the red light will not turn green for a bike, so I look and go through the light (don't yell at me!!!), when the light is about to turn or it is green, I am always on the right hand edge of the left turn lane. It is where I feel safest. The cars behind me can see me and the line of sight onto the cross street is better. I didn't commute to work because of this intersection after I moved, and really, it has not been bad. Usually, I stay in the line of cars, but here, if I had to stop on the crest of the rise over in the middle of the lane, I am pretty sure I would fall over or have trouble starting. I haven't done this turn in tons of traffic, but this is what feels safe.

Robyn

[Cyclo Kitty]

I have to agree with the "it depends" concept. At one intersection of two two-lane streets, I took the lane (no cars behind me), signaled a left turn with my arm out, and while waiting for oncoming traffic to end, a car passed me on the left to go straight through the intersection. Now I avoid that intersection, but it taught me that even when behaving like any other vehicle, you do have to be very alert. There are bad drivers everywhere.

At the main left turn on my commute, it is again the intersection of two two-lane streets, no left turn signal, lots of oncoming traffic turning right. I wait for cars to pass me and then get into the main lane and stick my arm out. If there are no cars, I take the lane and then let them stack up behind me. The biggest problem so far has been oncoming cars turning right who have carreened through even though I'm turning, and then left me on their left side. I saw one car/driver who did that again later, and she still seemed to be oblivious to everything around her.

Make eye contact whenever you can; it's hard to know if you have, but look straight at the other drivers and they will sometimes wave you on, so you can clear the intersection first. When they do that, wave back. It's only safe if noone is whipping around from behind them, though, which happens a lot here.

The more predictably and car-like I ride, the better it seems to be. I also try to make eye contact and smile, nod, or wave at any traffic cops I see.

[equus123]

here's a visual of the left turn with 2 lanes I mentioned. i stop at the front passenger-side corner of the first car or sometimes a little in front of the corner of their car to emphasize "we're all making left turns!". but this is what I find the easiest for me and where I live in this situation.

You're the little red guy. The first car is the blue object.

[northstar]

I have found it to be best to very carefully and deliberately take the left lane. I don't ride up to the front. Sometimes this involves backing off for a while and letting traffic pass while I wait for a safe opening to make my move. Once I get into the lane at the light/stop sign, I sit and wait like a car, right in the middle of the lane. I also watch behind me like a hawk, ready to jump out of the way if I need to do so.

A motorist recently rolled down his window and thanked me for following the rules of the road when I took the lane and waited at the light with traffic.

The more you ride on the road, the more comfortable you will become doing this. Of course, each intersection is different, and you'll need to strategize as to what will be safest at each one.