maneuvering in city streets

[hawkeyerider]

Yes, I always use hand signals and am good about giving other cues if I'm about to switch lanes. So far I haven't gotten any horns or obscene gestures!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

For the most part, car drivers greatly appreciate it when we give big obvious hand signals letting them know our intentions beforehand. At a stop light, when everyone is waiting for the green light, I look all around me and make a BIG signal letting everyone know which way I'm going to go on the green light (and of course i'm in the left part of the lane if I'm planning on making a left). If I plan to go straight I make a big pointing straight ahead gesture with my whole arm, twice. I see so many drivers nodding and smiling when they see my turn signaling. It's so much safer to be visible and make big gestures.

[GLC1968]

I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but indicating that I'm going straight with the whole arm is a GREAT idea!! I have been almost hit 4 times in the past week because of cars turning into me or cutting me off at intersections (where there are no lights). This is partly due to those 'wrong way' cyclists getting in the way, but I think that had I thought to clearly indicate that I was continuing in the straight ahead direction, it would have helped at least half of the incidents.

Is it me, or is it getting MORE dangerous out there lately? I don't know why I'm all of a sudden having so many near misses on the same roads and intersections I've been riding for months with no problems.

[Melalvai]

Is it me, or is it getting MORE dangerous out there lately? I don't know why I'm all of a sudden having so many near misses on the same roads and intersections I've been riding for months with no problems.

Traffic has been better here. Of course this is a college town in summer. But with 6% drop in miles driven I don't see how it could be anything but better.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but indicating that I'm going straight with the whole arm is a GREAT idea!! I have been almost hit 4 times in the past week because of cars turning into me or cutting me off at intersections (where there are no lights). This is partly due to those 'wrong way' cyclists getting in the way, but I think that had I thought to clearly indicate that I was continuing in the straight ahead direction, it would have helped at least half of the incidents.

If you like that idea, then by all means go all the way like I do and TAKE THE LANE just like a car at the intersection if you mean to go straight.
I carefully maneuver into the middle of the lane as I am approaching an intersection, and I wait my turn in the line just like a car. As the light turns green or as I'm coming into the crossing, I am in the middle of the lane and i make my big clear pointing ahead signals for all to see as I'm coming through the intersection. (sort of like the charge of the Light Brigade in slow motion). You'd be amazed at how cars suddenly treat you like any other car. They don't drive around you, try to turn around you, or ignore you. I've never been honked at or cursed at for doing this- only smiled at by grateful drivers who don't have to guess what the biker is going to do.
As soon as I am clear of the intersction I swing back to the right edge of the lane or the shoulder to allow cars to pass me again. Works like a charm, and everyone seems happy. Car drivers LIKE knowing what cyclists are planning to do. It's safer and more courteous to let them all know clearly ahead of time and during any tricky situation like a traffic turn.

(don't let this get you offguard though....you should still EXPECT cars to do something stupid at any second, or not to see you. Anticipate the worst and you will always be prepared for anything.)

[GLC1968]

Oh Lisa - I do take the lane when stopped at an intersection. Every time!

My problem is at intersections where there is no light. I'm on the road with the right of way. It's the cars turning left or the ones waiting at a stop sign to pull out (they are to my right), that are causing the problems.

Just today, I was approaching a side street that had a stop sign (I was on the main road). I'm always aware of cars pulling into the street because unless I make eye contact, I assume they don't see me. There were two cars at the stop. The first one saw me and assumed they could 'beat' me so she pulled out in front of me. She was ok doing so, but I did slow a bit to see what the car behind her would do. He stopped, so I kept going. Then, at the last minute, he pulled out in front of me. I screetched to a halt jumping off the saddle and just barely kept from slamming into his car. I yell at him to just GO now that he's blocking the road and he indicates that he can't because now there are other cars on the street that I was on. Yes. He had no intention of stopping for me, but he only stopped because there were cars on the road with me. And yes, this guy looked right at me and smiled before he pulled out. He showed no concern at all that he'd almost hit me. This is the 4th such incident in the past 5 days and my commute is only 2 miles each way!!

H's theory is that the local drivers are getting fed up with all the new cyclists who don't follow the rules of the road that they are taking it out on all of us.

Admittedly, as a driver, I'm finding a LOT of the new cyclists to be extremely dangerous and quite annoying...so I'm frustrated.

I don't know...maybe it's just a coincidence and bad timing.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Just today, I was approaching a side street that had a stop sign (I was on the main road). I'm always aware of cars pulling into the street because unless I make eye contact, I assume they don't see me. There were two cars at the stop. The first one saw me and assumed they could 'beat' me so she pulled out in front of me. She was ok doing so, but I did slow a bit to see what the car behind her would do. He stopped, so I kept going. Then, at the last minute, he pulled out in front of me. I screetched to a halt jumping off the saddle and just barely kept from slamming into his car. I yell at him to just GO now that he's blocking the road and he indicates that he can't because now there are other cars on the street that I was on. Yes. He had no intention of stopping for me, but he only stopped because there were cars on the road with me. And yes, this guy looked right at me and smiled before he pulled out. He showed no concern at all that he'd almost hit me. This is the 4th such incident in the past 5 days and my commute is only 2 miles each way!!

What I see in this scenario is that this kind of thing has always happened to cyclists and always will. People make bad decisions whether they are driving cars or riding bikes, and that will never change. The difference here is that YOU were ready for his bizarre move- in the back of your mind you knew there was a freakin' tiny possibility of him pulling out unexpectedly at the last moment. That gave you a big edge over other cyclists who would have blithely accelerated at that moment, thinking the coast was all clear and safe. They likely would have slammed right into him and been totally surprised by the whole incident. YOU knew better than to be that confident. So I see it as wonderful proof of your defensive biking technique. You avoided all your recent near collisions because you expected the cars to do the wrong thing. This is defensive biking at its best.

H's theory is that the local drivers are getting fed up with all the new cyclists who don't follow the rules of the road that they are taking it out on all of us.
Admittedly, as a driver, I'm finding a LOT of the new cyclists to be extremely dangerous and quite annoying...so I'm frustrated.

I think this is partly true as well. I'm seeing way more people on bikes this year than the past few years. And I see them biking in ways that make me shudder. They are astounded when cars don't see them and they also ride so timidly that it puts them into dangerous situations (such as riding along in the 'door zone' without any idea what could happen) and they ride in such a way as to make cars unsure of what they are going to do, which just compounds the danger.

[PscyclePath]

Where there's no stop or yield signs, or no traffic light, the right-of-way rule at "uncontrolled" intersctions is "first come -- first served." The driver who gets there first gets to take his turn going thru first. If two or more drivers get there at the same time, then the driver on the right goes first.

For Europe, it's different. If you're on what they designate and sign as the "priority road," then traffic on the priority road has right of way. In the absence of a priority road sign, then it's always the vehicle farthest to the right that has right of way.

We do an extremely poor job of driver education here in the States, with few ever again cracking the cover on the rule book once they get their learner's permit as a teen-ager. That leads to the common, but false presumption that the bigger the vehicle you drive, the more right-of-way you should have ;-)

[Grog]

Scary stuff, GLC!!

Here's my hopefully-a-little-bit-helpful 2 cents... for what it's worth.

Just today, I was approaching a side street that had a stop sign (I was on the main road). I'm always aware of cars pulling into the street because unless I make eye contact, I assume they don't see me.

Personally, I don't assume that they see me. I usually smile or gently wave, too. If I don't get some form of acknowledgment back, and I think that it will matter, I make a bigger sign.

I find that female driver in particular (maybe because I'm female, or for another reason???) very often do not respond non-verbally as well. They just stay there staring at you, and it's impossible to tell whether they've seen you or not.

Anyway it's not always possible, but I try to smile to drivers whenever I make eye contact, especially since I'm wearing shades on the bike most of the time.

He stopped, so I kept going. Then, at the last minute, he pulled out in front of me. (...) And yes, this guy looked right at me and smiled before he pulled out.

Remember the moonwalking gorilla? Maybe the guy was not looking for you at all...

Don't be shy and "tell" drivers not to go by flashing them a universal stop sign, i.e. showing the the palm of your hand (fingers up... ALL fingers ) with your arm extended. I find that car drivers respond to that immediately, maybe because it's pretty hard wired in their brain or because it makes me look like a traffic cop. I don't know. In the last two years I've been using that move quite a bit when I felt that the driver could be making a bad decision. I have had only one person "override" my "stop signal" and he did it fast enough that he did not endanger me.

Disclaimer: I live in Vancouver, B.C., and the drivers are generally quite shy and not especially confident at reading the signs of the road, in part because many of them have learned to drive later in their adult life. They are relatively easy to deal with, they seem to appreciate having others making their driving decisions for them. This might not work as well with a middle-aged owner of a big fat pickup truck who's been driving since he was 7 years old and doesn't need a cyclist to boss him around. Your mileage may vary...

[hawkeyerider]

'I carefully maneuver into the middle of the lane as I am approaching an intersection, and I wait my turn in the line just like a car.'

Hmm. I've been told by other cyclists that it's ok to move up to the front of the line while cars are waiting at an intersection. I'm off to the side but not in the right-turn lane. Is that poor etiquette?

[Grog]

'I carefully maneuver into the middle of the lane as I am approaching an intersection, and I wait my turn in the line just like a car.'

Hmm. I've been told by other cyclists that it's ok to move up to the front of the line while cars are waiting at an intersection. I'm off to the side but not in the right-turn lane. Is that poor etiquette?

My friend was "doored" by a passenger coming out of a car recently as she was passing it to the right, trying to get to the stop sign ahead. Thankfully nobody was hurt. It was not very nice for me (and her!), but I had to tell her that she was not supposed to be there and that most likely the passenger would not be considered at fault if she complained. She even could have hurt the passenger if they had collided, and it would have been my friend's fault.

I am not 100% sure about your state, but where I live it depends on whether there actually is a lane for bikes.

Generally, it is prohibited to pass vehicles on the right, if only because it's quite dangerous. You're vulnerable to doors, sudden movements of the cars to the right, etc. Drivers are trained to see trouble coming from the left, not from the right. (Note that many cars do not have a rear-view mirror on the right side of the car.)

If there is a bike lane, or A LOT of space, I do pass on the right and get to the front of the line. If there is no lane, and the space is not wide enough, I wait for my turn in the middle of the car lane. It annoys me to see other cyclists buzzing around and going through the intersection directly, but I'd rather stay where I am and 1) be safe and 2) show drivers that at least some cyclists follow the rules of the road.

[GLC1968]

Ditto Grog on the passing on the right at an intersection, it's dangerous. In fact, where I commute, there is a bike lane for most of it. I've been known to come up to intersections in the bike lane and hold back behind a car if they are already at the intersection waiting to turn right (if I'm going straight). I figure that it's only fair since they got their first. If there are other cars coming, I move into the lane behind the car to hold my own place in line while waiting for them to turn.

[Eden]

If there is a bike lane, or A LOT of space, I do pass on the right and get to the front of the line. If there is no lane, and the space is not wide enough, I wait for my turn in the middle of the car lane.

Same here - unless there is a wide, designated bike lane (and sometimes even if there is one...) I prefer to move into the middle of the intersection so that its clear that I am there and my intention is to go straight. The only other time I would feel OK passing on the right would be if traffic was entirely snarled to a stop. Then I feel little that compels me to not use my advantages as a bike and move freely (smiling the whole time too)

One thing that does bug me is people who don't stop until they are half way into an intersection... yeah I get it that you can't see around parked cars, but you are supposed to stop behind the stop line, then if you don't have a clear view, slowly pull forward until you can see, then proceed. I yelled at a guy who was plowing through a stop from a side street onto the arterial that I was on yesterday. Nothing bad, just "hey" because I didn't think he was stopping at all. He had his window open and he apparently couldn't figure out why I yelled.... dude how am I supposed to know you are stopping if you don't stop....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hmm. I've been told by other cyclists that it's ok to move up to the front of the line while cars are waiting at an intersection. I'm off to the side but not in the right-turn lane. Is that poor etiquette?

Etiquette and manners aside.....it's DANGEROUS.