maneuvering in city streets

[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...