I yelled at a commuter today...

[emily_in_nc]

...and I feel bad about it, but at the time, I just reacted out of fear, with my "mother hen" hat on.

This morning as I was driving to work, this guy with full rear panniers and rear rack was commuting on a VERY busy road that has no shoulders part of the way due to construction of new lanes on either side. He was absolutely booking to get to a safer part of the road where cars could get around him, since he was having to take the lane through the construction zone. I happened to be the only car behind him right at the time as the rest got stopped at a light behind me.

He did not have a helmet on, which shocked me, considering the road he was riding on. However, as I got closer, I noticed that it was strapped to his rear rack.

When I got to where I could safely pass him, I rolled down the passenger window and yelled at him "Why aren't you wearing your helmet?!" He yelled something back (most likely "I forgot!"), but I couldn't make it out exactly. By then I was already past him and headed on to work.

I have a "Share the Road" bumper sticker on my car and am very, very supportive of bike commuting (wish I could do it, but I live too far from work and there are no safe roads close to my workplace), but I seriously feared for this guy's safety riding the road he was on even had he been wearing a helmet. Without one, it seemed almost suicidal, and my instincts just kicked in. Of course I felt guilty about yelling at him afterwards, but I also felt that unless he forgot it only until I mentioned it, he should have already have pulled over at some point (there were other areas prior to the construction zone where he could have safely done that) and put his helmet on, not just kept on going like a bat out of hell.

My heart was beating so fast when I got to work -- too many cyclists have been hit and injured or killed in our area in the past year for me to take something like this likely. I hope I didn't upset him too much, and I wouldn't have yelled had I been right beside him at a stop sign or something, but he had already veered off onto the closed lane under construction, so he would have never heard me unless I'd yelled.

What do you folks who commute think? Should I have just kept my window rolled up and my opinions/fears to myself?

Thanks,
Emily

[PamNY]

I don't commute, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't yell at him when you are clearly correct.

The only downside would be if you distracted him, thereby putting him in more danger.

I wouldn't feel guilty; it was an honest (and potentially helpful) reaction.

Pam

[Veronica]

I would have not yelled. If a person (adult) is not wearing a helmet, that's their business.

Do you yell at people who are overweight and buying junk at the grocery store?

Do you yell at smokers?

Do you yell at people who drink to excess, do drugs, have unsafe sex, drive too fast, or any of the plethora of "bad for you" activities?

It's not that I think helmets are a bad idea, but who are we to impose our ideas of what's safe on another adult? Cause hey, if we're imposing, than I'm in charge, it's going to be MY way.

Veronica

[Grog]

I understand your urge to yell at him. I am "impressed" by the carelessness of many cyclists and other users of the road around me every day as I commute to work. (No-helmets are the tip of the iceberg.)

This being said... I think there is a significant risk of startling a cyclist when yelling at him or her from a car. Especially if the conditions of the road are not so good and there are potholes, pylons, etc.

How would you have felt if he swerved as you yelled to him and he turned his head to you to figure out what you said, hit a deep pothole and effectively fell from his bicycle, hitting his (unprotected) head? (Not to say how he would have felt.)

There are millions of reasons why people don't wear helmets, or wear them properly. My own pet peeve is people who wear a helmet with the best of intentions, but the helmet is too small, too big, or crooked on their head, effectively putting them in as much danger as if they were not wearing a helmet at all. Whenever I have a chance to discuss the matter with various people, I do (and they get bored of it pretty quick). Who knows, perhaps the helmet he had strapped to his bike had been pooped in by his dog? I'm making this up, but for me the bottom line is that it's their problem - and their loved one's. If a cyclist (or pedestrian or motorist) is not directly endangering my life by her actions, I leave it up to them... and, more importantly, avoid putting their life in danger more than it already is...

I just got a bunch of "You'd look hotter with a helmet" stickers. They would work great on a bumper. If you'd like one I'll send you one right away (PM me your mailing address!).

[Veronica]

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I just got a bunch of "You'd look hotter with a helmet" stickers. They would work great on a bumper. If you'd like one I'll send you one right away (PM me your mailing address!).

I wish they said you'd look cooler, because then I'd put one up in my classroom. I don't want my 5th graders thinking about being hot.

Veronica

[Blueberry]

I would have not yelled. If a person (adult) is not wearing a helmet, that's their business.

The only time I would is if, like this guy, the person has a helmet and may have forgotten to put it on. Similarly, I'll remind folks if a helmet isn't fastened.

To me that says the person wants to wear one, and might need a little prodding reminder

CA

[7rider]

I am coming to the realization that a helmet won't make you "safer" on a bike. Adequate and clean bike lanes, a well-maintained machine, courteous drivers (courteous cyclists), driver and cyclist education....those things can make you "safer." A helmet merely protects your noggin from when an unsafe situation comes home to roost.
I agree with Veronica. There are plenty of folks doing what we would see as jaw-droppingly stupid. I've been criticized far too many times trying to be everybody's mother to bother wasting my breath.
I, too, have seen more than my share of cyclist carrying their helmets - on their handlebars, clipped to a backpack, etc. Often, they are teenagers, and I suspect their folks made them get one, and couldn't leave the house without one, but they're just too "cool" to actuallly wear it. Sometimes, I do remind them "You know...they work better when they're actually ON your head!" I've even stopped and adjusted folks' poorly placed helmets as they sat on their head!
Maybe I need to work on that "I'm not everyone's mother" bit a little more!

[Crankin]

I would have yelled...
I understand that I shouldn't for all of the reasons given, but I always say something to unhelmeted riders. Once, I said something to my neighbor, who was riding down the wrong side of the road, unhelmeted, with his kids.
And frankly, I would like to say something to people engaging in other unhealthy habits (like stuffing french fries into their mouths when they are 100 lbs. overweight). I know I shouldn't be policing other people's bad habits, but I sure feel like it!

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for all the replies, pro and con, ladies. I appreciate them. Just to clarify, the rider was in a safe area when I did yell. He was on the other side of the traffic cones on a fresh new lane (no cars allowed) by then. I did consider where he was before I rolled down my window. Being a cyclist myself, I know how easy it is to be startled by a driver saying anything, and I wouldn't have said a word if I'd passed him on the skinny traffic lane as that would have been way too dangerous.

I have passed lots of non-helmeted cyclists in my time, and have never said anything (other than to my DH or under my breath). I have also seen cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road and have only said something once, when they were coming right towards me. I usually mind my own business. Perhaps I should have this time, but I bet he won't forget his helmet next time!

I've also seen several segments on various news programs where they've staged people being harrassed, robbed, or whatever, and so many people just walk right by and won't get involved. Male bystanders more often just walk by. Women are more likely to get involved and to stand up for the victim. Sometimes getting involved could save someone's life. I am certainly not saying that I saved this guy's life by any means, but as I contemplated saying something to him, thoughts of these types of scenarios ran through my mind. I didn't want to be one of the ones who just "walked by" and let someone get hurt. I hope he pulled over later and put on his helmet.

Thanks about the sticker, Grog, but as a 40-something married woman, I think I'll pass. My DH might not take to me considering the hotness of anyone else on a bike, even if it is said in jest.

Emily

[kfergos]

I totally understand the instinct to reprimand somebody doing unsafe biking activities. When I see people riding helmetless, with iPods, on the wrong side of the street, or in other dangerous situations (sometimes all of those together!), I really want to stop and help educate them. Once I did ride by a couple teens riding without helmets, and I said, "Where's your helmets?" "I dunno," they said, and I rode on. I think most people don't even realize how dangerous their actions are; people take the ped mentality and transfer it to cycling, rather than taking the car driving mentality and applying that to cycling. If everybody thought and acted like a driver on their bikes, I think we'd see many fewer accidents. How many cyclists ride through stop signs or red lights without even slowing? Or don't follow basic defensive driving techniques?

ANYWAY, getting back on topic, although I understand the impulse to shout at somebody, I think as a commuter I'd be more startled than anything else. Even if it was a relatively safe situation, which it sounds like it was, the guy could just jerk his handlebars in surprise and go down. Also I know from experience it's very difficult to understand drivers when they shout something at you; possibly he couldn't even understand what you said, and he'd just get a negative impression from you. I'd have refrained from shouting at him, even though you had his best interest at heart, because: (a) odds are it wouldn't make him change his behavior; (b) it could give him a more negative view of you, and others, in general; and (c) it could have caused him to twitch in startlement and have an accident.

Just my $0.02...or perhaps a bit more...

[NoNo]

I have also seen cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road and have only said something once, when they were coming right towards me.

I've encountered this several times on my commute, most recently yesterday afternoon. I've always wanted to yell something at them, because they absolutely refuse to move out of the way, but it's always a teenage boy, so I doubt it'd do much good. One of these times, though, I'll probably snap.

OOOOH! That reminds me. There are always cars parked on the side of the bridge I have to cross, making it impossible to get past. I was going to write a letter to the state. Better do that now before I forget.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I only make comments to KIDS who aren't wearing helmets. I figure grownups are going to make their own decisions, plus it's only the law here for kids to wear them.
However....if a cyclist is riding on the wrong side of the street it actually puts ME in danger, depending on whether other cyclists and cars happen to be passing all at the same time. It creates a hazardous situation for ME, so I do tell them they are riding on the wrong side of the road and should ride with traffic.
New York State traffic law states that cyclists are not to wear two earbuds while riding....one earbud is allowed. When I see joggers and cyclists with two earbuds in and when they do not respond when I shout out "Hello!" or "Bicycle Behind you" when approaching from behind, then I make sure to BELLOW "Hello!!!!!" at them when I actually pass them. Usually makes them jump but hey, if they can't hear my first friendly holler from behind them, then they should get a clue. People moving in traffic on public roads have safety obligations to others even if they don't care about themselves.

[sfa]

I probably wouldn't have yelled at him, although I would have been seriously tempted. But mostly I wouldn't have yelled because when someone yells something at ME when I'm riding, it just startles me--even when it's something good that they're yelling. If I had been stopped next to him at a light I might have asked him why his helmet was on the back of his bike, though. And I've been known to say something to kids on bikes (it's illegal for them to be without helmets). Last week on my commute home I passed a kid riding on the sidewalk who WAS wearing a helmet--but it wasn't fastened. I wished I had time to give him a brief physics lesson, but instead I just said "the helmet only works right if you fasten it" as I passed. And I think I startled him.

Sarah

[Tuckervill]

I wish they said you'd look cooler, because then I'd put one up in my classroom. I don't want my 5th graders thinking about being hot.

Veronica

Yeah, and down here where I live, looking "hotter" is a definite drawback, since one of the main objections to helmets is being hot.

Karen

[bounceswoosh]

While I was driving yesterday, I saw a woman riding against traffic in the bike lane. It really freaked me out. One, I'm looking for oncoming traffic to my left, not to my right. Two, what if there's someone else in the bike lane riding *with* traffic like they're supposed to?

I didn't say anything; not sure what I could have said that really would have registered. When I was a kid, my dad encouraged me to go against traffic on bikes and on foot to be more visible, but I didn't feel comfortable with it even as a kid, and now as a driver it just freaks me out.