On How To Drive Your Car Near Bicycles

This one's for the drivers.

My husband and I went for a ride on the Towpath last night from Peninsula to Highland Rd. and back.  It was a gorgeous ride in the cool autumn air.  The trail was nearly empty and the first leaves were just beginning to fall.  Autumn is by far my favorite season to ride in.

Anyway, there was a detour in the trail by the Canal Visitor's Center on Boston Mills Rd.  You have to cross the road here, but the detour had you crossing further east, near the intersection of Boston Mills and Hines Hill.  Since we did not have the right of way when we got to the crossing, I stopped like a good little cyclist, unclipped, and put my foot down to wait for traffic to clear before turning left onto the road.  However, the Buick heading west on Boston Mills decided he would stop to let me out.  He waved me on.  The Honda heading east did not stop to let me out, so I obviously still stayed where I was.  After the eastbound lane was clear, the Buick still insisted on letting me out.  I waved him on, but he refused to budge until I went.  So, against my better judgement, I went through.

Which car performed correctly in this situation?  You guessed it (hopefully), the Honda.  I, of course, should not have given in to the Buick, but at the time I was tired of arguing with him and since there weren't any other cars involved at that point, I did what he wanted.  In hindsight, I should have stuck to my guns so he didn't repeat his mistake in the future.

When There Is A Bicycle Waiting to Cross Traffic

If you are approaching a driveway, parking lot, or intersection and there is a bicycle waiting to cross the street or turn onto the road, don't stop your car to let them out.  I understand that your heart is in the right place.  You're being nice and letting the poor person on the bike cross so they don't have to sit there.  The thing is, we have to stop.  We do not have the right of way like pedestrians.  It is the law.  When a driver stops to let a cyclist out, they disrupt the flow of traffic and send it down an unpredictable path.  As in the situation above, other drivers may not stop.  Therefore, the cyclist has to wait anyway.  If the car that stops insists on waiting like the Buick, the cars behind them will get agitated and frustrated.  Meanwhile, the cyclist is aware of the sudden pressure placed upon them to get traffic moving again.  There was no reason for the cyclist to be holding up traffic and they weren't.  Now the driver has put them in that situation.  Its completely unnecessary.  By the way, if the cyclist refuses to go, don't press the issue.  They are following the law, you aren't.

Just so you know, it takes a bit for cyclists to gather momentum from a full stop.  We actually prefer to wait for traffic to clear so we have plenty of time to get going.  When a car disrupts the flow of traffic and forces us to go before we're supposed to, the take-off process becomes uncomfortable and frustrating.  Its actually worse when we just stopped and put the foot down.  Our muscles are adjusting and our bicycle is now in a different position.  Unlike a car, it takes a second.  So, please, please, please don't change the game plan on us.  While we understand where you're coming from, waving cyclists through isn't safe nor legal.  We don't need you to help us.  Just drive like you would if another car was waiting there and everyone will be happier.

When You Need to Pass A Bicycle Going In The Same Direction


For some reason, motorists struggle with this, so here's a simple explanation on how to you pass a bike.  Pass a bicycle the same way you would a slow motor vehicle.  When you're passing a street sweeper, for example, you don't squeeze between it and oncoming traffic, right?  Nor, should you do that when trying to pass a bicycle.  Even though they aren't as wide as other vehicles, it doesn't mean that passing laws don't apply.

Wait for a clear line of sight and pass with caution.  Don't tailgate, rev your engine, honk, or floor it when you do pass.  Do you do that to the street sweeper?  Do you harass mail trucks?  How about Amish buggy's (for you Ohioan drivers)?  You probably don't.  Those vehicles have a right to the road and go at a slow pace for a reason and we aren't surprised or irritated when we overtake them, right?  Same goes for bicycles.  They have a right to the road and go at a slower pace.  There's nothing surprising or fundamentally irritating about that either.

You will not die if you have to slow down for a few minutes.  The world will not end.  Your car will not explode.  The universe will not rip in half.  The only people on the road who have a right to pass other vehicles at higher speeds are first responders.  The law states that if one of those vehicles is overtaking traffic and has its emergency lights and sirens on, everyone else needs to pull over and stop so they can pass.  If a cyclist is being overtaken by one of these vehicles they have to do the same thing.  However, if you need to use the bathroom or you are late to work, that isn't something the cyclist has to respond to.  "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."  So, relax and wait a few minutes.  Everything will be ok.  If you choose to pass in a dangerous manner, chances are your day will get much worse and so will the day of the cyclist.

For the love of Pete, don't honk when you  are preparing to pass cyclists.  Believe it or not, we know you're there.  Automobile engines are loud.  While you can't hear anything inside your vehicle, cyclists don't have that handicap.  We get passed all the time.  Its totally normal and we know what its like to be passed.  Cyclists will not suddenly swerve into traffic when you're passing them.  We don't want to die.  When you honk its really, really loud (because horns are designed to be heard by other people in cars).  Honking your horn startles us.  Now you've added a variable into the situation that doesn't need to be there.  Just as in your interactions with other motorists, only use your horn to communicate that something is going wrong, like "Stop!  You're going to hit me!"

Just treat a bicycle like you would another automobile, and it will be smooth sailing
for everyone involved.

The Rule of Thumb

Interact with bicycles the same way you do with automobiles.  Bicycles, by law, are required to follow the same traffic laws that you do.  There is no reason to mess with that system.

Also, respect that there is person on that bicycle, just like there are people behind the wheels of vehicles.  You do not like it when another driver operates their vehicle with no regard for your rights on the road, so there is no reason to act that way with a cyclist.  Cyclists are fathers, mothers, children, sisters, brothers, grandparents, husbands, wives and friends just like drivers.  Just like you are.  Treat them as you want to be treated on the road and everything will go well.

Above all, drive safe.