Cycling Skills: Communication
Posted by: ScottSep 14 2006, 2:00 pm
Communication with other road users – whether motorists, bicyclists, or pedestrians – goes hand-in-hand with predictability and is central to safe city biking. I like to clearly communicate my intentions, especially when changing my riding position and sorting out right-of-way issues. Other more subtle body positioning techniques can also signal your intentions. Here are a few of my signals:
Stopping: Use the stopping signal to alert bicyclists and motorists.
Slowing: Stand on you pedals to indicate that you are slowing.
Changing Lanes: Look behind you, make eye contact, and use hand signals
Right of Way: Eye contact matters. Looking at the driver will help you determine their intentions, and often allow you to feel safe when taking the right-of-way.
Biking Around Pedestrians: I like to make eye contact with pedestrians, use my bell to signal if I pass them, say "thanks" if they move for me, and be clear (by putting down a foot) when I'm yielding to them in a crosswalk.
A few points.
#1 Never assume that a driver seas you unless you can see the whites of their eyes. Do not assujme that a driver will stop at a stop sign, they usually slow for a second and then accelerate.
#2 Please give the right of way to pedestrians. Stop and let them cross. It makes all of us look better.
#3 Fenders keep most of the rain off you. Even if it's not actively raining, puddles give plenty of splash. Also CityBikes has great bike ponchose for around $20. They are the cheapest practical raingear. Also a baseball cap is great for keeping raindrops off your face and glasses.
#4 Small minimally used roadways are safer than larger streets with bike lanes. There is usually a secondary road which parallels an arterial (at least in central Portland).
#5 To keep your wheels safe, get a hose clamp from the hardware store and tighten it around your quick release and frame (see photo)
This means that a thief will have to spend time unscrewing the clamp before taking your wheels. And if you are concerned about being able to fix a flat, simply put tube protectors (like mr tuffies) in the wheel to prevent flats.
email me for more on installing tube protectors
Aaron
BE SEEN! This is the first thing we teach kids in the Bicycle Safety Education Program here in Central Oregon.
Virtually every car driver says the exact same four words after they hit a bicyclist-"I never saw them". In Bend, I'm called the Christmas tree because in addition to all the standard stuff like a reflective jacket, headlight, rear flashers I also add an armband flasher, a camping headlight mounted to the front of my white helmet and a flasher mounted on back.
I also run everything even during the day. I feel that just any extra glimmer to catch the eye of a motorist may save my life.
I have had at length conversations about being seen. I think that wearking a bright yellow jacket during the day does help, but more importantly is your behavior as a cyclist, especially in urban conditions. You need to be a position so that cars do see you. At night lights are key, I hope do a post on lights and equipment
No discussion and pictures of hand signals for turning? About half of all cyclists I run into that actually use hand signals, don't use the right signals.
Left turns: Extend left arm straight out in the direction of the turn, parallel to the road
Right turns: Extend your left upper-arm out to the left, parallel to the road and angle your forearm vertically upward. This follows automotive and motorcycle practice, although some consider extending the right arm straight out in the direction of the turn valid as well.
I'd rather see people use no signal than the wrong signal, and this article gave no info on the most commonly used communication signals. I also disagree with relying on eye contact for any kind of indication of intentions. I'd rather rely on what I see they are doing than some implied permission I might have if they even really saw me at all.