Motorists and Cyclists, Beyond Sharing the Road

By Dean Schott

Imagine a NASCAR track some Sunday afternoon -- stock cars running around the oval at speeds up to 180 miles per hour. Just before the start, bicyclists from the Tour de France roll out of the pits at 30 miles per hour in front of the cars.

Or imagine the Tour de France -- cyclists ready to make a dash to the finish for the yellow jersey, and out of the side streets come NASCAR drivers jockeying for positions among the cyclists.

In either case, a guarantee for mayhem, madness or worse. We know cyclists don't belong on NASCAR tracks, and NASCAR drivers stay away from the Tour de France.

And yet everyday motorists and cyclists travel together on our streets, roads and highways. They commute to work, go to school, run errands or go places for the sheer pleasure of it. It's no accident that they do so most of the time without collisions or injuries. Among most motorists and cyclists, there's a recognition of peaceful coexistence, of sharing the road so everyone gets where they're going safely.

But occasions do arise in split seconds when it can seem like NASCAR does meet the Tour de France, and the idea of sharing the road is nothing more than a piece of litter tossed along the roadway. The statistics, the media and social commentators all point to more incidents of road rage among motorists and between motorists and bicyclists.

Some motorists believe bicycles should be kept on sidewalks or on trails and away from the traffic, and some cyclists ride their bikes like they're two-ton SUVS, taking up lanes and blocking traffic. It's a bad mix of attitudes and behaviors from anyone's standpoint.

To reduce these incidents in our everyday travel, the concept of sharing the road must be expanded to a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities of both motorists and cyclists.

Let's begin with cyclists don't belong on the road, which many drivers firmly believe. Despite this belief, state laws are clear that cyclists do have the right to be on the road, and no amount of complaining will ever change that.

And just the same, bicyclists cannot rule the road individually or en masse. Cyclists riding two or three or more abreast while traffic backs up behind them can trigger trouble in a flash.

For starters, motorists and cyclists should give each other space in which to manuever safely. When passing, a minimum of three feet should be between a car and a bicycle, even more if the car is traveling faster. Wind currents stirred up by speeding cars and trucks can affect the stability of a cyclist.

Under state law, bicyclists must travel as far to the right as practical, but practical is in the eye of cyclists, who may move farther into a traffic lane to avoid hazards, such as broken pavement, storm grates, shattered glass and parked cars. Cyclists also may move closer to the center of narrow lanes to avoid being passed too closely.

Although some motorist would like cyclists to be always at the right edge, it's generally accepted that cyclists are safer and become more visible to motorists when then ride a little more into the street. Motorists should not think the cyclists are moving to their left, closer to the motorists' path, just for the sake of irritation, but for safety reasons.

Motorists and cyclists alike should use signals to let the others know what they intend to do. Drivers communicate that by using their turn signals and brake lights; bicyclists use their arms to point left or right for turns or a straight opened hand down and facing back to indicate slowing.

If you want to be a better defensive driver, be sure to add bicycles to your list of things on your watch list. If cyclists want to be safer too, they have to do the same, always being alert to what a motorist might do in any situation.

Motorists and cyclists should also be aware of how most collisions occur and take steps to avoid those situations. According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, the most frequent crashes involving motorists and bicyclists are:

• A motorist or cyclist who fail to yield the right of way at an intersection, driveway or alley.
• A motorist or cyclist who run a stop sign or flashing red light.
• A motorist turning or merging into the path of a cyclist. Almost half of the crashes involve a motorist making a left turn in front of a cyclist approaching in the opposite direction.
• A motorist not seeing a cyclist or misjudging the distance between the car and a cyclist. Many of these crashes happen because a motorist misjudges the space to safely pass a bicycle.
• A cyclist turning into the path of a car. About 60 percent of these incidents involve a cyclist making a left turn in front of a motorist traveling in the same direction.

With this information, motorists and cyclists can modify their driving and riding habits, improve their skills, make the roads safer for everyone and leave NASCAR and the Tour de France to the professionals.

(Dean Schott of Glenview, Illinois, is a motorist, cyclist and outreach director for the League of Illinois Bicyclists -- a statewide advocacy group. Contact: dean@bikelib.org or 847-291-1213.)

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