Be aware of your surroundings. Pick your fights. Don’t stay in blind spots no matter how legally protected you believe yourself to be. Assume that the truck driver does NOT want to hurt you, but that he(she) can not protect you if they can not see you. (Hint: If you can’t see them, they can’t see you.)

Me? 1.8 million miles of trucking — cyclists injured NONE!

I’m so sorry you have lost your nephew. Stories like this break my heart.

Unfortunately, bicycling safety is not as intuitive as it should be. One reason is the stigma our society has attached to it — the belief is that bicyclists must stay out of the way as their primary objective. Another is the idea that cyclists should take advantage of their narrow profile and pass stopped traffic (perhaps to make up for being slow and shoved out of the way).

The problem with bike lanes is they reinforce both of those things. They discourage a cyclist from riding in a position that would prevent a truck from passing immediately before making a turn, and they encourage a cyclist to ride past a stopped truck. There really isn’t any way to make bike lanes safer in the face of these human factors.

There are mirrors that can help a truck driver see into his blind spots, but it is still a human-factors challenge. The driver may need to focus on what’s ahead or around the turn. Or he may just be distracted. Not putting the cyclist there in the first place is by far the best solution.

I began my journey as an advocate trying to find a way to make bike lanes safer (because of conflicts I kept having in them). My research led me to the conclusion that the best solution is to get rid of them—at least in an urban environment where there are lots of driveways and intersections.

The best solution for cycling safety is to promote cycling education. It may seem counter-intuitive, but because cyclists are nimble, relatively slow and have 360° awareness of their surroundings, they are at a tremendous advantage to prevent crashes. They just need some knowledge of traffic dynamics and where the dangers are. Door zones and turning trucks are two killers that we really need to teach people to avoid because most just aren’t aware. But education is made much harder by paint that contradicts it.

My nephew was run over by a cement truck while he was in a designated bike lane as the truck turned left mid block into the company parking lot. I wonder if the outcome would have been different if he were behind the truck. He was conscious of safety. He ride motor cycles. As a firefighter, ambulance runs were a daily occurrence. He was alert by nature and aware by experience, yet he was killed.

What can we do t make bike lanes safer?

I recall the latest deaths by truck in the Portland area and the driver “did not see” the cyclist in one of them. If the cyclist had not been in the bike lane, had taken control of the lane of travel at the intersection, and made her position and intentions obvious to the truck driver, the outcome could have been different.

Confidence and education play a large part in reaching our destination safely.

Keri mentioned about “not over glorifying hi-vis clothing” in another post. Unless I am on a MUP, you will find me riding the streets in my lime green reflective vest. Personal choice, not necessary to operate a bicycle safely.

If you have met some of the “outstanding motorists” here in Orlando, or in your locale, it is understood WHY I don’t want to give any margin of error with regards to my safety.

We will ride with our fallen cyclists again someday. Until then, ride safe and ride BIG!

If cyclists could get over the fear of “being in someone’s way” they’d never, ever advocate for such marginalization.