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.

The illustration of the turning truck is not right. As drawn, the trucks rear tires will encroach 2 or more feet onto the sidewalk!

The phenomena happens with all vehicles: when turning, the rear wheels will “track” closer to the inside of the turn. On a bicycle it is very small, and in cars it is measured in inches. But with a tractor-trailer combination vehicle (Where the rear dual wheels can be as much as 48 feet from the king-pin!) the off-tracking can be more than three feet.

Ironically, the artist is depicting what many people expect a turning truck to look like.

To fix the illustration, the cab of the truck would have to continue straight until it was well past the beginning of the cross lane before starting his turn. Otherwise the rear wheels would mount the curb.

It would not be unusual for a cyclist to think the truck were going straight through the intersection at first. Suppose the truck is stopped at a signal while a cyclist is approaching the intersection. The cyclist proceeds to pass the truck as the light turns green. The truck will move out into the intersection with every appearance of proceeding through it, while the cyclist moves into the “killing zone”. Or as Keri put it so well, “they will often leave a large, inviting opening on their right prior to a turn.”

Once the truck begins his turn, there will be no way for him to perceive your distress. All he can see is the forward part of the trailer in his mirror. He will not even hear you scream. I would recommend avoiding finding yourself in that position.

Good article, good comments. I may be picking at nits.

Merry Christmas everyone! ChipSeal

As always, an excellent post with great illustrations as to why “passing on the right” is dangerous, and yet it is something that far too many cyclists believe is one of the advantages of the bicycle as a vehicle… the “vehicle of opportunity” excuse.

Great site re-design, btw.

Maybe bicycle safety education will have the appeal of motorcycle safety education someday. Maybe even integrate the two under a single organization. Probably easier to teach MSE, since you don’t have to teach things like “ok, here is when you must disobey the motorcycle lane stripe.”

-R