This cyclist is riding on a 25mph road next to a narrow lane that just went though a pinch point—making it even narrower. He’s staying dutifully to the right of a white fog line where the pavement width varies from a foot and a half to a few inches. Pinned to the edge of the road, he is constantly at a disadvantage. This cyclist experiences constant conflicts which confirm his fear of cars. He can only go where quiet streets take him—making cycling a limited and hardly-useful means of transportation.
This cyclist is riding assertively on the service road beside the High Five interchange in Dallas (one of our nation’s most stunning monuments to the automobile). This cyclist is confident. As a result, she experiences very few conflicts, close calls or violations of her right-of-way. She is not superhuman or a daredevil, she simply understands how traffic works and how she can integrate safely into it. She is empowered with access to the destinations of her choice. She sees cycling as a useful, enjoyable, economical form of transportation.
If you want to establish cycling as a vibrant and sustainable means of transportation, create more of her.
If you want cycling to be accepted as a normal part of the traffic mix, create more of her.
If you want to increase civility toward cyclists, create more of her.
If you want to dispel the notion that all cyclists are scofflaws, create more of her.
If you want to reduce the crash rates which increase the perception that cycling is dangerous, create more of her.
If you want to force motorists to pay more attention to the roadway, create more of her.
If you want to avoid an endless spiral of dependence on expensive infrastructure and the perception of cyclists as a demanding special interest, create more of her.
If you want to promote cycling in the most ethical and beneficial-to-cyclists way, create more of her.
I’d say about 4000 mi/yr for the last 10 yr, no crashes with automobiles (although I had a couple of boneheaded solo falls – for example, the road was slick after a light June rain, took the corner too hard and went down).
I have ridden 14,445 miles on my primary road bike in the 3 years since I last replaced its computer’s battery. Don’t know how many miles on my mountain bike or my tandem bike or various others in the family fleet or miscellaneous others. This has been my normal pace of accumulating miles, my entire life (I’m 47).
I discovered and read read Effective Cycling in 1996, and realized I had been riding “vehicularly” for a long time before that. My conscious awareness has grown since then in matters like the legal framework around the necessity of active lane space management.
I have had no wrecks on the street other than a solo fall on wet railroad tracks, two winters ago. Nothing I would even classify as a near miss with other traffic, requiring a quick-stop or quick-turn maneuver.
I’ve been a Vehicular Cyclist for at least 25 years, at least 50,000 miles, including much commuting, plus riding in cities across America and in Europe. I’ve never had a car-bike accident.
In fact, I’ve had only two moving on-road falls since reaching adulthood 40+ years ago: one a 3 mph slip on a gravel-covered 20% grade, the other the sudden, total fatigue failure of our custom tandem’s front fork at 10 mph. (It’s hard to stay upright without a front wheel!) Only minor injuries in either case.
Bicycling is NOT very dangerous. It does us no good to pretend it is.
My primary ride, Tour-De-Work, ~3500 miles per year, last four years, NADA touch. About 7 of 10 miles are only narrow, 20-24ft two lanes country roads with zip to 2 foot shoulders. No problem controlling or sharing the lane, posted speed limit is 55. “Controlling the lane” works the same on country lanes or city streets.
Depends on what is considered VC. The typical definition of VC is merely operating as a lawful driver. But classic VC is weak on well managing your lane space. At the least, it doesn’t emphasize the positive benefits of assertive lane position. I’ve been doing the former for 23 years and the later for all of it to some extent. When descending at high speed, which is alot around here (Chapel Hill, NC), I’ve always used the full lane, but in the last, say 6-7? years I’ve refined my knowledge of lane use to include all roads. Before that, I’d ride maybe 2 feet from the edge of the lane. But it kept creeping up and now it’s never less than 4-5 feet. About 6000 miles/year, half of that with a group though. No motor vehicle collisions.
Wayne, your two feet from the edge of the road is two feet farther away than many of the “people on bikes” ride in this part of Florida. Last year, a mechanic at a local bike shop was struck by a mirror on her way to work. The two-lane road on which she rides might be as wide as eight feet in each direction. Her solution is to no longer ride to work. I’ve not seen her in the shop but once since the crash and I suspect that she has decided to stop working there. An unnecessary loss.
About 15,000 miles since I read Effective Cycling, maybe 10,000 since taking LAB Road I, though I would say I was quasi-VC before that. No collisions with anything. No solo crashes. Not much in the way of close calls (e.g. hooks and crosses).
Probably the biggest hazard is the occasional “drive-by shouting” from an uninformed (sometimes uniformed) motorist. My most serious injury is hurt feelings.
Within the past 8 days I have nearly had or witnessed 4 accidents due to obstructions in the road. After midnight this evening I was at E. Colonial & Bumby and I had to stop my car at the inersection, put on the hazards and remove significant amount of car parts (it had to have been a recent car accident) from the intersection. Last night I almost ran over a guy leaving W.P. Hospital and walking south on the soutbound lane of Lakemont. Thank God I was driving well under the speed limit and more importantly, whoever required reflectors to be sneakers is the messiah. If I had hit him I’m sure a court of law would have found it was not my fault ut I would have gotten blood all over my car (but I probably would not have killed him). This morning around 11:30am and as I was driving north on Lakemont I had to stop my car, put on the blinkers and remove a very large branch from the middle of the lane of oncoming (southbound) traffic. Finally, about a week ago I had to stop my car and get a large branch and push a 30 lb turtle from the middle of Lakemont (near the dog park) off of the middle of Lakemont to the side of the road. Have you cyclists had to deal with road obstructions?
I read Forester’s Effective Cycling and learned vehicular cycling in 1977. Before then: broken rib when riding a Columbia 3-speed with out-of-round rims down a steep hill and couldn’t hold speed down — slipped in sand at outside of curve; broke collarbone once in attempting to mount onto pavement from gravel shoulder not realizing that my wheels had sunk into the gravel — diversion fall. Broke collarbone again when sideswiped by drunk driver on rural highway which was wide enough for him to overtake me, but he brushed me with his right rear-view mirror — “never saw me.” Total mileage to that time about 20,000.
Since reading Effective Cycling: 3 single-bike crashes resulting in injury. Fell and broke pelvis attempting to slalom and discourage wrong-way rider in Harvard Square, Cambridge, can’t figure why I lost control, probalby slipped on something (but just a crack in the pelvis, back on bike in 3 weeks); got stick caught in spokes, pitchover crash, lacerations and mild concussion; mild concussion again when I didn’t see a pothole, riding behind another cyclist (latter two crashes described in deatil on my Web site bikexprt.com). Mileage averaging 2500/year, more or less, so 75000 miles since 1977.
I’ve had more crashes than some others but my ratio of car-bike to other crashes bears out what national statistics show.
Well I never had to move a turtle, but I have had to go around wild turkeys and deer.
Part of my route is past the city recycling center, which also handles yard waste. It’s not uncommon for a big branch of bunch of tied brush to be somewhere on that road, having fallen off an overloaded pickup truck.
Dennis, you think you have obstacles on the roadway? You should see what we have to contend with in bike lanes!
Yeah Northern Visitor, I try to process my trash right away now and put it behind me so that if it ever gets recycled in the future I know it’s for the good of someone else.
Has anyone seen that Pixar movie Wally (talk about anthropomorhizing)?
I’m sorry, that’s Wall-E (the movie) and Anthropomorphising (spelling).
Never had a crash involving a car – well, not while I was on a bike.
Rode about 5K miles last year. One fall – while turning onto a MUP in a light rain. I had a flat last year – does that count?