http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World Thu, 24 May 2012 02:02:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World Commute Orlando no Encouragement, Education & Advocacy for Bicycling in the Real World http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/category/motorists/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/05/23/bigotry-is-blinding/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/05/23/bigotry-is-blinding/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 01:19:39 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=15463 The image below shows Primrose Dr. on the approach to Robinson St. South of Jefferson there is a wide bike lane (only wide for a block). At Jefferson, that space becomes a general use lane as Primrose goes from one lane to two. It works out pretty well since it puts the cyclist in position to control the right lane. And because motorists are already in what becomes the left lane, they have to change lanes if they want to use the right lane. This evening, my friend Marcus and I were taking Primrose from Central to the Cady Way extension north of Colonial. We crossed Jefferson with no traffic behind us, rode double to the intersection and stopped at the red light. The first driver who queued up behind us did so by changing lanes into our lane, with us in full sight. Typically, only right-turning drivers queue up behind me at this light because mindful drivers don’t queue up behind bicyclists (or buses or amish buggies) if they have a choice. When the light turned green, we continued riding and having a conversation through the intersection. The lanes on Robinson are about 9ft wide. As you can see from [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/05/23/bigotry-is-blinding/feed/ 9 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/02/08/want-respect-on-the-road-ride-a-recumbent/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/02/08/want-respect-on-the-road-ride-a-recumbent/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:58:44 +0000 Bill http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=14655 I will preface my remarks by stating this is not a report on a scientifically proper experiment, but relating my person experience. In other words, strictly anecdotal evidence. I recently had a total shoulder replacement, left side. Knowing I couldn’t ride my standard bike for a while, I looked into a recumbent to use while my shoulder mended. I found Suncoast Bicycles in Inverness had TerraTrikes for rent. As soon as I could drive, I went over and picked one up. I rented a TerraTrike Sport for one month. (Being the eternal optimist that I am, I feel assured I will be back on my regular bike by then.) Riding the recumbent is a blast. It handles very well and it’s just fun riding so close to the ground. (Can you pick up the newspaper without dismounting?) And it’s pretty comfortable. The TerraTrike has single rear wheel drive with two wheels that steer in front. I find this configuration to be very stable and easy to maneuver, although the turning radius is large. I’m riding it everywhere I rode my standard bike. It’s a little less efficient than my standard bike with more moving parts, so it doesn’t go quite [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2012/02/08/want-respect-on-the-road-ride-a-recumbent/feed/ 11 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/09/18/entitlement-to-speed/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/09/18/entitlement-to-speed/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:53:30 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=13810 Check out this news report from 1978. When forced to go the speed limit, drivers became violent and dangerous. Wow! As a single vehicle going the speed limit (which is now 70 in most places) on the highway, I’ve been bullied by other drivers. Also, note the difference in fuel efficiency at 55 vs 65. Thanks to Eliot, for sending the video!]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/09/18/entitlement-to-speed/feed/ 9 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/08/11/honesty-takes-a-holiday/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/08/11/honesty-takes-a-holiday/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:11:35 +0000 Eric http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=13646 This case came across my radar today. It involves the case of a LEO driving a patrol car and striking a pedestrian. Apparently, Brevard County uses two people patrol cars and, well  . . . I’ll let you read the rest and draw your own opinion. County Judge Kelly McKibben acquitted a Brevard County sheriff’s deputy whose patrol car struck and killed a pedestrian last September. In her seven-page judgment for acquittal, McKibben wrote the state could not prove Vincent Marino-Vitani was indeed the person driving the patrol car when it struck and killed 65-year-old Henrietta Strong on State Road 520 near Wilcox Avenue in Cocoa. -MORE- What this means is that a LEO refused to step up and take his or her medicine. It was a patrol car, so an LEO must have or should have been driving it.  ]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/08/11/honesty-takes-a-holiday/feed/ 7 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/07/23/sidewalk-riders-accept-the-risk/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/07/23/sidewalk-riders-accept-the-risk/#comments Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:02:05 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=13499 I turn onto Maguire Blvd. from Woodcock or Lawton on a daily basis. Both intersections have obstructed sight lines such that you can’t see the much of the sidewalk or road from behind the stop bar. I’ve learned to stop first where I can see the sidewalk and look for cyclists before pulling forward to where I can see the road. This is self-preservation more than anything. I don’t want to be injured by a sidewalk cyclist blowing into the crosswalk. I’ve had enough close calls with sidewalk cyclists at both intersections that I’m sure I would have hit one already if it wasn’t for my vigilance. Most people do not stop twice at a stop sign. They drive until the point they can see the road and stop there. Crosswalks and stop bars have become visual noise, many drivers don’t even see them. Part of that is general lack of driver education and awareness, but it’s also a natural response to ubiquitous sight line obstructions. If you’re not accustomed to stopping at stop bars, take a ride around the city and make a conscious point of doing so at every stop sign. Notice how much mental energy it takes to [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/07/23/sidewalk-riders-accept-the-risk/feed/ 68 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/06/24/being-irrelevant/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/06/24/being-irrelevant/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:37:51 +0000 Mighk http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=13123 I experienced a superb example this morning of how bike lanes can make cyclists irrelevant. Rosalind Avenue through downtown Orlando has a designated bike lane.  While it’s next to on-street parking, it is wide enough for a cyclist to stay out of the door zone, and in the morning there are very few cars parked there anyway.  Since Rosalind is one-way, there is no concern about left-cross conflicts and crashes. Relatively few motorists make right turns from Rosalind in the morning, as most of the large office buildings are on the left.  Still, I always keep an eye open for right-turners.  I’d have a very tough time making the case to a police officer or judge that staying in the bike lane at that time and place would put me at risk, and of course we now have a mandatory use law… As I approached Church Street this morning I saw a van coming up in my mirror, right turn signal flashing.  Seeing we would be reaching the intersection at about the same time, I placed all my attention on that vehicle.  The signal had been green a while, and wouldn’t be changing soon.  Moving out of the bike lane [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/06/24/being-irrelevant/feed/ 24 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/02/why-anti-car-measures-keep-failing/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/02/why-anti-car-measures-keep-failing/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:04:35 +0000 Eric http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=11732 Bureaucrats can’t change the way we drive … but they keep trying By: Fred Barnes Weekly Standard For most Americans—make that most of mankind—the car is an instrument of mobility, flexibility, and speed. Yet officials in Washington, transportation experts, state and local functionaries, planners, and transit officials are puzzled why their efforts to lure people from their cars continue to fail. The Obama administration is only the latest to be bewildered. It has proposed every alternative it can think of to the car – high-speed rail, light rail, mass transit in general, bikeways, bus lanes, walking paths, the return of streetcars. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has embraced the “livability” movement, which is anti-car. Those are just the positive attractions. There are punitive policies, too, both active and passive. Urban growth boundaries have put a virtual wall around cities like Portland, Oregon, to prevent sprawl and the cars that come with it. Limits in many locations on parking lots and on-street parking discourage the use of cars. Refusal to ease traffic congestion by building more roads and inertia in the face of rising gasoline prices make driving a car less appealing, even if those policies are not pursued with that purpose [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2011/03/02/why-anti-car-measures-keep-failing/feed/ 17 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/12/29/5-per-gallon-by-2012/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/12/29/5-per-gallon-by-2012/#comments Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:05:50 +0000 Mighk http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=11146 From CBS News: “John Hofmeister, an ex-president of Shell Oil, says we’re looking at $5 a gallon gas in 2012.” From my observations, industry insiders tend to low-ball their price predictions.  On the other hand, he’s calling for more drilling, so he may be inflating the number in order to scare people into supporting it. If the latter is true, he’s being very deceitful.  Our capacity to increase oil production is rather tiny compared to the amount of global production.  And since oil is traded and priced at the global level, any increase in U.S. production would have no noticeable effect on the global price.  The only ones to benefit from increased drilling in the U.S. would be the oil companies. For solid information on oil supply, check out The Oil Drum.]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/12/29/5-per-gallon-by-2012/feed/ 14 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/29/helping-motorists-with-lane-positioning/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/29/helping-motorists-with-lane-positioning/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:08:26 +0000 Mighk http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=10803 “‘I’ll see it when I believe it’ is more accurate than ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’” – Social psychologist Karl Weick Regular readers of this blog know we recommend an assertive lane position when the lane is too narrow to share.  Our rationale was initially that when a cyclist is in the right wheel track, some motorists will still attempt to squeeze past within the lane instead of making a full lane change.  That’s still true.  But we’ve also observed that a more assertive lane position — either in the center of the lane or just left of center — gets motorists to change lanes earlier on roads with more than one lane in each direction. Our hypothesis was that from a significant distance, a cyclist in the right wheel track (where the League of American Bicyclists has long recommended cyclists travel if the lane is too narrow to share) looks like he or she is on the edge line, so the motorist stays in that lane until he or she gets close enough to realize there’s not really adequate width for safe passing.  By then the opportunity for changing lanes may have closed.  The motorist then either [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/29/helping-motorists-with-lane-positioning/feed/ 92 http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/10/25/assisting-the-inattentive/ http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/10/25/assisting-the-inattentive/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:53:03 +0000 Keri http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/?p=10487 Last night I clicked on a news video on the bbc, before a story, there was an ad for Mercedes Benz that got my attention. I’ve searched all over to find it and post it here, but have been unsuccessful. I did transcribe it. It consists of brief shots of the face of a driver telling a story with transitions to related roadway footage. driver #1: “I was drifting into the other lane… driver #2: “It got my attention, telling me that I wasn’t paying attention… driver #3: I had no idea the guy in front of me had stopped short, but my car did… driver #2: my Mercedes did. Then the narrator comes on and talks about the car’s Attention-Assist system. I didn’t transcribe that part. But I did some googling. I found this video: And some articles: Mercedes-Benz showcases technology that can predict — and avoid — crashes I tried wandering out of my lane, and that triggered a system — available now on Benz cars — that jiggles the wheel to shake you awake. It’s effective. Then I tried getting all jerky in my driving movements, and that triggers a sensor that decides you’re too sleepy to [...]]]> http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/10/25/assisting-the-inattentive/feed/ 18