For all of those enthusiastic souls gearing up for bicycle commuting, over the next eight weeks the Williams Lake Commuter Challenge Committee will provide a series of tips to show you real ways you can get hit and real ways to avoid this.The tips, written by Michael Bluejay, will be posted on www.bicyclesafe.com.Collision number 1: The right crossThis is one of the most common ways to get hit (or almost get hit). A car is pulling out of a side street, parking lot, or driveway on the right. Either you’re in front of the car and the car hits you, or the car pulls out in front of you and you slam into it.How to avoid this collision:1. Get a headlight. If you’re riding at night, you should absolutely use a front headlight. It’s required by law. 2. Honk. Get a loud horn and use it whenever you see a car approaching (or waiting) ahead of you and to the right. If you don’t have a horn, then yell “Hey!” You may feel awkward honking or yelling, but it’s better to be embarrassed than to get hit. 3. Slow down. If you can’t make eye contact with the driver (especially at night), slow down so much that you’re able to completely stop if you have to. 4. Ride further left. You’re probably used to riding very close to the curb because you’re worried about being hit from behind. But take a look at the car. When that driver is looking down the road for traffic, he’s not looking in the area closest to the curb; he’s looking in the middle of the lane, for other cars. Of course, there’s a tradeoff. Riding to the far right makes you invisible to the motorists ahead of you at intersections, but riding to the left makes you more vulnerable to the cars behind you. Your actual lane position may vary depending on how wide the street is, how many cars there are, how fast and how close they pass you, and how far you are from the next intersection. On fast roadways with few cross streets, you’ll ride further to the right, and on slow roads with many cross streets, you’ll ride further left. Article submitted by Beverley J. Anderson on behalf of the Williams Lake Commuter Challenge Committee. For more information on Clean Air Week and the Commuter Challenge, visit www.breatheaasywilliamslake.org.
How not to get hit by a car
For all of those enthusiastic souls gearing up for bicycle commuting, over the next eight weeks the Williams Lake Commuter Challenge Committee will provide a series of tips to show you real ways you can get hit and real ways to avoid this.
