periodic safety comment

Folks who know me well know that I'm fairly safety-conscious. This plays out in my interest in bicycle-related education, just to name a quick example.

As such, I've found some neat links over the years regarding bicycle safety. One I'd like to highlight again, as I think I've mentioned it before, is here. It bears a rerun, of sorts, simply because Michael Bluejay has written a good piece. I've mentioned somewhere that I mostly agree with his points, although I think in one or two cases I would rearrange a couple of his tips on how to avoid X problem to infer more primacy. For example: His "Collision type 3, Crosswalk Slam" section has as the first way to avoid getting hit to install and use a headlight. He finally gets around to mentioning riding on the road as part of traffic as his third suggestion. I would put that first.

In a couple of his examples, he allows for riders to ride along the right side of motorists at stoplights. I would advise against doing this at all, partly because of the dangers he cautions us to keep in mind, and partly because it so infuriates motorists who might otherwise be our allies in the "polite road users vs. impolite road users" discussions.

Near the bottom of the page, he puts forth a very well worded comment on "ride as if invisible." He opens the topic with, "It's often helpful to ride in such a way that motorists won't hit you even if they don't see you. You're not trying to BE invisible, you're trying to make it irrelevant whether cars see you or not."

Think about that for a moment.

After expanding on that thought a bit, Mr. Bluejay comes back with, "Remember, you're not trying to BE invisible, you're just riding with the assumption that cars can't see you."

On another page of his site, Bluejay discusses arguments posed by folks who believe firmly in John Forester's "Effective Cycling" doctrine. As a slight aside, I'll mention that while I sometimes feel that Forester is a pedantic self-proclaimed high priest of cycling, he has some very good thoughts on bicycle safety. Most of the classes I've taken or teach are based heavily in Forester's works.

On Bluejay's objections to EC, I would have to opine that I agree with Bluejay, in the main. I see his points as addressing some who are too rigid in their interpretation of Forester's opinions, though. Some of the disagreements seem to be in semantics.

One example of the disagreements would be bike lanes. Forester is very much opposed to them, and supports his position with pretty sound logic. What Forester doesn't consider, though, is that bike lanes can be a stepping stone for someone who is less confident about his or her cycling, and are therefor useful--IF users recognize the limitations of bike lanes and account for them. Therein lies the key. Be aware. Ride as if the motorist won't see you. You will be far safer that way.