So What Can We Do To Make It Better, Specifically?
I always read the comments to stories about bicycle-vehicle catastrophes. Right now, relations between cyclists and drivers in Chicago are tense and strained, to say the least. The comments consist mainly of drivers attacking the conduct of cyclists and cyclists counter-attacking. Certain themes emerge on both sides, but not much civil discussion.
This post isn't about who's right and who's wrong, or who is more aggrieved and put upon. It's simply my personal take on how the bicycle-driver relationship in Chicago could be improved by bicyclists. I write from that viewpoint because my philosophy is to do what I think I should be doing, regardless of what someone else is doing. If you want to be a jerk to me on the road, go right ahead. I will not retaliate. I will continue to do what I think is safe and civil. Based on my readings and discussions with drivers, here are some ways that we could improve the situation. Reasonable minds may differ. And this is not to say that it wouldn't be nice if drivers made some corresponding efforts:
1. Let's push the City Council hard to implement some form of the Idaho stop. A million times over, drivers complain that cyclists illegally blow through stop signs and red lights. Of course, they're correct about that. (And of course they do similar things, but that isn't what this post is about.) A solution would be to have an ordinance ratifying the existing behavior of cyclists, particularly with regard to stop signs. There is ample evidence that the Idaho stop is safe. We should work really hard to have it implemented in Chicago and Chicagoland. I myself would not extend it to traffic lights. Blowing stop signs makes drivers somewhat jealous and angry, but cyclists blowing red lights absolutely makes them livid, with considerable justification. I don't buy the argument cyclists make that they are simply protecting their own safety by running through red lights. As a driver myself, I think cyclists who run red lights disrupt traffic excessively and scare the bejeebers out of drivers who proceed with the light, only to have cyclists darting in front of them. In Idaho there probably aren't too many intersections as busy as those here in Chicago. If an intersection is so dangerous that you think you have to run a red light to survive it, then just get off your bike and be a pedestrian for a few minutes. There's no shame in that.
With some variation of the Idaho stop being legal, drivers would still be resentful, but would grudgingly concede that cyclists were not lawbreakers for doing it. In a strange way, I think this would help calm the situation.
2. Let's stop riding the wrong way, on both one- and two-way streets. Again, I see this mentioned time and time again by drivers -- and they are correct. Drivers have certain expectations about where they should be looking for other motor vehicles and bicycles. Riding the wrong way makes for a lot of unpleasant surprises, often in the form or collisions or near-collisions. I know that a long time ago, some people thought that riding the wrong way was safer for cyclists. That was disproven a long time ago. A cyclist riding the wrong way alarms and provokes drivers unnecessarily. We should not do that. Better to go carefully upon the sidewalk and annoy the pedestrians a little.
3. Let's stop riding between lanes of moving traffic. If there is a long line of stopped cars, I can see, marginally, riding between them and the curb (or parked cars) with great caution. However, cyclists should not, in the big city, be darting in and out of moving traffic and riding between moving traffic lanes. Again, this scares the bejeebers out of drivers, and understandably so. Plus, when you're maneuvering like that, drivers have to try to take into account take every sudden move you might make, not just the ones you are actually making. Drivers are constantly thinking, "What if he....?" This is completely nerve-wracking for them, and they are justified in being angered by it. Plus, a small lapse in judgment by the cyclist and he are she are sliding into or under someone's vehicle. Riding between lanes of moving traffic, regardless of how savvy you think you are or how many YouTube videos you've seen of messenger races in New York City, does not help the cause of cycling at all.
4. Let's use proper lights when riding at night. In the city, they aren't needed so much to illuminate the way as they are to alert drivers to your presence. Especially since as likely as not, you're dressed all in black and have no reflectors on your bike, either. This is another complaint that comes up over and over in the comments, and it's perfectly valid. Drivers are much better at having lights and turning them on than are cyclists, given an equal level of sobriety. So gee whiz, spend the pittance it takes to make yourself visible to everybody. Even Aldi every so often has inexpensive lights that would suffice.
Maybe some or all of this will seem too conservative to some. Maybe some will view me as a Neville Chamberlain-type appeaser. Whatever. Someone has to offer the olive branch and try to defuse the situation. If it has to be me, even unilaterally sometimes, I'm willing. I've never found berating or denigrating other people to be a solution for anything.
Views: 1830
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Waymond Smith on
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Having a helmet on does not protect you from a rear end collision!
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on
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The visibility of this is appealing. If word got out and the day after such a tragedy occurred as many as possible were wearing yellow whether in a group or hosts of individuals simply on their way between points A and B it would be seen and make a statement. How to mobilize such a thing is another story. Another question that is appropriate for this discussion is when to initiate the responses Skip and Yasmeen are envisioning. After any fatality regardless of the cause? After any fatality not caused by the cyclist? After only the ones we are sure were caused by the driver such as Michigan? There is a slippery slope issue. What statement is made if such mobilization is done on behalf of a rider who not only was the source of his own injury but to others as well? Yet, do we want to be making such distinctions at all when we are concerned about all riders and their vulurability? I am just throwing this out as food for thought. Certainly, this forum is a great place for posting the call to yellow in the case of tragic news.
As to the video idea I think it is best if commissioned by somebody or some group such as The Chainlink, Ride of Silence, Active Trans, LIB etc. so coherent thought can be put towards the message. Then an artist needs to be engaged to put together that vision. If it starts with a talented person with a camera he/she speaks for him/herself and not necessarily for the community. This artist could still do something great but like all art it would stand for itself and not necessarily for all of us. Of course, it may also be cool to make all of us artists- ie. "This weekend take a video of you and your friends riding safely and post your video here...." "Send us your 60 second video about safe riding and post here..." "What advice to you have for fellow riders? Post your video here.." or "What advice (in civil language) do you have for drivers of motorized vehicles to help promote safety on the roads? Post here...." It would be interesting to see what comes in.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on
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> After any fatality regardless of the cause?
Yes. I envision a broad response over a fairly large geography within at most a few days after a death. In many (perhaps most?) cases it won't yet be known who was at fault. I think that's much less important than simply drawing attention to an unfortunate, probably preventable, death.
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Permalink Reply by Peter on
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Great topic. I think a conversation is needed rather than relying on the old platitudes that each side seems to bark at each other when there is a tragedy.
For Motorists:
Idaho Stop Codification. I believe this is a very good start to the conversation with the Idaho stop. Codifying something like the Idaho stop is a big step in reducing the perception of renegade cyclists.
Bike Lane Enforcement Ramp up. Something about awareness of bike lines would be great too. On a daily basis I struggle on outbound Roosevelt near the hospital with people who park in the bike lanes. Puts me in a terrible position when I have to sprint and signal into the right traffic lane. Also, Uber drivers using the bike lane as a throughway needs to be addressed. I'd like to see steeper enforcement of this. Those $150 tickets would add up pretty quickly for the City...and yay revenue.
For Cyclists:
Stay in your lane. Despite what was said about my jumping into traffic lanes due to being blocked on the bike lane: Don't be that guy/gal that is constantly doing that. I watched an individual swerve around and in between cars on Damen while typing on his phone the whole time last week. Both actions are reprehensible. As cyclists we ask for consistent behavior from motorists to keep us safe. Make sure you are providing motorists the same courtesy in acting in a predictable and consistent manner in terms of lane usage. I get that sometimes you have to get to a lane to turn, but that can be done in a non-chaotic manner that doesn't put drivers and those around you on edge.
Don't use your phone. I cannot count how many times I've seen cyclists on their phones while riding. We get it: you learned to ride a bike with no hands once. We are impressed. But it's bad enough people in cars are doing constantly on their phone, don't add to the stupidity. If it's that important, pull over and use it. People see you doing it and assume terrible things about the bike community.
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> Don't use your phone.
Applies equally well to motorists, perhaps more, since the risks of distracted driving are more broadly felt by people in the immediate vicinity of the offender than the risks of distracted cycling.
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Oh I wholeheartedly agree on that. That said, there already is an extensive campaign about not using your phone while driving. How well it's worked is up for debate, but it equally bugs me to see cyclists on their phones...especially when I am stuck behind them in a bike lane.
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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on
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I am having a rough day reading about these crashes for the last several weeks. I made a mistake and read the comments from the Morris crash and made an even worse mistake by commenting about "crash, not accident" and I just cannot believe the responses. We have SO far to go to change the views about cyclists. I think it got to me. I need to get better and learn how to be a little less emotional about it - I get very upset because like many of us, I consider cyclists my peeps, my family.
Related to all of this, I just want to say thank you to all of you - everyone that's reading, thinking and offering thoughtful input. I am in awe of the great advice, recommendations, and thoughts I've been reading of all of you. I've been learning so much since coming on board and continue to learn from all of you. I really love our community of cyclists and am grateful to be a part of it.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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Thank you for all your hard work. I knew I didn't want to go anywhere near comments on the Morris crash. I'm sorry that you had to experience. We're all part of one big community and it's important that we are there for each other - whether local or not.
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Thanks so much Anne. After I night of sleep, I feel much better and hopefully a little wiser - no desire to read the comments anymore. Still really sad for the family of the cyclists.
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Permalink Reply by Ivo Iliev on
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Those are all good ideas, Jim. Here are my comments and questions:
1. Re #3: is it illegal to ride between lanes of traffic? I can't remember ever reading about it being illegal anywhere, but I agree it is not smart if the traffic is moving. I still ride between cars all the time as long as they are all stopped at a traffic light and I see nothing wrong/dangerous/illegal with that. If light turns green, then I take a lane like a vehicle to stay safe and make sure everything is communicated to drivers.
2. Obviously blowing red lights is stupid, irresponsible, and annoying to drivers. But I still don't see an issue with crossing an intersection on red as long as no car traffic is being interrupted. Also I do feel that's safer for me when I do it because I get to ride for another 1/2-1 block with no cars pushing me to the curb. Don't you agree that the Idaho stop should be extended to those situations?
3. Police in the U.S. routinely does nothing to enforce cyclist safety (at least in big cities such as NYC and Chicago). I have had drivers almost hit me either out of negligence or intentionally right in front of a police officer and the cops did nothing even after I pointed it out to them. This I think is the reason why some drivers behave as they do - there is no threat of punishment. In Europe where they could possibly lose their license, the level of assholery among the drivers is a lot lower....
I would like to share more of my observations and conclusions, just let me know if anyone is interested to read them :)
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Permalink Reply by Kara B on
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Bikes (and motorcycles) in Illinois are already allowed to go through a red light if no one else is present - it's just not allowed in Chicago. Also, i don't think anyone actually knows about it...
http://patch.com/illinois/lemont/new-law-lets-motorcycles-bikes-run...
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