5 ms·

This is an idea that I found incredibly effective. I heard about it once, started doing it, and now I always do it, and I can always see if someone is coming.

by dkarl 5y ago

This is an idea that I found incredibly effective. I heard about it once, started doing it, and now I always do it, and I can always see if someone is coming. When I ride my bike, I always try to stay out of the door zone, but sometimes I'm forced over by oncoming traffic in a tight street. Many streets just aren't wide enough to stay a safe distance away from oncoming traffic and also stay out of reach of doors. (Bicycles are smaller than cars, but cars can safely pass much closer to other cars because the risk is lower — some paint and body work versus possible serious injury. Cars typically slow way down when encountering oncoming cars in a tight street, too, making it safer to get close, but they don't do that as often for cyclists. A final factor is that I think subconsciously drivers don't see the door zone as a dangerous place for cyclists, so they think they're giving you more space than they really are. All these factors mean that a street that feels narrow when I'm driving feels just as narrow and tricky, sometimes even more so, when I'm on my bike.) EDIT: Another final thing that makes staying out of the door zone tricky is when there's parking right next to the bike lane! This seems like an utterly brainless design, maybe it's necessary in some places for reasons I don't understand, but it's horrible and the very existence of the bike lane makes drivers aggressive towards cyclists who aren't in it. I just avoid those streets, but when I can't, I ride in the bike lane and hope not to get doored.

iso1631 5y ago
> When I ride my bike, I always try to stay out of the door zone, but sometimes I'm forced over by oncoming traffic in a tight street. Many streets just aren't wide enough to stay a safe distance away from oncoming traffic and also stay out of reach of doors. If you were in a car, what would you do? I admit that it's unlikely that a car driver coming toward you is going to flash you to come forward when they think "there's plenty of space", however you can slow right down and check the parked car occupants to see if they are there. A bigger problem is taxi drivers letting out passengers without checking for traffic, as shown here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0dPGuP2zE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0dPGuP2zE (of course the anti-cyclist brigage will complain that he should have been dressed in high viz and wearing a helmet /s)
- acdha 5y ago
  > If you were in a car, what would you do? The biggest thing I do is simply slow down — most of the problems come from people in a hurry to spend more time waiting at the next intersection bit of traffic. Speeding exacerbates problems with many drivers not having an accurate understanding of the size of their vehicles — thinking they have enough room to maintain high speed by staying in the middle of the road, crowding the cyclist because they want to leave 5 feet of space on the side at risk of being damaged by another car, etc.
  - colpabar 5y ago
    I always get a kick out of a driver angrily speeding around me on my bike just to get to a red light.
    - acdha 5y ago
      My favorite around here (DC) are the drivers who get angry that I'm going 19mph in a 20mph zone, floor it playing chicken with the oncoming traffic to pass me, and then spend the next 15 blocks tailgating the same bus I was following. I must admit I do laugh and wave when they do that only to end up sitting behind an illegally double-parked UPS truck which a bicyclist has room to pass.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    When it comes to slowing down or stopping, getting car drivers to slow down or stop is nothing compared to trying to get bicycles to so do. The vast majority of cars will stop at an intersection. The vast majority of bicyclists will not. Ask a car to respect a very slow limit in a school zone? No problem. For fear of tickets most every car will slow down. But ask a bicyclist to respect a school zone or stop at a pedestrian crossing and they will stare in bewilderment. A speed limit? For a bicycle? (As a kid I was ticketed while on rollerblades for speeding in a 15kph zone. In many jurisdictions the rules apply to everyone.)
    - chitowneats 5y ago
hardolaf 5y ago
I've been doing this ever since I almost got clipped by a car when getting out of my vehicle. It's honestly just a lot safer and everyone should be doing it.
mrkwse 5y ago
I'm a new driver (~6 months) who used to cycle a lot in the past (I stopped due to one ride where there two collisions involving cyclists and cars and a further severe car-car collision all in the space of about an hour), but I've always overlooked considering the door zone for oncoming cyclists on narrow roads. Thanks for your comment, it's highlighted to me a shortcoming of my driving that I'd never properly considered - and I don't expect I'm alone. I've watched lots of YouTube videos by driving instructors looking at footage of their students and compilations of dashcams and haven't once seen such a simple and obvious thing highlighted, which is probably a little worrying.

by dkarl 5y ago

iso1631 5y ago

> When I ride my bike, I always try to stay out of the door zone, but sometimes I'm forced over by oncoming traffic in a tight street. Many streets just aren't wide enough to stay a safe distance away from oncoming traffic and also stay out of reach of doors. If you were in a car, what would you do? I admit that it's unlikely that a car driver coming toward you is going to flash you to come forward when they think "there's plenty of space", however you can slow right down and check the parked car occupants to see if they are there. A bigger problem is taxi drivers letting out passengers without checking for traffic, as shown here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0dPGuP2zE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0dPGuP2zE (of course the anti-cyclist brigage will complain that he should have been dressed in high viz and wearing a helmet /s)

acdha 5y ago
> If you were in a car, what would you do? The biggest thing I do is simply slow down — most of the problems come from people in a hurry to spend more time waiting at the next intersection bit of traffic. Speeding exacerbates problems with many drivers not having an accurate understanding of the size of their vehicles — thinking they have enough room to maintain high speed by staying in the middle of the road, crowding the cyclist because they want to leave 5 feet of space on the side at risk of being damaged by another car, etc.
- colpabar 5y ago
  I always get a kick out of a driver angrily speeding around me on my bike just to get to a red light.
  - acdha 5y ago
    My favorite around here (DC) are the drivers who get angry that I'm going 19mph in a 20mph zone, floor it playing chicken with the oncoming traffic to pass me, and then spend the next 15 blocks tailgating the same bus I was following. I must admit I do laugh and wave when they do that only to end up sitting behind an illegally double-parked UPS truck which a bicyclist has room to pass.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  When it comes to slowing down or stopping, getting car drivers to slow down or stop is nothing compared to trying to get bicycles to so do. The vast majority of cars will stop at an intersection. The vast majority of bicyclists will not. Ask a car to respect a very slow limit in a school zone? No problem. For fear of tickets most every car will slow down. But ask a bicyclist to respect a school zone or stop at a pedestrian crossing and they will stare in bewilderment. A speed limit? For a bicycle? (As a kid I was ticketed while on rollerblades for speeding in a 15kph zone. In many jurisdictions the rules apply to everyone.)
  - chitowneats 5y ago

hardolaf 5y ago

I've been doing this ever since I almost got clipped by a car when getting out of my vehicle. It's honestly just a lot safer and everyone should be doing it.

mrkwse 5y ago

I'm a new driver (~6 months) who used to cycle a lot in the past (I stopped due to one ride where there two collisions involving cyclists and cars and a further severe car-car collision all in the space of about an hour), but I've always overlooked considering the door zone for oncoming cyclists on narrow roads. Thanks for your comment, it's highlighted to me a shortcoming of my driving that I'd never properly considered - and I don't expect I'm alone. I've watched lots of YouTube videos by driving instructors looking at footage of their students and compilations of dashcams and haven't once seen such a simple and obvious thing highlighted, which is probably a little worrying.