Are You Confident Rider or a Gutter Bunny?

Where do you ride when there are no bicycle lanes or safe shoulders?

Riding assertively, predictably and properly positioned in the traffic lane can make the difference between being a scared gutter bunny who experiences too many near misses, and a confident rider, having fun on their bicycle with motorists giving them the respect, and the passing clearance that they have earned.

A shared lane is the narrowest traffic lane in Florida in which a bicyclist and an average sized car can share the lane side by side. It is at least fourteen feet wide. From the right hand side of the lane, the first three feet are for the cyclist and the next three feet are for the passing separation required by Florida law. The remaining eight feet are for the vehicle. These lanes are sometimes found in urban areas in lieu of also having a bicycle lane and are often called “wide curb lanes.”

We all have stories about how some driver dusted us off, passed too close and we’re quick to blame the driver. Often times, though, we bring it on ourselves by inviting the close pass.

The average modern Florida traffic lane is about twelve feet wide. Even a cyclist traveling directly over the right hand white line sticks into the lane about one foot. A car passing in the lane could give three feet clearance at the very best. Less if the rider is any further into the lane. It may feel safe to ride the line and the justification may be that the cyclist is being courteous to the motorists. But it is not safe.

A bicyclist riding in a traffic lane is normally expected to be riding 2-3 feet inside the lane so as to avoid obstacles. Add three feet passing clearance and it becomes obvious that a motorist must execute at least a partial lane change to safely pass the cyclist. A full lane change is usually needed for a ten foot wide lane.

The most dangerous place for a cyclist to ride is from about one foot to the right of the lane to about one and one-half feet into the lane. Motorists concentrate mostly on the lane they’re in, looking for obstacles. A cyclist very close to the edge of the lane or just to the right of it may not even be perceived as an obstacle and therefore, the driver may take little or no action to provide safe clearance.

When motorists see an obstacle they make a rather quick decision about how to handle it. When the obstacle is a cyclist, motorists don’t usually think specifically about the three foot rule and from the driver’s position on the left hand side of the vehicle, it’s difficult to judge three feet clearance from a cyclist anyway. The decision about clearance is unconsciously made in that split second when the driver decides whether to make a partial or full lane change, or to try to squeeze on by.

Our personal safety is dependent on forcing the motorist to make the lane change. Drivers who make the conscious decision to do at least a partial lane change unconsciously make the decision to give cyclists a good three feet of clearance. Cyclists who are properly positioned in the lane experience far fewer close passes than those who aren’t.

Most riders unaccustomed to vehicular cycling (driving your bike as if you are a motor vehicle) feel that they have a target painted on their backs and planting oneself squarely in the travel lane takes a huge leap of faith. So what are the odds and consequences of being rear ended on a bicycle?

In Traffic Skills 101 we show that statistically, about fifty percent of all bicycle crashes don’t involve motor vehicles. We cyclists hit rocks, wood, pine cones, potholes, even ourselves and down we go. Of the fifty percent of crashes involving motor vehicles, only seven percent involve being rear ended (three and one-half percent of total bicycle crashes). The preponderance of bicycle with motor vehicle crashes are crossing, turning and head-on. The likelihood of being killed or seriously injured is substantially lower in a rear end crash than any of the others because the relative speed of the motor vehicle at impact is reduced by the forward speed of the bicyclist.

And there is something worse than being directly rear ended. The mirror of a vehicle that catches the cyclist’s handlebar will knock the cyclist’s the front wheel hard right throwing the rider down to the left into the traffic lane.

The farther right of the proper in-lane position the cyclist rides, the greater the opportunity the cyclist has for encountering a crossing or turning mishap. In the shoulder, every driveway and side street becomes an intersection with essentially no stop sign. Drivers often pull into the shoulder and stop just short of the traffic lane before checking for conflicting traffic.

Cyclists in the shoulder and at the right edge of the lane are also prime candidates for a ‘right hook’ by a driver who passes them and immediately turns right in front of them. If the driver has to make a conscious effort go around a properly positioned cyclist before turning right, he will be more aware of the cyclist and if he still turns, the cyclist has somewhere to go.

So how do you get comfortable with this concept of lane positioning? Ride solo or with someone else who is willing to also try it. At first, ride a road that is lightly traveled and where it is easy for a motor vehicle to go around you. A four lane divided highway or a three lane road with a center turn lane, and with a speed limit of 35 MPH or less are excellent. Position yourself properly and start getting used to having traffic flow around you. Then start riding on more heavily traveled roads and two-lane roads where the motorists must cross into the opposing lane to pass. By the way, motorists are allowed to cross the double yellow line to go around obstacles, when it is safe to do so. The confidence will come quickly.

Now that you’re having fun and riding confidently, what happens when you go back on a group ride? Here you are, trying to ride properly positioned with five gutter bunnies hugging the white fog line. The perception to motorists is that there are five people doing it right and then there is this one jerk. If you find yourself in this position, the best thing to do is to ride in the tail-end position. That way you’ll be protecting them all, and motorists might even perceive you as the ‘instructor.’

Of course, you’ll have to be prepared for the obvious comment, “I can’t believe you have the guts to sit out there in traffic!” And you can just smile and keep on pedaling.

This article has been brought to you by the First Coasters. Check out this FBA organization focusing on Duval, St, Johns, Clay and Nassau counties.