The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the **police/video-recording jacket. **
Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1 metre of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes
This is quite discouraging, but it seems to ring true in my experience. I’ve had quite a few drivers, who have come close to hitting me (even while walking at a crosswalk), claim that they “didn’t see me” while I wore high-viz everything and had lights to further improve visibility.
How do we, as cyclists, even deal with “driver blindness”?
The only real solution is to campaign for better infrastructure, such as:
What has worked the best for me is taking the lane. If the infrastructure isn’t good, ride in the middle of the lane so cars are forced to treat you like a car. Don’t use crosswalks or sidewalks, take the place cars are looking for other cars.
Yeah, it’ll tick off some drivers, but at least they see me. I’ll usually move right every so often if I’m blocking traffic and let the cars past (they’ll usually go slowly), then go back to taking the lane. At the end of the day, my life is more important than etiquette. At least I’m my area, it’s also legal because I just need to be within 3’ (1m) of the edge of the road, which means the rightmost lane market, not the edge of the asphalt, so I can be pretty close to the middle of the lane while following the law, but I will break the law if it keeps my safe.
I’m tempted to get some kind of sign for the back of my bike saying something like “If you think I’m ‘in your way,’ demand a BIKE LANE,” but I expect some road-rager would murder me for it.
I’ve taken the lane even with a bike lane because they frequently put parking on the other side of the bike lane, and I really don’t want to get doored.
I take the lane on a roundabout with a bike lane on it, to avoid being killed by turning traffic driving through me
Why would they put a bike lane on a roundabout? That’s just ridiculous.
The city is trying hard. The roundabout is on the main cycle route into the CBD from the South and there are a few hundred bikes through that intersection in that one direction every day.
At the time of day I ride (early morning, in the dark in winter) I have never seen a cyclist use the bike lane
Once you’re in town it’s kerb separated bike lanes and at grade bike and pedestrian road crossings, and one pedestrianised street and another “shared” street where cars are limited to 20km/h (try that speed mph 20-is-plenty complainers!)
Good to know the rest of the city is good. I personally avoid roundabouts on my bike because even fewer people expect to see a cyclist there, and most don’t even have pedestrian crossings so cars don’t even expect me at the entrances to the roundabout.
I love roundabouts, just not as a cyclist. They’re fun to ride around, but I’m always scared I’ll get run over since people are just looking for their exit.
If you have the chance to give feedback, recommend putting the cycle lanes combined with pedestrian crossings at the entrances, like this. That way the lanes are mostly protected, and bikes cross where cars expect them.
Canberra has so many roundabouts. I can’t get out of my street without a roundabout - one at each end
100% agree, but these tend to be very long-term solutions, and not every city even wants to entertain basic bike lanes, let alone separate or protected bike lanes. And we can’t expect cyclists to wait years (or decades) for that infrastructure to appear.
Even as an experienced cyclist, this is highly unnerving. I couldn’t imagine a novice, elderly, or young cyclist having to take the lane and hope that cars see them. I get that this is often the only option for some areas, but it’s also very far from ideal.
It’s funny, I was thinking that most of the time cyclists “break the law”, it’s quite literally so they don’t die.
I don’t advocate for regularly cycling on sidewalks (even though it’s legal where I live), but there are certain roads that are so dangerous that using the sidewalk is the only safe way to cycle.
And plenty of roads where the sidewalks are more dangerous than the road (e.g. anything with driveways, parking lot entrances). In general, I recommend avoiding the sidewalk, but there are obviously exceptions (e.g. that stretch of road where cars go fast and there’s a sidewalk, and few side streets/driveways).
Do what’s safest, and don’t worry about etiquette or laws. I’d rather have a ticket than be in the hospital (or dead).
Yup. It’s often said that the sidewalk is the most dangerous place for a cyclist to be (for them and everyone else). I’ve been saying that for years in the Reddit e-scooter community after far too many people post their crash videos while riding on sidewalks.
The only time I’ll use a sidewalk are in areas that you’ll never see pedestrians in. Typically, these are industrial zones where big rigs have destroyed the road. Very low risk to be on the sidewalk here, but about as safe as you can be in a horribly dangerous area.
https://www.bikelaw.com/2022/08/is-it-illegal-to-ride-bike-on-sidewalk/
Genuinely don’t care about the law if it directly endangers me. Have ridden past police many times on the pedestrian pathway, without ever a ticket or warning. Widen the asphalt/eliminate on street parking/make lanes smaller and build non-automotive infrastructure, then I’ll happily leave the pedestrian pathway alone
I’ll take the risks of going over the handlebars from someone popping out of a driveway, farrr better than catching a parked car door opening into a painted cycle lane or run down by a drunk/texting/inattentive driver while on the main roadway if there is no cycle lane
I’d rather risk getting ticketed than risk death or being crippled for the rest of my life because some asshole couldn’t be bothered to pay attention and the city doesn’t give a shit about cyclists’ lives.
Whether it’s legal or not is less of an issue, since I don’t think anyone should be riding on sidewalks on a regular basis.
It comes down to safety. I think most people will naturally choose a sidewalk when no other safe options are presented, regardless of whether it’s legal or not. This should be a red flag to city planners that the cycling infrastructure is sorely lacking!
Indeed! Everyone that yearns for this infrastructure, engage the local Vision Zero community!