Are Drivers to Blame For Bad Cycling Safety?

Does poor cycle safety in London owe more to bad drivers than the cyclists themselves?   Cyclists are forced to share the roads with everyone from moped couriers to drivers of articulated lorries and buses and the dangers soar with bad habits and rushed decisions from the drivers of those other vehicles. The difficulty with the debate is that one side always blames the other. So we have taken a look at the worst habits of each culprit, as there is plenty of guilt to go around..

Drivers Not F%#kin’ Indicating

It’s a lever right next to the steering wheel. You should know where you’re going, so just flick it up or down. Not doing that is the biggest dick-act you can commit to anyone else in the vicinity. It’s not like the effort of making hand signals. Cyclists are at particular risk when a driver suddenly turns left at a junction. The same problem applies with lane changing.

 

Car Doors

Look in the mirror before opening the door. The door of a parked car suddenly springing open is probably the biggest fear of every cyclist. There is no way for cyclists to protect themselves unless the road is wide enough to stay well out from the parked cars, and the results can be fatal.

The driver will likely claim it was the cyclist’s fault for sneaking up on them but far too many people swing their door open without first checking their mirrors.

 

Buses Pulling Out

Bus drivers do indicate but only as they actually start to move out and cut off any cyclists who happen to be overtaking on their right-hand side. This presents two options: swerve wider out into the road, which is obviously dangerous, or come to an abrupt halt, which can leave the cyclist as a vulnerable stationary obstacle in the middle of the traffic.

A similar thing happens when a bus stops, as a cyclist has to slow down and prepare to overtake. That creates the testing challenge of twisting quickly to check behind while hurtling towards the exhaust end of a double-decker.

Irresponsible Overtaking

Same as before: that centre-right mirror check you parroted throughout your driving lessons is just as important now as it was then. Rushing to change lanes or overtake another vehicle dangerous because if you force a cyclist further out into the middle of the road they can be knocked into incoming traffic.

When overtaking cyclists you need to leave a larger gap than people often realise. Cyclists can wobble and change direction rapidly, which is life-threatening if you have left them with a safety buffer of just a few inches.

Turning Left

The major problem here is large lorries. The cyclists have right of way at a junction and if somebody sitting high at the wheel of a lorry forgets that a bike can easily be swept under them.

Thankfully more is being done to solve this problem. We are now very familiar with the “keep back” warnings sounded by these machines.

 

The Horn

Sounding a car horn is like a battle cry in an ancient war. It is aggressive and loud, immediately claiming that its owner has right of way. In fact it has all the impact of the “F” word, which is deeply counter-productive because it sends stress levels soaring all around, which is not what you want in a busy junction.

Don’t Be a Dick

Everyone is fighting for their slice of the road. As a driver you know that you are warm, dry and protected by a lot of metal and plastic, with a much lower risk of injury if something does go wrong. So even if a cyclist is a dick, don’t be a dick back.

Sure, they go through red lights and don’t pay any road taxes but creating aggravation won’t get us any nearer to having a cleaner, safer and easier city.

The post Are Drivers to Blame For Bad Cycling Safety? appeared first on Felix Magazine.