Why are you beside them at an intersection? That’s pretty dangerous. You should either be directly in front of them or directly behind them. No one cares about where you “can be” as a cyclist when you’re pinned under the wheel of a car bleeding out.
From one cyclist to another, don’t pull up beside a car at an intersection. If it’s a stop sign, take the lane and get directly behind the vehicle and act like a car. If it’s a light and you have time, pull directly in front of the lead car. Your acceleration off a green light will far surpass a car.
Thank you for the suggestions, but no, I will not move out of the bike lane to sit in front of or behind the first vehicle, then move back over. You don’t have to pull the legal vs safe angle with me, I ride (and drive) very defensively. The “don’t look where you’re actually turning” move is annoying and dangerous, but I’m always ready for it…
In my head I wasn’t thinking about a bike lane, just a regular road. That makes a difference, and (ideally) a driver would check the bike lane before turning, but I’ve had cars turn almost straight through me too many times. I just queue up like a car at particular intersections now. Annoying and carries its own dangers, but it works for me, and I was sharing my strategy. Stay frosty out there, friend. I’m tired of seeing ghost bikes.
![[meme] THE CHIMERA](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/452937e5-62b3-4663-9795-14adc523c5bd.jpeg){kind=link}
The cyclist in the last panel was probably running a red light.
Or the car turned right and didn’t care/look. =)
So. Many. times I’ve had drivers pull up, look left, then almost drive into my bicycle…
Or they overtake in a risky and hazardous way only to stop at a red light, which was already red before they did this 30 meters ahead.
Why are you beside them at an intersection? That’s pretty dangerous. You should either be directly in front of them or directly behind them. No one cares about where you “can be” as a cyclist when you’re pinned under the wheel of a car bleeding out.
From one cyclist to another, don’t pull up beside a car at an intersection. If it’s a stop sign, take the lane and get directly behind the vehicle and act like a car. If it’s a light and you have time, pull directly in front of the lead car. Your acceleration off a green light will far surpass a car.
Thank you for the suggestions, but no, I will not move out of the bike lane to sit in front of or behind the first vehicle, then move back over. You don’t have to pull the legal vs safe angle with me, I ride (and drive) very defensively. The “don’t look where you’re actually turning” move is annoying and dangerous, but I’m always ready for it…
In my head I wasn’t thinking about a bike lane, just a regular road. That makes a difference, and (ideally) a driver would check the bike lane before turning, but I’ve had cars turn almost straight through me too many times. I just queue up like a car at particular intersections now. Annoying and carries its own dangers, but it works for me, and I was sharing my strategy. Stay frosty out there, friend. I’m tired of seeing ghost bikes.