Share the road (warning: a long rambling post)

Any of you who subscribe to the Spinners email list have seen quite a few messages in the past few weeks about recent instances of tension between cyclists and motorists in Greenville County. It is unfortunate that the subject has to come up, but I think that it is something that is not going to disappear on its own. Greenville’s cycling community is growing all the time and for good reason; the topography of the region truly makes this a great place for cycling. Most residents recognize the value that the cycling community brings to this area, but there will always be a vocal minority of people who simply do not want to see any change. Events like the US Pro Championships and developments like Pla d’Adet will continue to fuel the growth of cycling in Greenville, so drivers need to get used to seeing more and more cyclists on the roads. As cyclists, we need to be courteous road users, but so do drivers. Unfortunately, the importance of that mutual courtesy is not evenly balanced. If a cyclist acts irresponsibly, drivers will most likely be inconvenienced. If a motorist acts irresponsibly in the presence of a cyclist, serious injury or death can be the result. We DO have the right to use the road, but it is easy to point out, as some have, that rights don’t really matter if a confrontation occurs between a rider on a 20-pound bike and a driver in a 2000-pound car. That is why I think driver education is extremely important. Some (very few) drivers are just belligerent and don’t care about the rights of a cyclist, or anyone else for that matter. A larger group of drivers out there just don’t realize that bicycles are vehicles and that we have the right by law to use the roads. The latter is the group that we need to reach with the “Share the Road” message. The members of the former group just need to be prosecuted when their behavior leads to an “accident.”

I posted a message to the Spinners group last week during the thread about courtesy. Many of you probably already saw it, but if not here is an excerpt:

I commute on some fairly busy suburban 2-lane roads for short stretches. I ride fast on those stretches to minimize anydisruption to traffic flow, but I also ride about two feet to the leftof the white line so that cars are forced to go wide if they want topass me. Not every driver is a good judge of the width of his or hervehicle, so hugging the white line can be a recipe for disaster, aloneor in a group. Cyclists should be courteous to other road users, butwe do not need to have an inferiority complex just because we areoperating slower vehicles. A small percentage of drivers may honk oryell if they think you are taking too much of the road, but it isbetter to make them wait a few extra second to pass than to give themthe temptation to squeeze by and put you in a ditch. I have beencycling on the road for over 20 years and I do feel like drivers ingeneral are getting more and more impatient these days. The US has ahorrific traffic fatality rate per capita compared to otherindustrialized nations and, unfortunately, South Carolina is one ofthe worst states for fatalities in the nation. The bottom line is thatdrivers need to slow down and get in the habit of waiting until it issafe to pass another road user, whether it be a cyclist, a group ofcyclists, or just a slower moving car.

I received a few offline emails from other cyclists in response to the posting. Most were positive, but a couple of them were negative. I was really quite shocked to hear that some cyclists think riding a couple feet to the left of the white line is somehow antagonizing motorists. I consider myself to be a very courteous road user whether I am riding my bike or driving a car, so the negative comments kind of got to me. Anyway, as I rode to work on Monday, I thought about the discussion and I was conscious of my position in the lane. Most of the time, I was riding 1 to 2 feet from the edge of the white line. During the short but heavily trafficked stretch of my commute, I was (as always) careful to ride far enough to the left to avoid being sideswiped by a car trying to squeeze by. After that stretch, I settled back in to comfortable riding on a 2-lane road without much morning traffic. While I was riding about a foot or so from the line, a driver in an old red Cutllass passed me very closely (maybe within a foot). The driver did not gesture. He did not honk, yell, accelerate, or do anything to indicate to me that he was trying to send a message. He simply stayed in his lane and passed me uncomfortable closely because another driver was approaching in the opposing lane maybe 50 yards up. Even though I know that hugging the edge is not a safe way to ride (especially during rush hour), I let my guard down and put myself in a dangerous situation.

I am rambling a bit, but the point of this post is to stress the importance of driver education regarding the rights of cyclists. A few drivers just don’t like to see cyclists on the road, and we will never change their minds. Those few people still need to understand that they HAVE to comply with the law or they will face consequences. The bigger group that needs to be educated consists of drivers who are simply unaware of the laws regarding cyclists. I have commuted by bike in other cities and have seen first hand the positive effect of “Share the Road” signage. It may not seem like much, but a simple visual reminder that bikes do belong on the roadway can help to alleviate a few of the driver/cyclist confrontations that are often born out of frustration and misinformation. I would like to see “Share the Road” signage throughout Greenville County and I consider that to be a major goal of my advocacy work in the coming year. Of course, that is just the first step in a comprehensive driver education plan. If any of you have other ideas, let me know. I would live to hear them.

PS: Here is a link to a great website for bicycle safety tips. The site addresses common bike/car accident scenarios and offers tips for avoiding those situations. Thanks to Chris McCarter for sending me this useful link.