Be careful out there people

I think this was just the OP wishing us all well when we ride…no different than when my wife says “Safe trip” when I get on a plane. I obviously can’t control whether my trip is safe or not…but the sentiment is real and honest.

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Sure, perhaps it’s just a language issue.

“be careful” is so much better than “break a leg”. :joy: Where the hell did that saying come from?!

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I’ve not had many issues, then again I try to ride in areas where people are not blatantly ignorant and know better than to run over another human being. This tends to rule out the city and most near surrounding suburbs. Once I ride into the countryside I feel like people are in less of a hurry and are more cognizant of others, and seem to understand their actions have consequences. In the city, every year seems to get worse and worse for violence (non cycling) so i don’t expect any respect on the road riding my bike

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Around where I live, drivers are pretty good between September and May. June-August we get NY, NJ, and other states tourists and thats when things get very dicey even in the quiet roads.

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Sounds like you ride in PA?

RI - Newport area.

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I rode on Aquidneck Island a bunch in my Navy days. Down south by the water, on Ocean and near the city, the roads and traffic were usually accomodating. Laps on Ocean drive were awesome. When I wanted to ride longer and did full island loops, holy crap the roads were terrible and the shoulders non-existent. Drivers were just OK.

South Carolina was the worst. Even living in an urban area now, drivers here are generally more aware and accepting, and we have bike lanes all over the place. We still have our a-holes, but they are ubiquitous worldwide.

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We do have some really nice roads in Middletown and Ocean Drive is just beautiful. I refrain from East Main and West, no shoulders whatsoever.

EDIT: The roads have not improved much, in fact some are getting worst…it is RI afterall.

I live in Dallas (albeit in the most cycling friendly area), so hitting the road is not exactly warmly embraced by the local drivers.

It seems to have got worse during the lockdowns during this pandemic. There are a lot a angry people out there and I think seeing cyclists who have been able to get out and about with virtual freedom for the last 12 months despite the lockdown really gets to some people. It doesn’t help that cars are going faster due to the lack of traffic on the road.

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I think, at least from my experience in the UK, that the majority of dangerous and alarming incidents come from inattention and miscalculation rather than malice. One thing I think that is often missed is this: quite a number of drivers don’t realise the speed at which a good cyclist moves. My closest shave in a long time was when a driver pulled out in front of me while I was descending a long, straight hill. She very clearly saw me, and (it seemed) simply assumed ‘cyclist=slow’, rather than taking an extra second to observe that I was travelling at over 50kph and it was therefore not safe to pull out.

Of course, there are some angry, nasty and malicious people out there, I have experienced some milder incidents, and I feel sorry for anyone who’s experienced that or, God forbid, something more serious. But in my experience those truly nasty incidents are very rare, and I try not to let them (or the possibility of them) put me off doing something I really enjoy, especially at a time when so many activities are curtailed.

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I’ve had about 3 incidents in the last 4 years where it was clear that a driver in that moment clearly didn’t care about my well being. I’ve had to jump off my bike twice to avoid cars (thank you, steel Peugeot). Another time I’d been followed to the next intersection so they could scream profanities at me (you know, which ones; the ones you get for wearing tight clothing). In this instance, they also goaded me to put my bike down and come « speak » with them; no doubt to force me to prematurely upgrade my beloved TCR.

I’ve lost my cool a couple times too, but you know what I always think after? They’re less than one bad decision from doing me harm, and the best thing I can do is shut up, maybe take their license plates, and keep on going.

Because of these incidents, I’m extremely hesitant to commute by bike (especially through the city), and typically go out of my way to avoid roads with high traffic volume for my long z2 rides. It’s sad, but until legislation changes things, cyclists are never truly safe on the roads. Maybe it’s your bike, maybe it’s your body, but some times these mofos are just waiting for you to give them an excuse.

So, to everyone saying “how can I be more careful”, I guess just keep your heads on straight is the only way. Close calls only have to be close calls; don’t be the guy that gets his bike wrecked or knocked out (or worse) because you had to stand up for yourself.

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I am always shattered to see how many idiots do stuff with their mobile while driving. It takes 1sec to overlook somebody, and that somebody will get hurt drastically. It is a real shame and arrogance most people show sitting behind the wheel and risking other peoples lives.

There is another side of the story:
i am a cyclist but also a car driver. How many times did I see cyclists ignoring the most basic traffic rules, going over red, changing lanes without looking, not being visible at all etc… there were enough reasons where I (as a passionate cyclist but this time sitting in a car) would yell at such ignorant cyclists as well.

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I was hit by a car and broke my back and my leg. It was horrible, but hearing other stories like this make me realize how lucky I was. At the end of the day, no matter how careful you are, there is a risk to riding on the road. I think that every person has a different acceptable level of risk. For me, it was worth it to get back on the bike, but that may change with changing circumstances. At the end of the day, the risk will only ever really go down if drivers are held accountable for their actions. The guy that hit me got a ticket for “failing to reduce speed”

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Bikes and autos don’t belong in the same lanes. But we’re stuck with this multi-use situation and there’s no point bemoaning it.

The good news is, as someone who’s been riding on and off since the mid-80s, I can say that cycling is much, much safer now.

Some streets/roads are suitable for biking, and others are not. In our self-indulgent vanity, we tend to forget that we’re in their world. Every time I’ve seen a bike/auto incident in recent times, it’s been the bike rider’s fault. Every time I’ve been in a regrettable situation, it’s been because of my inattention, recklessness, or complacency.

None of us learned to ride a bike while cycling on the highway. And yet, at some point, we made the bizarre decision to start riding on motorways because we feel entitled. I’ve gotten away with it for more than 3 decades without a collision, crash, or fall. But hey, this is an inherently dangerous sport.

Don’t lose hope: cycling on the roads is much easier now than it was back in the day. And little by little, it’ll get even easier.

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As I’ve mentioned here before, my club lost a rider this year on a regular large group ride. Motorcyclists racing on the same stretch of road in excess of 100mph came around a blind corner, lost control, and took my friend out. It was a gruesome accident. The motorcyclist also died.

The part that makes me equal parts sad, scared, and angry is that we can ride as safely as we want, lights on, helmets, no headphones… but your Garmin Varia isn’t going to save your life that time you run into someone who doesn’t respect their own life enough to drive/ride safely, without texting, at reasonable speed, etc.

We truly are putting our lives in other peoples’ hands when we take to the road.

That accident has been enough to retire a couple of road racers from our club - they strictly ride dirt now. If I’m being honest, I’ve thought about joining them, and I only ride the road once or twice a week (rest on the trainer).

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Not that this would save your life, or prevent injury, but does anyone know if cameras are being used more frequently and with more success in catching/prosecuting dangerous car-driver behavior? It seems like Dashcams have gotten super popular, so I wonder if cyclists did this more if we might raise awareness and get more warnings or tickets issues.

I saw this article which I think is brilliant (I wish we could have such co-operation everywhere): Cyclists to wear cameras in new trial aiming to catch dangerous drivers on camera in Devon | ITV News West Country

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That reminds me of the original Mark Beaumont film ‘The man who cycled the world’. He got something like 80% round the world with no real problem and first day in the US he was hit by a car!

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