FLCC> Star Gazette column 4/4/07

[William J. Lodico]

For those interested in such things, my note to Jim Pfiffer on his  
Star-Gazette article

___________________________
To: jpfiffer at stargazette.com
Subject: Star Gazette column 4/4/07

Hi Jim,

I read your article today. Some of the points you make are well said:   
wear a helmet; light up at night; ride with traffic, not against.

But one particular particular bit of advice, that bicyclists should  
ride as far to the right as possible, is counterproductive and  
dangerous -- not only  because cyclists might follow it, but also  
because motorists, in their large and dangerously effective  road  
weapons, might seek to enforce it.

I am hoping you'll do some follow up along the lines of elaborating and  
modifying your advice in that regard.  It would likely make the roads  
safer for cyclists, and at least undo some of the threat of making them  
less safe.

Cyclists may, and should, ride well to the left of the right edge of  
the roadway in a variety of circumstances.  See Vehicle and Traffic Law  
Section 1234 (you can get at through the NYSDOT page urled below).   
Obvious circumstances are the avoidance of obstacles and hazards,  
including other cyclists.  Cyclists should also ride toward the center  
of the lane when there is not enough space in a traffic lane to safely  
accommodate both a cyclist and motorist.  This includes most streets,  
and in particular the two way sections of Water and Church Streets.   
Riding toward the center and away from parked cars reduces  
substantially the likelihood of a following motorist trying (or feeling  
obligated) to squeeze between a cyclist and oncoming traffic, and then  
squeezing the cyclist off the road or into a parked car.

Another reason to avoid riding "as far to the right as possible" is  
that such a position substantially impairs the ability of cross traffic  
to see the cyclist.  Motorists are not looking for anything moving as  
fast as a cyclist over there in the gutter.   And cross traffic, as any  
cyclist, or motorcyclist, will tell you is a major hazard to  
two-wheeled traffic.

According to the NYS Department of Transportation, a reasonable place  
for a cyclist to ride is about 3 to 4 feet from the right side of the  
road or parked cars.  This from the NYSDOT's website:   
https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/divisions/operating/opdm/ 
community-assistance-delivery-bureau/biking

	• 	Don't assume cyclists should position themselves on the road as far  
to the right as possible. Smart cyclists plot a line straight down the  
roadway 3-4 feet from the curb or parked cars. This allows them space  
to avoid road hazards and to be more visible to motorists and  
pedestrians.

I follow this rule pretty consistently, and the result, unfortunately,  
is rather frequent conflict with uninformed and sometimes just plain  
nasty motorists.  Well, if making it so they see me and are forced to  
accommodate me reduces the likelihood of a collision, I'm willing to  
have them get mad at me.  It's not the motorist who's mad at you that  
will kill you.  It's the one who doesn't even know you exist.

NYSDOT's advice to motorists is really quite good compared to what else  
is out there, and it is one of the few places where you see advice by  
an authority aimed at motorists (and not just at cyclists), who are,  
after all, the ones in control of the brakes and steering on the motor  
vehicles.  A cyclist can do a lot to make a conscientious and  
knowledgeable motorist's life easier, but ultimately the control of the  
dangerous instrumentality in a bike car collision is in the hands of  
the motorist.  Click the tips for motorists tab on the url above.  You  
might want to encourage your readers to do the same.

You can work some four letter words into advice for motorists if you  
choose to go that route in your follow-up column:   Slow Down.  Wait.   
Give Them Room.

Bill

William J. Lodico, Attorney at Law
PO Box 1176
150 Lake St, 3rd Floor HSBC Bldg.
Elmira NY 14902
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 4130 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://icycle.org/pipermail/flcc_icycle.org/attachments/20070404/c1fdcc73/attachment.bin