I had a dental appointment this morning, which meant I had to drive to work today. Late this morning, I was driving into town on the 16th Street Bridge. At the end of the bridge, a cyclist made the transition from the inbound sidewalk of the bridge to the lane in front of me, as he headed towards Penn.
But, then he stopped, in the gutter area of the right lane, put his foot down, and looked behind him, pretty much right at me. I figured out that he was looking to turn LEFT into the little alley, from the right inbound lane.
What I could not figure out was how to give him 4 ft. of clearance. I tried to drift into the left inbound lane (which was clear,, fortunately) but by stopping without signalling, he didn't give me much of an opportunity to shift position. I went from a car length or two behind him to right next to him in almost no time.
I thought I did what I could, but as I passed him (giving him as much room as I could, but probably only about 3 feet) I could hear him say something, presumably to me,as I was the only one in the area.
My car window was up, so I could not hear any words, just his voice, and that he seemed to be saying something.
So, my apologies to the cyclist in question. I would have given you more space if I could have. But, also an appeal to the wider board - what was the proper course of action for me, as the motorist in this case? Is there something more or better I could have/should have done?
i think you did right. you were aware and cautious and gave him and much room as possible. the trouble with the 4 foot law is that it really doesnt take into account cyclists that do idiotic things like stoping in the middle of traffic without warning to turn from the wrong lane.
My first impression is that the guy would have made a better decision if he had stopped, put his foot down, and looked around on the sidewalk before moving out into the street. Sounds a though if it had been someone less aware of cyclists than you the guy would now be a hood ornament. The 4' law is great but it won't override the laws of physics.
In my book you must be seen and must be predictable. I think the cyclist failed on the second item. That's one of the issues when riding up and down off of sidewalks -you become less predictable to the traffic around you. If he had taken the lane over the bridge he would have been able to move to the left lane well before he got to the alley.
Maybe he was criticizing the dumb guy he saw reflected in your shiny window. (Or should have been.)
sometimes its hopeless ive been cussed out while driving my bus for staying 10 feet behind a bike rider i was even flipped off for giving a bicycle the right of way at baum and beatty
After thinking about it overnight, the only thing I can come up with is that he thought I was following too closely for him to make the move left into my lane, and then into the left lane (where he SHOULD have been to initiate the turn into the alley). But, if he had signaled his intent, I would have slowed, and let him make that move. Oh well. It will remain a conundrum for now.
I have so little trouble on the streets, I think because:
* I make no move without signalling
* I am very visible
* I follow the rules (mostly)
* I try to make eye contact when possible
* I am not afraid to take the lane
* I am patient and generally tolerant
If everyone else did likewise, we would all have a lot less trouble, cyclists and drivers alike. (I learned this from my father, who in the 1960s, had to make the case for people being tolerant of motorcyclists.)
+1 Stu.
Stu you are like a bike Samurai as opposed to a Ninja.
wiki: "Their (Ninja) covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat."
That's like your Bushido.
I take the approach of "cars hurt" when I am riding my bike. I think for the most part the drivers are not very bad around here, of course we ALL complain about them (and I complain more than you do) but I still know that I am only going to REMEMBER the one driver who honked at me and screamed obscenities at me out of the 500+ people I encounter between work and home.
However, when it comes to making turns etc etc and ANY time where I feel like I could be making a confusing move I generally let the vehicles make their move first or give them room since cars hurt me more than my bike hurts them LOL...
The law of physics won't negate the 4-foot passing law (as has already been said in this thread).
