Right hook defense
Sep. 8th, 2010 01:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyI think there's some kind of right-hook nuttiness in the air these days. After 5 years of commuting with no close calls or trouble at all, I nearly got right hooked(*) THREE TIMES in the last week. In each case I would have hit the car if I hadn't hit the brakes.
As a result, I've decided that in my own defense if I'm approaching an intersection with a right turn and there's a car coming up behind me that will hit the intersection about the same time as I am, I'm going to have to take the lane completely, then merge back to the right tire track where I usually am once I'm past 1/2 way through.
If they were going to turn right, it won't slow them down at all compared to what they SHOULD be doing which is waiting for me to clear the intersection. If they are going straight, I may be slowing them down for about 5 to 10 seconds.
I have always tried to give cars as much courtesy as possible, but if some drivers are going to abuse the courtesy, I'm going to have to just start doing what's safe for me and inconveniencing people a little once in a while. What sucks is the people I'm inconveniencing (straight through drivers) are not the ones that I'm defending against (right turners) but since nobody in this state signals until they're halfway through their turns anyway, I can't really know which is which.
I'm also considering installing an air horn on my bike. I've thought about it in the past, but given that up to the last couple of weeks I simply never had a need to use one, it seemed like a useless toy. Now I'm kind of getting to like the idea of hitting an air horn 18 inches from a driver's side window; with any luck they'll need a change of underwear.
Another possibility is a modified flash flag. A flash flag is a fiberglass pole with a reflective flag at the end, mounted on a spring, which sticks out 3 feet to the left of the cyclist. 3 feet is the recommended (required by law in some states) space when passing a cyclist. Some people have modified theirs by putting an obvious nasty jagged metal piece at the end, and they say it's quite effective. Apparently some drivers don't really care if they kill you, but they don't want to scratch their paint.
I'd only really consider a flash flag if things got a hell of a lot worse than they are now. Right now even with the few right-hooks, this is still pretty much a paradise for cyclists.
In one of the cases, I could have used another defense that I've seen online; people wearing BMX gloves which have hard plastic knuckle guards. If you embed a tiny little metal shard in one of the tips, they'll shatter a car's side window if you tap it to alert the driver of your presence and their stupidity. But that would be wrong. But it's fun to think about.
(*) If you're not aware, a right hook is when a car passes a cyclist just before an intersection and then turns right in front of them, rather than waiting behind them. Usually this is because the driver assumes that the cyclist is moving so slow as to be essentially stationary, even though most experienced riders are moving 20 to 25 MPH on paved surface streets. Right hooks are one of the most lethal threats to cyclists, followed closely by left crosses (people turning left in front of a cyclist, either t-boning them or causing the cyclist to hit the side of the car, again, usually caused by the car driver assuming that the cyclist is moving at a very slow speed, or not "seeing" the cyclist at all(**)).
(**) "I didn't see him" is not an excuse, it's an admission that you're not a competent vehicle operator and should probably re-evaluate your driving skills and habits. Sometimes right-hook offenders claim they didn't "see" the cyclist either - even though they crossed the center line to go around them. What they meant is that their brains weren't engaged.
As a result, I've decided that in my own defense if I'm approaching an intersection with a right turn and there's a car coming up behind me that will hit the intersection about the same time as I am, I'm going to have to take the lane completely, then merge back to the right tire track where I usually am once I'm past 1/2 way through.
If they were going to turn right, it won't slow them down at all compared to what they SHOULD be doing which is waiting for me to clear the intersection. If they are going straight, I may be slowing them down for about 5 to 10 seconds.
I have always tried to give cars as much courtesy as possible, but if some drivers are going to abuse the courtesy, I'm going to have to just start doing what's safe for me and inconveniencing people a little once in a while. What sucks is the people I'm inconveniencing (straight through drivers) are not the ones that I'm defending against (right turners) but since nobody in this state signals until they're halfway through their turns anyway, I can't really know which is which.
I'm also considering installing an air horn on my bike. I've thought about it in the past, but given that up to the last couple of weeks I simply never had a need to use one, it seemed like a useless toy. Now I'm kind of getting to like the idea of hitting an air horn 18 inches from a driver's side window; with any luck they'll need a change of underwear.
Another possibility is a modified flash flag. A flash flag is a fiberglass pole with a reflective flag at the end, mounted on a spring, which sticks out 3 feet to the left of the cyclist. 3 feet is the recommended (required by law in some states) space when passing a cyclist. Some people have modified theirs by putting an obvious nasty jagged metal piece at the end, and they say it's quite effective. Apparently some drivers don't really care if they kill you, but they don't want to scratch their paint.
I'd only really consider a flash flag if things got a hell of a lot worse than they are now. Right now even with the few right-hooks, this is still pretty much a paradise for cyclists.
In one of the cases, I could have used another defense that I've seen online; people wearing BMX gloves which have hard plastic knuckle guards. If you embed a tiny little metal shard in one of the tips, they'll shatter a car's side window if you tap it to alert the driver of your presence and their stupidity. But that would be wrong. But it's fun to think about.
(*) If you're not aware, a right hook is when a car passes a cyclist just before an intersection and then turns right in front of them, rather than waiting behind them. Usually this is because the driver assumes that the cyclist is moving so slow as to be essentially stationary, even though most experienced riders are moving 20 to 25 MPH on paved surface streets. Right hooks are one of the most lethal threats to cyclists, followed closely by left crosses (people turning left in front of a cyclist, either t-boning them or causing the cyclist to hit the side of the car, again, usually caused by the car driver assuming that the cyclist is moving at a very slow speed, or not "seeing" the cyclist at all(**)).
(**) "I didn't see him" is not an excuse, it's an admission that you're not a competent vehicle operator and should probably re-evaluate your driving skills and habits. Sometimes right-hook offenders claim they didn't "see" the cyclist either - even though they crossed the center line to go around them. What they meant is that their brains weren't engaged.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 07:13 pm (UTC)In other news, I doubt the gloves are worthwhile for my city riding, for either protection or for administering admonitions to errant drivers, but I used to have a one-piece face mask that had:
* integral goggles that were relatively fog-free
* a rigid plastic section that covered the mouth and nose
* foam behind that mouth/nose section, so that you had some air filtration and insulation
It was perfect for the winter. I've never seen anything like it for quite some time.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-09 12:45 pm (UTC)I think the horn is a great idea. Not so hot on the concept of knuckle guards. And I wonder if the flash flag might not cause a problem for *you* -- would it simply break off, or bend way back, or could it push you off the road?
Good luck with this!
no subject
Date: 2010-09-09 04:20 pm (UTC)That right hook story you link to, there's not enough information to reach a conclusion as to who was at fault. I've seen idiots continue along in the bike lane to the right of large trucks at intersections. Sorry, that's suicide, even if the right turn signal isn't on. You can NOT assume that people who are in front of you the whole time see you, particularly if they're driving a large truck. It's different if they pass you then turn right.
You couldn't pay me to ride to the right of a dump truck or any other large vehicle. I just slow down and stay behind them until they clear the intersection.
Either one might be the case here.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-09 04:28 pm (UTC)Means
no subject
Date: 2010-09-09 04:40 pm (UTC)Sounds like a good argument for bike boxes.
I read an interesting comment yesterday. They mentioned a news story where a drunk driver went off the road and hit a pole and was killed. Apparently it's the 2nd or 3rd fatality at that place in the last couple of years, all of them were impaired drivers. He was mystified that all of the comments were about how dangerous that hunk of road is, and they should do something to make it safer. Nobody seemed to notice that every one of the fatalities were impaired drivers, and maybe THAT was the cause?
I somewhat coldly said that hell, if they could make changes to the roads to CAUSE impaired drivers to crash every time, I'd be all for it. Because if they don't hit a pole, they are just as likely to go on and hit a person. I think that it would be quite an innovation if the only people that impaired drivers killed were themselves.