The Invisible Cyclist: Part I

So often a car will turn or pull out in front of cyclist causing serious injury, then claim, “I didn’t see him.”  The cyclist might ask, “Am I invisible? I am wearing a bright lime green jacket.”

It is not a case of the cyclist being invisible, but one of the position of the cyclist and other vehicles on the road giving the illusion that he is not there.

Take the common scenario in the top picture. A cyclist is following the red SUV that has just overtaken him; the driver of the SUV wants to make a right turn, and is indicating so with his turn signal.

The red SUV is slowing to less than the cyclist’s speed, so the cyclist moves over to the left to avoid running into the red vehicle. He figures he can do this safely as he can hear no other cars immediately behind him.

This lack of traffic behind him is actually the cyclist’s downfall, because at this moment the blue car is emerging from this same side road, about to make a left turn to go in the opposite direction to the cyclist.

The driver of the blue car waits until he is sure the red SUV is turning, and then makes his move. He does not see the cyclist because he is hidden behind the red vehicle. For the same reason the cyclist can’t see the blue car either.

The driver of the blue car gets the illusion that there is nothing behind the red SUV, all he sees is a gap in traffic and an opportunity to pull out.

The red SUV turns, the blue car pulls out, and the cyclists runs smack into the side of the vehicle.

How to avoid this situation.

1.) Be aware of cars waiting in side roads and driveways ready to turn onto the road you are on.

2.) In this scenario, don’t be in a hurry to get around the turning vehicle. Had the cyclist slowed and stayed the right, he would have seen the blue car, even if the driver had not seen him. Also when the car pulled out the cyclist would have more of a chance to go behind the vehicle to avoid a collision.

3.) Listen for cars immediately behind you, if there is traffic behind this is your safety buffer and people will not pull out if they see other cars approaching. 

The British Highway Code illustrates this scenario in rule 211. (Picture left.)

The onus is on the driver pulling out to make sure the road is clear, but that is of little consolation to the cyclist if he is hit 

Footnote: Read about this cyclist's Near Death Experience, a story that prompted me to write this peice. Later this week in Part II, I will outline another common accident scenario

The Idaho Stop

I am riding my bike though a quiet residential neighborhood; I come to a four-way stop. I slow to what is almost a standstill; there is not another vehicle in sight in every direction, so I roll though the intersection.

Technically I have just broken the law because I did not come to a complete stop with my foot to the ground. However, is there any harm in what I just did; is it not in the interest of safety and convenience for myself and others that I clear this intersection and be on my way?

Often if I hear a car approaching from behind and even though the way ahead is clear I will come to a complete foot down stop. For all I know this car could be a cop and I could get a ticket; also drivers expect cyclists to run stop signs, so by stopping I am showing that not all cyclists are scofflaws.

Other times, if there is traffic present I come to a complete stop and wait my turn just as I would in my car. It is not only the law, it is good manners and when any vehicle goes out of turn it just confuses everyone.

Traffic lights are a whole different matter; I always come to a complete stop for a red light, whether there is opposing traffic or not. The only exception would be, for example, early on a Sunday morning and there is no other traffic. My bike will not trip the light, so I will proceed, but always after stopping and waiting a reasonable period.

The State of Idaho has had a law in place since 1982. It allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, (Allowing a rolling stop.) and traffic lights as stop signs. (Proceed after stopping if the way is clear.) This law has worked well in Idaho for over a quarter of a century.

A similar law has just failed to pass in the State of Utah; last year other stop sign bills failed to pass in Montana, and Oregon. (See above video.) The failure of the Oregon bill in passing was partly blamed on negative press. Time and time again I see such legislation described as “A bill allowing cyclists to run stop signs and red lights.”

This is not what it is; there is a huge difference between negotiating a stop sign in the manner I described at the beginning of this piece, and blowing on though without even an attempt to slow down. Even though the cyclist may be able to see the road is clear and there is possibly no danger in “Blowing though.”

It is bad form, do it often enough and there is the potential for an accident. Nothing pisses off a motorist more that passing a cyclist, then as he is waiting in line at the next light, have the cyclist ride up the inside of the line of cars and blow though the red light as if it wasn’t even there. Then the motorist must pass the cyclist again and there is a repeat performance at all the following lights.

There is an argument that it is safer for the cyclist to clear the light rather than wait for the green, and move off with all the motorized traffic. This is a valid point, but it still does not excuse “Blowing through” without first stopping.

Personally I do not find it a hardship to stop for a red light; Utah legislators may have done better to concentrate on the stop sign issue first, as Montana and Oregon did. Many of us choose to ride on quiet residential streets, and it is on such streets that there are stop signs every block, when there is little traffic and a simple “Yield” sign would have sufficed.

What are your views?

Sharrows

Sharrows is a new buzz word I notice popping up in bicycle related news stories.

The word is short for “Shared Lane Arrows.”

These are already in place or are proposed in cities like LA and Long Beach, California and Portland, Oregon.

I have also read of proposals for using Sharrows in Yonkers, NY., and New Haven, Connecticut.

The picture (Left.) shows them already in use in Austin, Texas.

They are cheaper to install than a bike lane. When you designate space for a bike lane, it sometimes means car parking is lost, much to the chagrin of local businesses.

It also means all the other traffic lanes have to be moved over; in other words the whole road has to be restriped.

A Sharrow can be simply placed in an existing lane at appropriate intervals. It lets motorists know that cyclists have a right to share that lane, and as illustrated in the picture above, where there are parked cars cyclists can move to the center of the lane to avoid the real danger of opening car doors.

On the downside, when these arrows start appearing without adequate signage or public notification, it just confuses the hell out of car drivers, because they don’t know if they can use that lane or not. I heard this happened in Long Beach, California; drivers got confused, frustrated and angry.

Education is really the whole crux of the matter. Experienced cyclists already know they have a right to use the lane, and ride down the middle if for example, there are parked cars present; they don’t need a painted arrow to tell them. Sharrows are more to let motorists know that cyclists may be present.

Personally, I like the idea of a shared lane, rather than a bike lane. Bike lanes get parked in, all the debris, broken glass and crap, gets swept into a bike lane by passing traffic. You are in more danger of getting “Right Hooked” in a bike lane, or hit by a car pulling onto the road.

However, I wonder if the money spent on painting Sharrows, would be better spent on education. Local newspaper and TV ads, a few strategically placed billboards, throughout a city, like the one above.

What is your view on sharrows? 
 

Removing a stuck seat post or handlebar stem

Someone recently asked me what to do about an aluminum seat post or quill stem stuck in a steel frame.

First of all, let me explain how this happens.

When two dissimilar metals are placed together, in this case steel and aluminum, and moisture is introduced, ordinary rainwater, a form of electrochemical corrosion takes place known as “Galvanic corrosion.”

The two metals form what is known as an electrical couple, and electrons are exchanged between the two, through the electrolyte, which in this case is the moisture.

The first thing to try to release the two is heat. You could use a butane torch, but a safer and more readily available substitute would be boiling water.

Take the bike outside and lay it on the ground. Leave the saddle or the handlebars in place as you will need these as leverage to start twisting the component to free it.

Pour a pan of boiling water over the aluminum part. If you own an electric kettle this might be a better choice, because you can run an extension cord outside and boil the water right next to where you need it.

Because aluminum expands on heating at a greater rate than steel the seat post or stem is now even tighter than before. However, allow it to cool back to normal temperature, and the aluminum component will shrink. This expanding and contracting again is usually enough to break the seal, and free it.

In the case of a stuck seat post, grasp the saddle and start twisting back and forth. When it starts to move, use a little thin oil or WD40 to avoid tearing up the aluminum.

To remove a stuck handlebar stem, loosen the expander bolt, and tap down the expander wedge to release it, (You must do this.) and then remove the bolt completely before you pour the boiling water over.

As with the seat post, allow to cool completely, hold the front wheel between your knees and start to twist the handlebars. If the stem fails to move try this next step.

Remove the front brake, and try to get the expander wedge to drop out through the bottom hole in the steering column.

You must remove the expander wedge completely. If it won’t drop out, you may need to use a file or a Dremel tool to make the hole at the bottom bigger.

Sometimes you can screw the expander bolt back in again from the bottom and pull the expander wedge out. (Picture right.)

Now you can insert a piece of ½ inch diameter steel bar up inside the stem from the bottom side, and drive the stem out with a hammer.

Put some duct tape inside the fork blades to avoid chipping the paint with the hammer.

Ammonia, a common household cleaner, will also loosen aluminum corrosion, so you may also try soaking the part overnight with ammonia before you try to remove it. Ammonia is also corrosive to aluminum, so this is only a short term temporary measure.

The boiling water trick will also work to remove the crank arms from a bottom bracket spindle, if the extractor threads are stripped.

Only in this case, after pouring the boiling water over don’t wait for it to cool; you need the aluminum crank or chainwheel to expand away from the steel spindle. Drive the crank off while still hot, using a piece of wood and a hammer.

Because prevention is always better than a cure, make sure when you fit your stem or seat post, you apply grease to the inside of the steel frame, and to the aluminum component.

The grease will seal out the moisture, and stop the steel and aluminum from contacting each other. Remove your stem and seat post at least once a year and re-grease. More often if you ride in the rain a lot.
  

Los Angeles: A step in the right direction

Los Angeles has a new police chief named Charlie Beck. (Left.) 

Just into his third month as chief, he has already met with community leaders promising to make "good policing and civil rights" the foundation of his LAPD legacy.

It was at one of these meetings Chief Beck was presented with a Cyclists' Bill of Rights and a challenge to put his leadership team to work towards making Los Angeles a better place for cyclists to ride.

As a result a LAPD Cycling Task Force has been formed headed by Commander David Doan. They recently met for a marathon session with representatives from various LA area cycling advocate groups.

These included, the Bike Writers Collective, illuminate LA, Sustainable Streets, Bikeside, the Voice, (a Bike Working Group) and the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Commander Doan (Right.) convened the meeting saying, "The LAPD is committed to making our roadways safer for all commuters with an emphasis on our most vulnerable commuters, cyclists. We are committed to working with the cycling community to improve police cyclist interactions and to find ways to make our streets safer for everyone." 

One of the first orders of business will be the education of LAPD officers who patrol the streets and the LA public as a whole on the rights of cyclists on streets of Los Angeles. Better investigation of accidents involving cyclists, and also “crimes” against cyclists was called for.

When a motorist "asserts" himself against a cyclist, it is not a simple traffic violation or traffic collision, it is a crime. Crimes against cyclists need to be treated as real crimes, not as simple infractions that are simply part of everyday traffic in Los Angeles.

A hit-and-run motorist that leaves a cyclist behind needs to be pursued and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The recent Mandeville Canyon road rage incident that resulted in several felony convictions for Dr. Christopher Thompson wasn't the first reported incident for the doctor, it was the third, and it wasn't investigated as a crime until it got political. That must change.

On the civil rights issue - Cyclists riding alone and late at night sometimes find themselves in handcuffs while the LAPD check their information.

LAPD officers report that this is simply for the safety of the officers but critics call it "bias based policing" or "profiling" and that riding a bike should not be a cue for handcuffs.

Many of these cyclists ride for economic reasons; they are workers in low paying jobs simply riding to or from work. They may not have lights and may ride on the sidewalks late at night.

The opportunity here would be to have the LAPD pass out blinkie lights and a copy of the Cyclists' Rules of the Road rather than to assume that late-night cyclists are involved in crime.

This is a huge step in the right direction; when a major city like Los Angeles starts to take cycling seriously, then other municipalities are more likely to follow suit. You can read a complete and more detailed report here