Watch out for the Right Hook

An accident so common it has a name: The Right Hook.

You are plugging along on your bicycle at about 15 or 20 mph on the right hand side of the road as you should be. A car approaches from behind; he is doing 30 or 40 mph and catches and passes you quite easily. But then the driver brakes and slows down to make a right turn.

Car brakes being as efficient as they are, he slows down quickly to about 15 or 20 mph, the same speed you are doing and as a result does not completely pass you. You are now along side the car, or a little behind the driver in his blind spot. He makes the right turn and you either run into the side of the car, he side swipes you, or in the worst case he runs right over you.

A good and careful driver would slow and stay behind the cyclist and wait until the bike rider clears the junction before he turns. Unfortunately, careful drivers are in the minority and it is really in a cyclist’s interest to ride defensively and be alert to hazards like this at all times.

First, be aware that you are approaching a turn off to the right; be it a road, entrance to a parking lot, or a driveway. Next, be aware of vehicles approaching from the rear. If they partially pass you then slow, it may be in your best interest to slow also. With your hands already on the brakes, you are ready for a panic stop.

If there is a separate right turn lane, do not ride your bike there unless you plan to turn right. Other road users will assume you are turning right, and you are asking to get hooked if you try to go straight.

I always look over my left shoulder as I approach a right turn lane and give a going left hand signal. Not an arm straight out left turn signal, but more just pointing at the road to my left to show, “I’m moving over to the next lane.”


Then I ride just outside the turn lane, close or on the lane marking. This gives vehicles plenty of room to pass on the right. You will still get the occasional joker who will pass you on the outside then cut in front of you to turn right. But I find a look over my left shoulder is the best signal to give, and most drivers will stay behind you when they see this.

Sometimes the lane markings are for straight ahead and right turn; in other words, it is not a lane designated for right turns only. In this case, I do the same glance over my left shoulder and if there is no one immediately behind me, I signal and move towards the center of the lane just so everyone knows I intend to go straight ahead. I try to do this at least 100 feet before the junction to cut down the risk of being right hooked. Once clear of the junction I move back over to the right.

Interval training is the best form of exercise, in terms of being good for the heart and for burning calories. I treat riding in traffic as interval training, slowing when caution is called for and reserving energy for when a sudden burst of speed is needed to clear a junction for example. If someone causes me to brake and slow down, it is another interval opportunity getting back up to speed.

I try to accept bad driving on the part of a few road users as an unfortunate fact; otherwise if I let every little incident upset me, it ruins my ride. I find anger on my part, keeps me focused on the stupidity and carelessness of others. If I take the attitude, “Ah well, this is South Carolina, we have some of the worst drivers in the whole country here, so this is what I should expect.” My ride is a lot more enjoyable.


Foot Note: If you live in the UK or some other country where you drive on the left, the Right Hook becomes a Left Hook. (Picture, left.) The same rules apply, just read left for right and vice versa.

Lessons in defensive riding, learned the hard way

Statistics show that the most common bicycle/vehicle accident is caused by drivers turning left in front of an oncoming bicycle. (In the UK this would be a driver turning right.) This is exactly what happened in my accident.

When you think about it and analyze the situation there is a reason why this type of accident is common. The driver is sitting waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic so they can make the turn. When that gap appears they are going to move very quickly, it may only be a very small gap.

They don’t see the oncoming cyclist because he/she is hidden behind other traffic, especially if the last vehicle before the gap is a large commercial van or truck. The driver is watching that vehicle and the next one some distance down the road, not thinking there might be a cyclist between the two.

Once the driver has started the turn they are no longer looking down the road for other traffic, but rather are looking in the direction they are headed.

If they do see the cyclist at the last moment, slamming on the brakes will only place a stationary vehicle in the path of the cyclist instead of a moving one. The fact they don’t see the cyclist is no excuse, there could also be a pedestrian or a child riding a bicycle on the sidewalk. “Look twice, save a life” is a motor cyclist safety slogan, that applies equally to the bicycle rider.

Here are some defensive riding practices I will be using in the future:

1. I will be on the lookout for drivers waiting to make a left turn.

2. I will make a mental note of where they are and when I reach that spot, if I can’t see them, they probably can’t see me.

3. Depending on circumstances like speed and density of traffic, I may make the decision to move out into the traffic lane to a position where I can see them and they can see me.

4. If I hear a vehicle directly behind me, it is reasonably safe to say there is no gap in traffic and they will not turn.

5. If there is no traffic immediately behind me, and traffic is slow moving, I may speed up to stay close the vehicle ahead of me.

6. If 3, 4, and 5 don’t apply, I will assume the vehicle is going to turn and I will be prepared to stop. I will be watching the vehicle’s front wheels for any sign of movement.

This being the most common bicycle mishap, if you can avoid this one, you greatly reduce the odds of your being involved in an accident. In addition, this is a good one to avoid as it has the potential for serious injury.

Before my accident, I never paid much attention to this issue. I am hoping what happened to me will cause others to think about this serious problem, and avoid going through what I had to.

Should you be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident Kent's Bike Blog has some good advice.

It’s a jungle out there, ride safe.

The Highway Code

I am not one of those English people who live in the US and constantly compare the two countries, cultures, or lifestyles. I have lived here for 28 years now, if anything it is England that now seems foreign to me. You will never hear me compare Cadbury’s chocolate with Hershey’s for example, or argue that one is better than the other.

One simple rule I do follow; when in England the coffee is so bad I drink tea. When in America the tea is so bad, I drink coffee. Another I would argue is a good thing in the UK, is something called the Highway Code.

It used to be a little printed book given out to everyone who drove a car, in fact learning the Highway Code was the first step required in getting a driver’s license. It was also available to any road user; kids in school would be given a copy. These days it is also a website.

The Highway Code is a British Government entity, the website URL ends in .gov.uk. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t just include car drivers, but all road users. It is a book of rules for cars, motorcycles, cyclists, pedestrians, and even horses on the road. There can be no argument that bicycles and others have a legal right to be on the road, a government publication says it is so.

With that right to be on the road comes a set of rules and laws that you must follow. I was amazed when I first came to the US to see bikes on the sidewalk, bikes on the wrong side of the road. Even when I started riding with the local racers in New Jersey, I was surprised to see them ride through red lights.

On the home page of the Highway Code website, about the third paragraph down it states that some of the rules are the law and to break them is a criminal offense, with fines, or even prison sentences. The rules that are the law are indicated on the website by the words MUST and MUST NOT in red type. Here are some of the must obey rules for cyclists:

Rule 46: At night your cycle MUST have front and rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85).

50: You MUST obey all traffic signs and traffic light signals.

54: You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement. (The pavement is the sidewalk in England.)

This law is good because you don’t get idiot motorists yelling at you to get on the sidewalk, because everyone knows it is against the law, and a cyclist would be fined for doing so. It is also against the law in most of the US but no one enforces it.

55: You MUST NOT cross the stop line when the traffic lights are red.

As for riding on the wrong side of the road towards oncoming traffic; it is so blatently obvious that it is not even mentioned.

In the rules for drivers section it is interesting that the following advice is included:

Rule 139: Give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would a car when overtaking

I particularly like that one. “Give at least as much room as you would a car when overtaking.” It almost has the Biblical overtones of “Do as you would have done unto you.” Can you imagine the average car driver’s reaction if someone passed them missing them by inches? It would initially scare the crap out of them.


187: It is often difficult to see motorcyclists and cyclists especially when they are coming up from behind, coming out of junctions and at roundabouts. Always look out for them when you are emerging from a junction.

188: When passing motorcyclists and cyclists, give them plenty of room. If they look over their shoulder whilst you are following them it could mean that they may soon attempt to turn. Give them time and space to do so.

189: Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room.

Need I say more to sing praises to the British Highway Code?

Footnote: As the majority of readers of my blog are from the US, I flipped the pictures to show traffic on the right side of the road.