The Car Behind

                             Bob Bayn
                        CVV Safety Officer
                 LAB Effective Cycling Instructor
                           May 17, 2000


The car approaching from behind is a major safety concern to new and experienced cyclists as well
as to non-cyclists thinking about bicycle safety.  It's only natural to have more anxiety about
hazards that you cannot see than those you can see.  Your ears tell you the car is approaching, but
they cannot tell you exactly where that front bumper is aimed.

This anxiety causes new cyclists to take a variety of preventive measures that may actually reduce
their overall safety.  And it causes non-cyclists to recommend many of those same comforting but
unsafe measures: wrong side riding, sidewalk riding or even just weaving in and out around parked
cars.  

Probably the most important cycling skill to develop is the ability to do a "shoulder check" while
riding a straight line.  Then you'll be able to check on where that overtaking car really is aiming
without wobbling into his path.

Motorists don't routinely run into things as they drive down the road. If you cycle visibly,
predictably and legally, they won't run into you either.  

I'm not encouraging you to put yourself into harms way in the name of cyclists' rights.  All of
those other measures (wrong side riding, etc) get you out of the way of the cars for much of your
ride.  But they suddenly put you into the way of cars at unexpected moments, without warning.

Wrong side and sidewalk riders still cross paths with motorists at driveways and intersections.
Those crossings are at unexpected locations, unexpected speeds and unexpected directions.  All of
those surprises add up to greatly increased opportunities for a motorist to explain "But, he came
out of nowhere!"

Even if it means that you are "in the way", riding visibly, predictably and legally in a straight line
down the right side of the road offers the fewest surprises for the other travelers using the road.  
Fortunately, most of the busy streets around Logan are wide enough for us to ride legally without
causing much delay to overtaking motorists.  Where the road is narrow, you're still safest using the
road in a visible, predictable way rather than creating surprises.