Injured Cyclist

[Thirteen]

Remember people don't just ride bikes for recreation and they need to ride in rush hour for the same reason people need to drive. Of course in an ideal world there would be bike lanes everywhere so that everyone has their space. And bike lanes that are actually maintained not used as a place where all the broken glass and gravel gets swept to!! I agree that cyclists should follow the rules of the road; now that I never ride a bike but am often a pedestrian it drives me crazy that so many do not stop at red lights.
In LA I wouldn't ride a bike outside of our very immediate neighborhood. It's scary. We are only 3 miles from the hospital but there is no way I'd let DH bike there with all the bad drivers and speeders. But he rides in the hills around here where the roads are so narrow and twisty that drivers are forced to go slow!!

I agree!
(There needs to be a bumper sticker or something with the slogan: "Don't bike in L.A.: you'll die.") Yikes!

[Auspicious]

Sooo, what are the rules of sharing the road with bicyclists? Minneapolis is ranked #1 bike city by Bicycling magazine, and since moving here we are suddenly confronted with many more bikes than we're used to (although there are a ton of bike lanes, too). Husband and I agree we're not even sure what all the expectations are and I was surprised it wasn't covered more on our MN driver's license tests.

You're supposed to leave a three-foot margin when passing a bike, and if you can't pass with three feet you have to hang behind them until something changes and you can get an extra three feet for passing, right? What else do drivers do that sucks for bicyclists?

[Michele]

Not paying attention to the fact that you pass a biker, then slow to make a right turn, the biker may have caught up....don't turn right into the biker!

If you parallel park, and the bike lane is on your drivers side....don't open your car door into the bike lane unless you've checked for bikers.

These may seem obvious to some, but I've seen people do them both. Gainesville FL is very bike friendly....and of course whenever we are by the beach there are tons of bikers. Oh and biker = cyclist to me. (anyone a super troopers fan??)

[Auspicious]

those make sense, thanks!