You’ve got to bike a bit aggressively to stay safe. But, we interviewed Portland bike lawyer Ray Thomas for three simple tips on how to not ride like a jerk.
BE LESS LIKE A DEER.
Motorists think of bicyclists as if we’re urban deer. They’re afraid we’re gonna go left, we’re gonna go right—who knows what we’re gonna do? The way to combat that is to be predictable, and to give a hand signal before we turn or stop, so that drivers know what we’re gonna do.
BE MORE LIKE JESUS.
One way to be more Jesus-y is to try to work with drivers so they can safely pass you. Say you’re stopped at a red light, and you’re going straight. There’s a motorist behind you with his right signal on—if you weren’t there, the motorist could make a legal right turn. All you have to do is move your bike a foot and a half to the left, and you create room for the motorist to turn right. If you do that, and you turn around with the look of a benevolent Jesus on your face, you will see a motorist realizing, “Oh my god, a bicyclist is trying to help me.” That is the fabric of which a cooperative relationship on the road is made.
BE LESS LIKE A SPOOK.
Bikes have to give an audible warning when passing on the sidewalk. Pedestrians need to know that when a cyclist beeps the bell at them, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.
For more rules of the road, see Ray Thomas’ website at stc-law.com
“BE LESS LIKE A SPOOK.
Bikes have to give an audible warning when passing on the sidewalk. Pedestrians need to know that when a cyclist beeps the bell at them, it’s not to tell them to get out of the way.”
Or, maybe, don’t be an asshole- don’t bike on the sidewalk.
things you forgot :
if you insist on owning a bicycle/wheelbarrow that is as long as a car, do not park it parallel to a bike rack that can hold up to 8 bikes parked perpendicular.
do not act like you are saving the planet just because you ride a bike if you are not 100% vegan and/or have children, because you are not doing everything you could have to help the earth.
stop yelling about sharing the road if you are not willing to share the laws and costs (how much does 1 green bike box cost? thousands of dollars for a few square feet of paint, WTF?).
realize some people do actual manual labor, standing up all day at work instead of sitting at an air conditioned desk, and they don’t really want/need to work hard just to get there and back home.
do not get mad at cars for almost hitting you if you wear all black at night with no lights and have your ears plugged with your ipod.
There is a major tip that was missed in all of these Howto’s. GET A BIKE MAP. Every summer I see wide eyed newbs swerving around on their five-rides-a-year cruisers clogging up the major auto arteries like two wheeled cholesterol. Portland has developed an incredible bike infrastructure, but its completely wasted if people aren’t aware of *where it is* and stick to the routes they know from driving. Please, GET A BIKE MAP. http://www.portlandonline.com/transportati…