Posted by Lookitsme at 11/5/07 5:17 p.m.

There is a law that you're supposed to ride as far to the right as there is space

Actually, you are supposed to ride as far to the right as is safe. Quite frequently, this is in the middle of the lane on a multi-lane road. It's almost always the case going down a hill.

Posted by jungleal at 11/5/07 5:19 p.m.

Time out for clarification. Why is car driver at fault for opening driver door and then biker hitting the driver and/or door? And what about driver turning right on green light and having biker slide under the car's right side? How can that be the car driver's fault? The damn bikers are flaunting so many traffic rules. Please cite state statutes for these cases.

Posted by slugbiker at 11/5/07 5:28 p.m.

The reason the driver who opens his door is at fault is because the traffic in the roadway (and that includes bicyclists) have the right of way over someone exiting a vehicle. It's the stopped driver's responsibility to NOT open a car door until it is safe to do so.

text of law below:

RCW 46.61.620
Opening and closing vehicle doors.

No person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side adjacent to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle adjacent to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

Posted by Monica Guzman at 11/5/07 5:35 p.m.

Lookitsme -- Upon reading your comment, I called Anderton again. Turns out I misheard his quote, and the law does say "as is safe." Thanks!

Posted by Lookitsme at 11/5/07 6:13 p.m.

How can it be a driver's fault for cutting off a biker at a green light?

Well, the most obvious answer I can think of is this - driver passes bicyclist near turn and hooks right in front of said cyclist effectively cutting him/her off.

This is one of the many reasons why experienced cyclists will not hug the road's edge.

Next question?

Posted by unregistered user at 11/5/07 7:10 p.m.

Followed a cyclist up Eastlake a few weeks back - hanging respectfully back in my car - in the pouring rain. I struggled to pass her when it was safe - she refused to give an INCH to make it safer for me to pass or even acknowlege that she shared the road with (gasp!) a horseless carriage. However, I was astounded that this person ran EVERY RED LIGHT between S. Lake Union and the University bridge.

(Had she stopped at the red lights, I would have easily gotten around her and no body would have been "on her tail.")

Aren't the red lights for cyclists too - or have they evolved beyond that now?

Please advise - as I was having fantasies about Professor Fate's black car in the movie "The Great Race" that had a front mounted cannon that proved fateful indeed for a famous Paris landmark - let alone a self-righteous Seattle cyclist.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/5/07 9:21 p.m.

Although bikes can pass on the right in Seattle, it's not a bright move in the situations I've mostly seen it applied - coasting to the head of the queue at a red light - several drivers likely worked their way past you, and it's not gaining you much time to pass them again, only to force them to work their way around you again. Better just to wait your turn like the rest of the vehicles on the road. And to all my fellow bicyclists - your "rights" on the road are best viewed as privileges, just like your fellow road users. The best lesson I received in driver's ed was this: you never HAVE the right of way, but you often must yield it to others. It's never YOUR road, car or bike.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/5/07 9:50 p.m.

When I used to commute by bike, I generally would move into the middle of the right lane of traffic when approaching an intersection. This kept people from doing the move described above, where the turn into you. If the light turned red, I just stayed in line with the cars until I was through the intersection.

A few times drivers got very impatient about that, wanting to accelerate faster than I could. But I had to do what I thought was in the interests of safety.

The only exceptions to the "wait in line" rule for traffic lights were situations where the traffic was totally jammed up and the line was many light cycles long. In that case I would move past the cars while they were stopped, then merge in and move with them while they moved, then move past them again while they were stopped. This was legal, and there are limits beyond where politeness becomes ridiculous. It wasn't helping anyone for me to just be sitting in line because the drivers had to.

Posted by Lookitsme at 11/5/07 11:13 p.m.

I generally would move into the middle of the right lane of traffic when approaching an intersection. This kept people from doing the move described above, where the turn into you.

This is definitely the safest way to handle most intersections - riding predictably as part of the traffic flow.

For anyone who is interested in good urban cycling techniques, like the one noted above, this is an excellent resource: http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

I have been transportation cycling several thousand miles a year for more than 20 years without a collision using techniques very much in line with those described in Streetsmarts.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/6/07 1:16 p.m.

Thanks for the link Lookitsme--lot of common sense stuff,
but it seems like a lot of the newbees are lacking in common sense. As the buddhists say, "what you're doing now is what you're doing now".

Posted by unregistered user at 11/6/07 3:16 p.m.

If both drivers and bike riders had more education about the law and more skill at driving/riding things would go a lot more smoothly and safely.

Almost everything at that "streetsmarts" website boils down to one thing -- the bike rider should know when to take his place as part of the general traffic flow and when to move out of the general traffic flow. This does depend on the drivers accepting them, but I have found that usually they do, as long as the bike behaves exactly like another car would.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/9/07 8:00 a.m.

bikes are the best to avoid traffic jams. I'm planning to buy one from bikes for sale classifieds, but I dont know which one will be the best for the city ride.