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Safe riding skills won't prevent you from crashing into a car which suddenly gets in your path.
Disagree.
Safe riding skills won't always prevent an accident true. But the car doesn't suddenly get in your path. It comes from somewhere.
Safe riding skills should teach you when to avoid certain routes/times etc. It should teach you to look before you cross an intersection when on a bike. To be aware of other traffic at all times. To watch for where problems may come from. That has saved me from getting hit by cars many times.
Safe riding skills won't always prevent an accident true. But the car doesn't suddenly get in your path. It comes from somewhere.
Safe riding skills should teach you when to avoid certain routes/times etc. It should teach you to look before you cross an intersection when on a bike. To be aware of other traffic at all times. To watch for where problems may come from. That has saved me from getting hit by cars many times.
Disagree all you want. But it happens.
Safe riding skills are useless when a car quickly puts itself in the path of your bike.
It could be a car backing out of a driveway which is blocked from your view. Other cars may be parked along the street preventing you from even noticing this driveway.
It might be a car riding along side you who doesn't bother to check his side view mirror, and suddenly turns right in front of you.
It might be a parked car, where a car door suddenly opens at the exact moment you are riding past the car.
In cases like this, you don't even have a second to react. By the time you notice the car, you are already crashing into it.
Safe riding skills are useless when a car quickly puts itself in the path of your bike.
It could be a car backing out of a driveway which is blocked from your view. Other cars may be parked along the street preventing you from even noticing this driveway.
Street riding isn't a race. Quit looking at your computer to see how fast your going and pay attention to the road ahead. If something is blocking your view then extra care is needed.
Dodged this a few times. Not that I'm perfect either. My close calls have come when I did see the driver backing out proceeded anyway since I did have the right of way and thought they saw me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RD5050
It might be a car riding along side you who doesn't bother to check his side view mirror, and suddenly turns right in front of you.
Funny this is one of the times I did get hit. I don't know how much time I had to react. Less than a second. I turned hard. Almost turned inside her turn. Almost. Some riders use mirrors to watch people coming up behind them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RD5050
It might be a parked car, where a car door suddenly opens at the exact moment you are riding past the car.
Came close when I was younger. Nowadays I avoid the door zone of cars. This one is avoidable. Take the lane, find another route. This is actually a killer for motorcyclists.
Still in favor of safety skills over the helmet. Still wear my helmet, sometimes.
Safe riding skills are useless when a car quickly puts itself in the path of your bike.
It could be a car backing out of a driveway which is blocked from your view. Other cars may be parked along the street preventing you from even noticing this driveway.
It might be a car riding along side you who doesn't bother to check his side view mirror, and suddenly turns right in front of you.
It might be a parked car, where a car door suddenly opens at the exact moment you are riding past the car.
In cases like this, you don't even have a second to react. By the time you notice the car, you are already crashing into it.
You obviously don't bike often, which explains your militancy on this issue. I bike in NYC every day, and each of the items you have listed are a part of why I ride the way I do. One ALWAYS assumes a car door might open or that a car might turn into you. You have not mentioned anything extraordinary to anyone who really bikes. That said, you are right to wear a helmet since you don't anticipate such normalcy on the road.
You obviously don't bike often, which explains your militancy on this issue. I bike in NYC every day, and each of the items you have listed are a part of why I ride the way I do. One ALWAYS assumes a car door might open or that a car might turn into you. You have not mentioned anything extraordinary to anyone who really bikes. That said, you are right to wear a helmet since you don't anticipate such normalcy on the road.
Sorry that your assumptions are incorrect, but I ride nearly 3 - 5 times a week.
I've been riding bikes my entire life.
No ... you can not predict when someone will be careless with their car.
It is absolutely ridiculous to even think that you can.
And no ... carelessness is NOT normal behavior.
If you could predict carelessness, then accidents would NEVER happen, and there would be no need for anyone to carry insurance.
funny thing, I was going to respond to your post with the single word "Ridiculous!" but you beat me to the punch. You clearly are clueless about how to bike properly. Why are you riding so close to a car that a.flung open door can cause a collision? Claim the lane. Learn proper biking skills. Wear your helmet, and MYOB when those of us with more experience choose not to. We are adults and dont need a nanny.
funny thing, I was going to respond to your post with the single word "Ridiculous!" but you beat me to the punch. You clearly are clueless about how to bike properly. Why are you riding so close to a car that a.flung open door can cause a collision? Claim the lane. Learn proper biking skills. Wear your helmet, and MYOB when those of us with more experience choose not to. We are adults and dont need a nanny.
I am an EXTREMELY safe rider. In my entire life, I've only had one serious bike accident. And as I already mentioned ... I ride quite often.
Sorry, but you can't easily avoid cars who act carelessly. Maybe it's different in NY, but here in San Diego it's not that simple.
Our bike lanes run right next to parked cars. Here is an article with a picture which shows what I mean:
Many of our lanes are more narrow than the one shown above, and cars often park right next to the edge of the right bike line, and not a foot away, as you see in the above example.
The above article is about someone who was killed while riding in a bike lane. That is what we deal with here in SD.
You may think that you "know it all" concerning riding bikes safely ... but you don't. Trust me. No matter how safe you attempt to be, you are still at the mercy of careless drivers.
Many of our lanes are more narrow than the one shown above, and cars often park right next to the edge of the right bike line, and not a foot away, as you see in the above example.
The above article is about someone who was killed while riding in a bike lane. That is what we deal with here in SD.
You may think that you "know it all" concerning riding bikes safely ... but you don't. Trust me. No matter how safe you attempt to be, you are still at the mercy of careless drivers.
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