All approbation to the Schenectady Gazette and our own BBDave?

[Tom]

Today's Life and Arts section - not the photoshopped illustration I had earlier mentioned - but a large article on bicycle-car relations. How the bicyclist can help the drivers out, what the drivers have to realize, finishing up with the ten most annoying things a driver does and what the bicyclist can do about some of them, as thought up by the chiefs from the local cycling club, the MHCC.

Great pics, not taken by our own bee-man but one of his minions.

Perhaps, Dave, since you are in a position of authority to do so, you could post a link?

I thought it was a great article. The only thing I wished it had was a mention that if you're talking on a cell phone while driving and I catch up to you I might snatch it out of your hand and heave it into the woods.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . with a few formatting characters thrown in.

Two wrongs don’t make a ride
Both bicyclists and driversÅ responsible for road safety
BY BILL BUELL
Gazette Reporter
Craig Kirby’s first bit of advice for people riding their bicycles on Central Avenue in and around Albany is to find another place to ride.Ñ “I had a couple in a Jeep cut right in front of me, taking away my path, and then the guy stops the car and tells me to get on the sidewalk where I belong,” said Kirby, the manager at Freemans Bridge Sports in Glenville. “Central Avenue is tough. The best thing to do is to find another route.”Ñ Kirby did tell the individual driving the Jeep that he and other cyclists have as much right to the road as automobiles. This time of the year, when the weather gets people up and out on their bicycles, safety and cyclists’ rights are something motorists need to remember.Ñ “On the whole, most cyclists ride safely. And let’s face it, if we didn’t, we’d get killed,” said Brian Daniels, president of the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club. “But most motorists aren’t out to get us. What it comes down to is basic courtesy and mutual respect.”
sub.DRIVER’S MANUAL For motorists and cyclists who are unsure of the rules governing traffic on roadways, they should check out their DMV manual. “A lot of drivers have forgotten what the DMV manual says about riding a bicycle in traffic,” said Daniels. “They are surprised, sometimes angered when the cyclist behaves like motorized traffic.” That is, however, what a cyclist should do. “The safest way for a cyclist to behave is to act like a vehicle,” said Daniels. “That is, ride with traffic, take the lane when making a left turn, obey traffic signals, stay to the right, and ride in a predictable manner. The cyclist who is out there darting in and around cars, cutting off cars and pedestrians, running traffic lights, etc., is inviting motorist anger.” At every major intersection or crossroad, cyclists must focus their attention on the surroundings. “You have to pay attention to the traffic coming from all angles,” said Kirby. “A lot of drivers don’t perceive how fast you’re going, or they just don’t pay attention to you.” Kirby, who rode his bicycle to work for seven years, now rides only for fun and to stay in shape. In most cases, he won’t go near Central Avenue. “On Central Avenue, it’s busy and people are always in a hurry to get to work,” said Kirby. “Now I like to get out in the country up in Burnt Hills. I’ve found out that people driving in the country seem much more courteous than those in the city.” According to Daniels, if cyclists and motorists remember to be polite and courteous, they will encounter fewer problems. “I ride thousands of miles year after year, and that’s a lot of exposure,” Daniels said. “I can remember almost each and every unhappy interaction between myself and a motorist. They stand out because they are rare.”
sub.MOST ANNOYING HABITS Daniels and Hudson-Mohawk Cycling Club vice president Skip Holmes put their heads together and came up with a list of 10 drivers and their habits that annoy cyclists.
O Drivers that get right behind you and then blow their horn. Sometimes a sudden loud honk from an automobile can actually make a cyclist fall off his bike or lose control of it, causing an accident. If you’re in an automobile and you’re approaching a cyclist who you feel may not be aware of it, a few light taps on the horn well before you’re right on their heels will get the job done.
O Drivers that will not allow you to use a left-turn lane. Cyclists have rights, too. When a driver approaches a cyclist from behind and they both want to make a left turn, the driver should stay behind the cyclist, not come up along side of them leaving them little room to maneuver.
O Drivers that make left turns in front of you and do not yield the right of way. Automobiles taking a left turn are supposed to yield to cyclists who are going straight, just as they would for automobile traffic.
O Drivers who refuse to treat you like another vehicle. The road is available for other modes of transportation than just automobiles. Drivers who forget that and cause an accident could find themselves in legal troubles.
O Drivers who are extra careful and will not pass you no matter how clear the road is ahead. We’ve all seen this. Drivers who go out of their way to be careful but actually in so doing can create an even more dangerous situation by lingering behind a cyclist.
O Drivers who pass you and then immediately take a right-hand turn in front of you. This is a common one and particularly annoying. Drivers will whiz right past a cyclist and then take a right turn, forcing the cyclist to slam on his brakes or swerve in order to avoid riding right into the vehicle.
O Drivers who slow down to tell you you’re riding on the wrong side of the road. Everybody gets confused now and then, and sometimes you might think it’s safer for the cyclists if they ride facing the oncoming traffic. But that’s not the way it’s done.
O Drivers who slow down to tell you to get off “their” road. These are the really ignorant people who actually think that cyclists have no rights. Tell them to look in their state driver’s manual.
O Drivers who purposely try to scare you by swerving toward you or by opening their door while coming from the opposite direction.
O Drivers who drink and drive. Enough said.
tag.Reach Gazette reporter Bill Buell at 395-3190 or bbuell@dailygazette.com.

[Too Tall]

Thanks Dave, you make a difference :) ICDB.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I could take the credit, but Bill Buell the reporter came up with the idea. He is a longtime recreational cyclist himself. He would probably appreciate a note of thanks sent directly to him. His e-mail is on the end of the story.

BBDave