This is an open letter to the young man who almost caused my life and his own to change forever, neither for the better.
Dear young man,
If I were you, I'd be thanking my lucky stars that the older man in the van that you encountered this morning while riding your bike has decent peripheral vision. Maybe you have already. Hopefully that will change the way you chose to ride your bicycle so irresponsibly this morning.
First, you weren't wearing a helmet. Had we hit, you would have been sent flying over your handlebars, probably over the hood of my car and then onto the pavement on the other side of my van. At best, you'd come out with some bumps and bruises, but you could have gotten some serious brain damage or possibly some broken bones out of the deal. I went over the handlebars of my bicycle when I was in 8th grade. I got a concussion and a broken left arm out of the deal. It could have been much worse, but probably not nearly as bad as if you'd hit me. I only hit another bicycle.
You, on the other hand, could very easily have hit me. I say hit me, because I would not have been at fault if you had. For you see, when someone comes up to an intersection intending to make a right hand turn, they look left first, because that's where the traffic is coming from. Usually drivers will look right once they start to make their turn into traffic. That's where you came into the situation.
Yeah, you were in the bike lane, but you were traveling down the street the wrong way in the bike lane. You were traveling south in a northbound bike lane. That's just asking for trouble and you almost got a lot of it if I hadn't seen you a split second before I really hit the gas and accelerated. Had I not seen you out of the corner of my eye, you could have easily been hamburger meat.
Now, I doubt that you'll ever see this and I actually wished my window had been rolled down so I could have yelled a couple of choice words at you as you rode away. Maybe those words would have helped drive home the message. I hope you got the crap scared out of you. I hope you start to wear you helmet, but if you don't, at least ride on the correct side of the road. If you don't, the next driver might not be as quick as I was.
As I stated at the top, both of our lives could have changed a lot this morning. Fortunately, they didn't, but perhaps that little scare will change you a little bit.
When I've been geocaching in the past, especially with my friend Jim, he's always been quick to point out that you can't park in a bike lane. I've always heeded that pronouncement, since it made sense.
But I wanted to see exactly what the wording was regarding bicycle lanes, especially since I've taken to riding my bike again. The reason? Yesterday, while taking my morning ride, I encountered 5 cars parked in the bike lane. Only one, according to the California vehicle code was legally parked. I've quoted the specific code regarding bicycle lanes below.
Bicycle Lanes
A bicycle lane is a designated traffic lane for bicyclists, marked by a solid white line, typically breaking into a dotted line ending before it reaches the corner. Different from a simple white line showing the edge of the road, a bicycle lane follows specific width requirements and is clearly marked as a bike lane.
Treat a bicycle lane the same as other traffic lanes.
Do not turn into the lane if there is a bicyclist in the bike lane
Do not obstruct bicycle traffic by reducing the width required for safe bicycle passage, typically 3 to 4 feet. (bold my emphasis)
When you are making a right turn and are within 200 feet of the corner or other driveway entrance, you must enter the bicycle lane only after ensuring there is no bicycle traffic, and then make the turn. Do not drive in the bicycle lane at any other time.
You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted. (bold my emphasis)
Drivers of motorized bicycles should use bicycle lanes carefully to avoid collisions with bicyclists.
The two portions I've bolded above are the parts where I feel these particular vehicles were in violation of the law. Their cars completely blocked the bicycle lane, forcing me to move into the regular traffic lane. Only the last car I encountered on Towne Ave, just east of where I live didn't do that and that's because the bike lane there is wider than normal allowing me the 3 to 4 feet for safe passage.
I think because there weren't "No Parking" signs on the street, the owners of the vehicles felt they could park there. A reasonable assumption, but one that puts bikers at risk. I doubt any of the violators follow this blog, but if you decide to park in a bicycle lane, please be aware that you are blocking bicycle riders and putting them at risk for injury.
That's my soapbox for today. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
