By David Alpert, Washington Post<\/p>\n
I was recently bicycling down a D.C. street, and a driver honked at me. I was breaking no law and doing what bike safety advocates, such as those who teach the Washington Area Bicyclist Association\u2019s<\/a> Confident City Cycling classes, say is safest, but this driver apparently had some misconceptions about how people on bikes ought to ride.<\/p>\n Later, I was driving, and encountered a few people biking<\/a> in ways that made me want to honk at them (though I did not). We\u2019re all told to \u201cshare the road<\/a>,\u201d but we could all share better if we understand what is legal, and safe, to do.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here are five things drivers need to know, and often don\u2019t, about sharing the road. Dr. Gridlock<\/a> has the flip side below.<\/p>\n \n\u25cfCyclists might be on the left side of the road.<\/strong> If someone on a bike is turning left, the correct and legal thing for them to do is to move to the left, just as a driver would, and then turn left from there. If a cyclist is on the left side of the road, or a left lane of a multi-lane street, don\u2019t honk or get angry; realize the cyclist is probably getting ready to turn left or making some other necessary maneuver.<\/p>\n \n\u25cfRiding outside a bike lane is often okay.<\/strong> Cyclists also often ride in the left part of a bike lane to be farther from car doors that might suddenly open.<\/p>\n \n\u25cfIf turning right across a bike lane, move into the bike lane first. <\/strong>Say you\u2019re driving on a road with a bike lane on the right side. You want to make a right turn. What do you do? Many people just drive up to the corner in the \u201ccar\u201d lane, then turn from there. That\u2019s unsafe.<\/p>\n The right way to turn across a bike lane is to first merge into the bike lane a short distance before the corner. Signal to move right and look over your shoulder like you would changing lanes on a highway. If there are no cyclists coming, move over, then make the turn from there. Don\u2019t move into the lane while stopped behind a line of cars at a light, because then a cyclist can\u2019t get past, but do it when you\u2019re ready to turn right and have the green.<\/p>\n \n\u25cfBicycles are faster than you might think.<\/strong> A bike is slower than a car most of the time, but often not that much slower. If you\u2019re driving and pass a cyclist, give some extra time before moving back into the lane, because that bike is also moving.<\/p>\n If you pass a cyclist and then plan to turn right, realize that the cyclist probably isn\u2019t still back where you were when you passed, but has moved a lot farther. It\u2019s generally safer for all to avoid passing a cyclist just before making a right turn, because the cyclist can end up in your blind spot.<\/p>\n \nDon\u2019t honk.<\/strong> Some drivers think that it\u2019s a courtesy to honk to tell a cyclist they\u2019re coming. Trust me, they know. Cars make a fair amount of noise. Horns make an enormous amount of noise.<\/p>\n
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\n Bike lanes are great<\/a>. They make many cyclists feel more comfortable on the road. They move many cyclists into a separate space so that drivers can pass without having to wait for the slower vehicle. However, a cyclist might be elsewhere on the road for many reasons, including the left turns mentioned above. In the District and Virginia, a cyclist can choose to ride outside the bike lane for any reason.<\/p>\n