Following Fatal Hit and Run, Cyclists Gather for Improved Infrastructure

There is no bike lane on Balboa in the area where this collision occurred. The bike lane in the photo is most likely on a one way street. Counter-flow bike lanes are rare and I am not aware of any in San Diego.
— April 5, 2012 12:15 a.m.

Following Fatal Hit and Run, Cyclists Gather for Improved Infrastructure

The reports have changed. Initially someone said that he was riding against traffic. That turned out to not be true. He was on his way to work. It happened on Balboa where it crosses I-805. We still don't know exactly what happened.
— April 5, 2012 12:13 a.m.

Following Fatal Hit and Run, Cyclists Gather for Improved Infrastructure

Riding against traffic is one of the most dangerous things that you can do on a bike. It makes you effectively invisible to cross traffic because drivers aren't looking for traffic travelling at speed in that direction on that side of the road. Most collisions between bicycles and cars occur at intersections. Hit-from-behind collisions are only about 5% of collisions between bicycles and cars.
— April 5, 2012 12:11 a.m.

Following Fatal Hit and Run, Cyclists Gather for Improved Infrastructure

Not if you know how to negotiate traffic properly. I have been riding the streets of San Diego since 1986. I'm still alive. I ride on major roads every day. The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition offers classes.
— April 5, 2012 12:10 a.m.

Barnett Avenue Safer Going Southbound

Under CVC 21200(a), bicyclists have as much right to the road as motorists. Bicyclists cannot be banned from riding there because it is not a controlled access highway (freeway). I ride through there every day. Apparently you don't see me. I know others who do too. This is not backing up traffic on Barnett. You're not being truthful.
— October 11, 2011 10:58 p.m.

Cyclists Push for Safety

Riding to the far right is quite frequently dangerous. You mention car doors, but did not explain it well. It is not possible for bicyclists to always see motorists sitting inside a parked vehicle. It is illegal for motorists to open a door in front of a bicyclist or any other traffic but they still do it anyway. In order to be safe, smart bicyclists maintain at least 5 feet from parallel parked cars. It is a hazard that makes it unsafe to keep far right and so it counts as an exemption from the far right requirement under CVC 21202(a)(3). Boyd Long, Assistant Chief of Patrol Operations for SDPD recently issued a memo reminding officers that the door zone qualifies as an exception under CVC 21202(a)(3). http://www.bikesd.org/2011/08/sdpd-issues-bicycle… Another extremely common circumstance where it could be dangerous to keep far right is when the lane is too narrow for a bicycle and a car the share safely side by side within the lane. This is an explicit exemption named in CVC 21202(a)(3) and so bicyclists do not have to keep far right in lanes that are too narrow for safe sharing. According to most safety experts, the minimum width of a lane which is safe for side by side sharing by a car and a bicycle is 14 feet. Most outside lanes are 12 feet or less. It's actually rare that the right lane is wide enough for safe lane sharing. When it is, they usually install a bike lane. When a bicyclist rides far right in a narrow lane, some drivers will try too hard to stay in the lane or as much in the lane as they can and they end up passing very close. Two of my friends have been hit this way and I had more close calls than I care to remember before I learned to take over the lane in this situation. Since I've been controlling the lane in narrow lanes, I almost never get close passes. Always yielding to motor vehicles doesn't always make sense. I like to use my bicycle for transportation and my right to get to work or home is no less important than that of a motorist. I follow the right of way rules as they are. I have the same rights as a motorist. I yield when the rules say to. I don't when they don't. I behave as much like a vehicle as I can, except that I obey the rules more than most motorists. http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm http://www.sdcbc.org/classes.htm
— August 28, 2011 5:15 p.m.

Cyclists Push for Safety

Fortunately, most drivers already leave at least three feet when passing bicyclists. Unfortunately, some people just don't get it. Some are too clueless to realize how dangerous it is to pass closely or even realize that they are passing closely. Some people are psycho enough to pass closely even though they know it's dangerous because they want to intimidate bicyclists out of the road. California already has a law making it illegal to pass closely. It's CVC 21750, which is being amended by this bill because some people, including law enforcement, seem to think that as long as they don't actually hit a bicyclist, that's good enough to be considered a safe distance. It isn't good enough and soon the law is going to make the minimum safe distance an explicit distance. Better definitions are needed to remove the confusion. Let's hope that this law gets enforced.
— August 28, 2011 10:52 a.m.

Bicycle Logos Painted on Kensington Streets...What Gives?

Sorry but I'm calling B.S. When the subject of bicycling in the road comes up and the subject has nothing to do with a bicyclist violating the law, and you feel the need to complain about bicyclists violating the law, you are trying to sow hatred towards bicyclists by portraying them as reckless scofflaws. It's just plain dishonest; not to mention not relevant to the subject of sharrows.
— May 18, 2011 10:54 p.m.

Bicycle Logos Painted on Kensington Streets...What Gives?

I forgot to mention that the reason you have a lot of close calls is that you don't know how to integrate with traffic properly. Most people don't know how to integrate with traffic properly on a bicycle. That's why there are classes and books on the subject. Take a class or do some reading. I posted the references.
— May 18, 2011 10:52 p.m.

Bicycle Logos Painted on Kensington Streets...What Gives?

I followed the Thompson case very closely when it happened. I've been watching the news for collision stories for years. A few bad stories does not a trend make. Yes, there are some truly psycho drivers out there, but having an incident like that is like getting hit by lighting. There's not much you can do about it except hide inside your home and never go out. In 2009, over two MILLION people were injured in motor vehicles and over 28000 killed. In that same year, 51000 bicyclists were injured and 630 were killed. The perception that bicycling is dangerous is based upon flawed logic and a lack of real information.
— May 18, 2011 10:49 p.m.