Sometimes, Speed is a Savior

Speed Can be Your FRIEND - From Wikipedia
However, THIS Guy Needs No Help for Others to Know His Speed

There is a perception that you have to ride fast to operate on the road amongst the motorized traffic. Certainly, it is easier for an overtaking car to run you down and squish you like a squirrel if you are riding at 10mph than if you are riding at 20mph. Still, considering that on a straight road a motorist will see you at least a block or two away, they don't have to have the reaction times of test pilots to miss even the slowest cyclist. From the stories in newspapers that I read, the common reason cyclists get hit from behind is they are riding on a shoulder, or maybe even standing on the sidewalk, and some dweeb simply runs off the road and smacks them. Yes, I know, our driver licensing system seems to be a little less than perfect, but that is not the point today.

How Close Can a Car Get Before Reacting and Still Not Run You Down?
Remember, They Could Get MUCH Closer and Still Miss You With a Simple Lane Change

Cyclists benefit, when being overtaken, by the mistaken notion almost all motorists have that the cyclists are going much slower than they are, regardless of whether they ride fast or slow. "Those cyclists are SO slow!" I will never forget the sworn testimony of a police officer (a trained observer) at the ChipSeal trial that Chip was going about 8mph. In fact, Chip was going closer to 20 at that moment in the video. Had I had less self control, I'd have gotten thrown out of the courtroom for contempt after rolling around on the floor in hysterical laughter. Even the normally expressive Chip looked dumbfounded and actually disappointed, which made keeping my mouth shut even harder. Cycling advocates, such as here, note that the notion you need to ride quickly to be safe is mistaken, and they are right. While a lot of cyclists feel bad about taking the lane while doing 10mph when motorists occasionally exceed the posted limit, one wonders if their attitude might brighten a bit if they realized the motorists really figured that the obnoxious cyclist was hogging the road while going about 4mph. What's more, they'll claim that regardless of where the cyclist rides on the actual road surface. I don't know why this is so - in college I changed majors from psychology to engineering. Go ask someone else if you want to know the basis for motorist judgment errors. All I know is that's what they think. OUR task is to use that knowledge to our advantage.

Why, then, you might ask, did I choose the title I did for this post? Well, it is very simple. As in most road conflict, THE MAIN DANGER IS AHEAD. What this means is that overtaking motorists make their moves early to pass the poky cyclist. Those making turns and such up ahead often misjudge how quickly I am coming on. And those, up ahead, represent the MAIN DANGER.

Of course, riding even faster compared to what a motorist expects usually only makes things worse. Really, the only real benefit of cycling in a vehicular manner is that the increased dangers when you are going fast are much less than behaving in a manner that other traffic does not expect. In other words, the penalties of riding fast are less if you move as others expect a vehicle to move. That is a lot of the secret to low Dutch and Danish cycling fatalities - people simply mostly ride slower compared to the US. If you doubt it, ride at 20mph on a street with traffic versus try to ride at 20mph against traffic on a crowded sidewalk. Actually, simply take my word for it. I don't want to be hauled into court by some grieving survivor.

Sometimes, however, speed doesn't kill, but helps. I was reminded of this on Thursday when I got honked at by a motorist. Getting honked at is pretty unusual in itself for me, but this one might have been even stranger. What is more, speed might well have avoided the encounter completely. Actually, I'm being slightly misleading because it wasn't really speed that was needed as much as an "impression" of speed. A motorist up ahead that OVERESTIMATES my speed gives me an extra margin. During daylight, this is a tough thing to achieve. BUT, sometimes, the darkness can be a cyclist's friend.

I was Headed Southwest in the Dark, Down the Hill, Toward the Camera, About Where the Driver of the Silver Car Was
On Thursday, Perhaps a Sign Saying "Caution - Motorists Blowing Stop Signs"
Would Have Been Most Appropriate

It was dark out as I headed southwest on Bedford-Euless Road on Thursday morning. This is a sweet, five lane road I ride every morning on the way to work. Off to the right, within 50 feet of the now departed sign in the photo, a motorist, seeing my Mighty P7 Headlight on the "low" setting (about as bright as most better bike lights in the high setting), the guy decided to blow the stop sign until he realized the (inappropriate word omitted) cyclist was a LOT faster than he expected. I typically hit about 25-30mph on that slight downhill stretch. Well, to make a short story even shorter, instead of either following the law or hitting the accelerator to attempt a clean getaway, he stopped with the nose of his car right about in the middle of my lane. Then, to my surprise, the scofflaw decided to honk at me. Maybe he was trying to drive as if invisible and wondered if I might not have noticed the 4000lb missile violating my right of way. Duh - being a suburban road, such events catch my notice. Well, no actual evasive action was needed, other than to avoid mindless swerving as I laughed after passing the honker and tried to imagine the reasons for the honk. If this post was about lane position instead of speed, it might have illustrated the benefits of riding in "the line of sweetness."

Light Level on Thursday - Motorist Blows Stop Sign and Honks

Light Level on Friday - Another Boring Ride - Sidestreet Motorists Behaved Themselves

Bike Light at Left, Wimpy VW High Beams at Right. Those Lights at Left are COMING FAST!

Friday, I made corrective action. Hereafter, in the dark, I ride with my headlight on the "bright" setting. To any traffic up ahead, the light looks like an oncoming Harley and all motorists know THOSE bad boys are usually doing at LEAST 60. Those motorists, up ahead in the dark, deciding whether or not to blow those stop signs will probably hesitate, which will be all the time I need before the motorist realizes it was only a poky cyclist that just swept by on THEIR arterial. Speed is a savior. Well, maybe the impression of speed. Or maybe it is merely the GINORMOUS OPTICAL POWER of the Mighty P7, AKA "the Flamethrower."

Is that Marlon Brando on a Harley in the Dark?
Those Durn, Sneaky (Inappropriate Term Deleted) Cyclists!

PS: It might also be the first real legitimate reason I have ever run across to add a front reflector to the front of a bike. It also suggests a loudspeaker to play the sounds of a loud motorcycle might pay off compared to the more conventional "high vis." How DOES one create the impression of an attack aircraft beginning a strafing run?

Motorists Would be RELUCTANT to Blow a Stop Sign With One of THESE Bearing Down!
I Think I'd Need Speakers Because These Bad Boys Don't Use Lights When They Come...