Bike Guy Ahead

I’ve often thought that a useful part of a cyclist’s education should be to drive a motor vehicle on local streets; deliberately examining the motorist/cyclist interaction from behind the steering wheel, so as to better understand that interaction when cycling. I think better understanding of what an overtaking motorist sees and experiences helps the cyclist’s confidence and safety in traffic when riding. It’s something we practice in our family Driver’s Ed program, described here. I’ll often say – “there’s a cyclist up ahead where that sign is; what do you do?” Mostly, the correct answer is “make a full lane change to pass.” Maximum clearance is safest for both the motorist and the cyclist. It's also simple and easy to remember.

Serendipity Leads Me to Follow a Bike Guy
Today, I drove to work. After yesterday’s thunderstorms followed the forecast 30% chance of rain, a 60% chance this morning left me thinking it was a good day to drive. It turned out to be a blessing, because I encountered a guy on a bike on Cheek Sparger Road. Cheek Sparger is part of my commute route. It’s a quintessential North Texas, suburban, narrow, two-lane road, with a double yellow stripe down the middle and no shoulder. I have never encountered anyone before on a bike when driving on Cheek Sparger. One of our managers told me he partly had his job because his predecessor was killed on a bike on Cheek Sparger. No details. Just bike and killed.

Cars Ahead Pass
This morning, I saw a line of three cars up ahead. Then I saw the bike guy, in his spandex uniform, riding between the RH tire track and the white line at the edge of the road. One by one, the cars in front of me passed him, as I watched in fascination; taking mental notes on the interactions. Two of the cars passed him by making a full lane change across the double yellow line (not legal in Texas). I wished my daughters were along so I could say “see, those motorists did it right.” The third one made a straddle pass, giving him about four feet of clearance. The bike guy, on the other hand, was more or less stuck on course, probably just kind of hoping he wouldn't get smacked and hoping his intended courtesy would be appreciated. By this time, we were nearing a rise that obscured whether or not traffic was approaching from the other side. I’ll confess that the thought ran through my mind that I would probably only need to go a bit over the line to give him three or four feet of clearance. Doing so would have saved me nearly a second of time. However, I fell back on training. DON’T PASS UNLESS YOU CAN SAFELY MAKE A FULL LANE CHANGE TO PASS, AND ALWAYS MAKE THAT FULL LANE CHANGE, NO MATTER WHERE THAT GUY IS IN THE LANE – OR SHOULDER. As a motorist, it is unwise to depend on a bike rider to clearly send that message, because mostly bike riders don’t. So I hung back, accepting the one second of delay, until I could see what was coming from the other side of the rise.

My Turn Comes
When I verified it was clear, actually passing bike guy was simple and low stress, and I felt no guilt about breaking the law by crossing across the double yellow line. Recalling my momentary notion of NOT making a full lane change, I wonder what bike guy was thinking – was he really ignorant that he was instilling conflicting thoughts in following motorists, or did he somehow think it was safe for someone to pass him without a lane change? Maybe he swallowed the "three feet please Kool Aid." Perhaps he needed to practice a little motoring to clarify things. Either way, it reaffirmed the sense of helping motorists clearly understand how to best pass on such roads. Motorists do not practice such things, and do not encounter cyclists on such roads often enough to become proficient. Uncertainty is NOT a good thing to reside in an overtaking motorist's mind.

Better Advice for Motorists
But that’s not all. In Bike League LCI educational material, the confusion is compounded by BAD ADVICE for motorists. It advises them to slow down when passing a cyclist. As I wrote to my LCI instructor, it would make me a little NERVOUS if a motorist slowed down as he/she passed, and would be physically impossible if that motorist had slowed to my speed BEFORE the pass. She agreed that particular advice might not be well considered. Sure enough, when I passed the guy on the bike, I accelerated smoothly while passing, so as to complete the pass quickly and safely; leaving the cyclist lots of clearance as I moved back into the line of travel. The principle was exactly the same as when passing any other slow moving vehicle, and is consistent with Driver’s Ed. Perhaps whoever wrote this Bike League advice for motorists ought to do a little motoring practice of his/her own. Or maybe retake Driver’s Ed. Better advice to motorists would be: "accelerate smoothly while passing, and make a full lane change to keep yourself and the cyclist safe."