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| My Daughter Stands in for the "Texting Motorist" in this Recreation, Shot Yesterday Bedford Road is Five Lanes Wide Here |
Four days later, riding home from work without considering the irony, Steve A turns left, cuts corner, considers how doing so violates the "Land Rover Rule" and how he's got no regrets.
Of course, Steve A does not advocate cutting corners, nor riding the wrong way, not even when visibility is great. OTOH, Steve IS a fan of physics and of going where no motorist can go in preference to trusting a lady with her left turn signal on, chatting on a cell phone, and alternately edging forward and hesitating.
On Friday, the cut corner illustrated that even a principle as honored as "cyclists fare best when..." is not absolute. I suspect my loyal reader has heard that "true/false" questions with "always" or "never" are usually false.
Yes, I DO consider circumstances. Had I been with a group of other cyclists, I'd probably have stopped and waited for the motorist to simply go. It'd ruin one's whole day to get broadsided by a drive-out motorist...
3 comments:
Interesting example. As you know, I don't ride much in urban environments, but my experience is that there are often situations like you've described. Sometimes expediency (based on a mature understanding of the situation) makes sense. Of course, knowing when is critical.
I encounter the Texting Uncertain Creeper regularly while I'm trying to turn from a busy road with few gaps in traffic, and do the same as you, but find that the white Mustang shows up about 10% of the time and things get complicated quickly. Other motorists appear understanding, though, because they don't like to be on the receiving end of her lack of proper lookout, either.
I have ducked behind motorists for various reasons many times over the years. I never forget that other road users should not have to accommodate my improvisations, so their presence will alter my tactics. I don't have to deal with a lot of urban intersections, but Wolfe City does provide a microcosm of everything but traffic lights. The earth would split and swallow the town if they ever put a traffic light on any intersection. At least that's how the locals act about it. We get everything else, though: texting, chatting, drinking, dope smoking, nose picking, tailgating, hot rodders, old fogeys, and more, all crammed into a few blocks. An average commute runs pretty smoothly but still calls for vigilance.
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