The summer weather is gorgeous, it’s a bright, sunny day and your teenager tells you they're riding their bike over to their friends house for the afternoon. You know the ride well, as it’s just down a few streets through Terra Nova that are never too busy with traffic. You also know your child takes their safety seriously and as they ride out of the driveway you see they are wearing a helmet, a brightly coloured shirt and have daytime lights on the front and back of their bike.
Two weeks later, you get the call you’ve been waiting for - from ICBC. When your child was hit by a car that day, right out in the open on the street when they had their bright vest and lights you had no doubt it was the driver’s fault. How could they not have seen your child? Aside from a few parked cars along the road, there were no other cars driving on the road at that moment. It could not have been your child’s fault.
Yet ICBC tells you your child is 100 per cent at fault. They reviewed the dash cam footage from the vehicle that hit your child, and without a doubt the driver never had a chance. So how did this happen? I’m going to give you a chance to solve this in four seconds, Only four seconds though ok? I want you to look at the photo at the top of this page and spot the cyclist in four seconds then come back and continue reading, ready? Go!
Did you spot the cyclist? If you didn’t, go and take a better look now. Ok, now did you see them? No? And why did I only give you four seconds? Becasue that’s how long it would have taken if you were driving from where I took this photo until the cyclist swerved out from the right hand side behind the cars up ahead. You would not have had a chance. Neither would they.
I see children make this mistake. I see adults make this mistake. I see parents riding their bikes, leading their children make this mistake and I don’t want you to make it so I’m going to tell you about this horrible habit people have grown up with. Many people unfortunately passing this habit on to their children.
Cyclists need to remain visible. When there’s a road that has cars parked along it, too often I see cyclists riding towards the curb of the road, then they swerve out to go around a parked car, and then they swerve back to the right to ride along the right side of the road. Now they are invisible to traffic. Then they swerve back out to go around a few more cars then back towards the curb. As a motorist, if I see a cyclist up ahead on the road, I want them to stay in my line of sight until I have passed them. Knowing where they are just makes me more confident in my passing and is safer for everyone involved.
Cyclists, please, if you are riding down a road with parked cars, stay out far enough so you don’t get hit by a car door if it opens, and hold that line. Stay visible to all the traffic behind you. All those lights and bright colours will do nothing if you can’t be seen.
Geordie is an avid cyclist who writes his column on cycling in Richmond. His Saddle Up column focuses on different aspects of cycling from a beginner’s guide to cycling safety in Richmond.
