Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/11/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have cycled on-road only for twenty years or so. Most of it city commuting in rush hour traffic. I am also a national examiner for the Canadian Cycling Associations Can-Bike program (Effective Cycling in the US) and teach a fair number of on-road cycling courses every year. In my experience, it is density that makes the difference in driver's behaviour; and, where you learn to drive is the level you feel comfortable with. Rural drivers find small city traffic dangerous with too much going on and small city drivers cringe when they have to go to the big city. Generally, drivers just want to get where they are going with a minimum of hassles and delays. Riding properly keeps cyclists in the view of other drivers and allows the other drivers to be able to deal with cyclists properly. Naturally there are many factors to take into account but, as long as the speed differential is not too high, cyclists fare quite well on the street. John On 17-Nov-07, at 10:47 AM, Douglas Herr wrote: > Lottermoser George <imagist3@mac.com> wrote: > >> Having cycled for some 50 years now; it seems to me that, in general, >> drivers have less and less patience for cyclists. This seems to >> coincide with the road-rage phenomenon. I haven't noticed any >> particular vehicle model being less courteous than any other. It >> seems that the SUV's simply take up too much road width and also >> appear unaware of their right side and cyclist's rights. > > When I purchased a truck capable of hauling a horse trailer I > suddenly became acutely aware of how much mass I was piloting and > how much damage this mass would do to anything it struck. To a > cyclist even a Smart car is potentially lethal, but the truck plus > my past bike-vs.-MG encounter drove the point home: extra care when > driving, and no cycling on roads if I can avoid it. > > > > Doug Herr > Birdman of Sacramento > http://www.wildlightphoto.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information