In article <
[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:
> Dave Larrington writes:
>
> > My car has brakes, as has, as far as I can recall, every other car
> > I've ever driven (with the possible exception of a 1987 VW Polo).
> > If there is a slow-moving "vehicle" in front of me, I slow down
> > until there *is* space to overtake, changing lanes if necessary.
> > Blaming the cyclist for being hit from behind because some muppet
> > lacks the patience to wait for a few seconds is missing the point in
> > a spectacular fashion.
>
> You are not envisioning the circumstances. You and traffic in your
> lane is flowing freely at 35+MPH, there being no cross streets due to
> the adjacent RR and no hint of a sudden hazards. The car in front of
> you encounters a bicyclist ahead at a relative standstill so rather
> than stop, he sees an opening in the left lane and moves over. You
> are suddenly confronted with the bicycle without having space to move
> to the left. A distraction such as a glance in the rearview mirror at
> this moment could miss the opportunity to apply brakes soon enough to
> avoid a collision.
I have ridden with some frequency the street to which Jobst refers--O.K.
let's name it--Alma St. in Palo Alto, California. For this discussion
I'm referring to the segment between E. Meadow and San Antonio where
there is no reasonable alternative for fast ridden bicycles going
to/from Mountain View. Perhaps it's been too long since you rode bike
for purposes other than pleasure where minimizing time took priority
over scenery.
The scenario you describe is unlikely for the bicycle moving fast
(25-30mph)--hardly a standstill, even for the speeding traffic on Alma.
Bicycles not ridden fast will find the alternate routes acceptable
(sidewalk, convoluted "bike route" south of Bryant St., or
Wilkie/Miller, depending on ultimate destination).
Autos tend to move in platoons, often tailgating. This would seem to
lead to your scenario. Yet what I have observed many times is that the
platoon in the right lane approaching the cyclist slows when the lead
motorist cannot or will not slice into the left lane because the autos
in the left lane are following too closely to leave adequate space. So,
he slows to the cyclist's speed or close to it and waits until the
left-lane platoon is past. Even if the lead motorist manages to cut
over, this occurs well enough in advance, with some hesitation, braking
or signalling, giving warning to the following vehicles such that no
sudden braking or overtaking collision occurs with the next vehicle.
This sudden cutover without any warning into the other lane at the last
possible moment before otherwise rear-ending the cyclist is something
that occurs perhaps with drunk or reckless drivers or is something you
imagine happening.
The argument that the cyclist is holding up traffic doesn't hold over
the section of road in question. At 20-30mph, I usually catch up to the
platoon at the next light, especially during rush hour.
I agree that Alma is not bicycle friendly. It could be made more so by
widening the right-hand lanes or by removing one travel lane in either
or both directions. This would have the side-benefit of calming speeds,
since enforcement of the existing speed limits seems not to occur on
this street.
--
Bill Bushnell
http://pobox.com/~bushnell/