Cyclists' safety ... on the road
 

When you encounter other cyclists putting themselves in danger, do you try to advice them or do you simply ignore them ?

Depends.

I just wave and keep on riding.

Yes.

I at least try to never assume that someone is stupid and always make any assessment of others from a assumption of competency. So when I see someone riding... questionably, I simply assume that they know better and choose not to act better.

The only caveat to that is I would tell someone if their helmet was on backwards. I do not consider myself a superior being, so I have no desire to lecture grown adults on how to behave on a bicycle. We can know right from wrong and still do wrong-- that's free will, baby.

On my way home from a VA hospital I go to. There is an intersection that is heavily used by large trucks. Many of them are making a right turn headed to a rock quarry. Several times I have had conversations with people riding there bicycles who do not realize being to the right of a large vehicle at an intersection is a bad idea. Especially if they are going straight.

Sometimes explaining safety to someone in person may get you a reaction worse than in these discussion forums.

Once i met an old, rather poor cyclist on a dark dangerous two-lane road. I slowly escorted him and told him that taillights were a cheap life-saving investment. He was very thankful and said it was stupid laziness to ride without lights and promised he would buy some the next day.
Later on the same ride i meet another old cyclist. No lights, but a rather expensive-looking bike . I greet him politely and advise him to fix his lights because it can be really dangerous at night in those streets. He replies confidently that everything is in god's hands. I tell him that it didn't mean we shouldn't be doing our best to protect ourselves. I tell him also about the accident i had several years ago when i thought 'tomorrow i'll fix them'. To my surprise, the dude replies that it was me who had the accident, not him. I felt ashamed and wished him good night.

How could he have been so sure GOD didn't send you over to protect him?

https://truthbook.com/stories/funny-...e-drowning-man

I ride through shore towns along the beach and see a LOT of people riding bikes on the wrong side of the road, on the sidewalk, on the boardwalk, and every which way. It's fruitless to stop and talk to them. But if they're in my way, I'll try to stop and chat as nicely as possible.

The only time I'll say something is when someone is riding on the wrong side of the road and coming right at me. Otherwise I just keep riding.

The problem is that i can't enjoy the comfort of being indifferent when i see the same lightheartedness that has been the cause of my own accident.
@ Daniel4 : how about him being the one sent to me to realize that i should stop bothering other people ?
@ DrIsotope : i hope i'm not doing it out of arrogance, but i'm afraid you're wrong on the part about free will. Free will is nothing but blurry thinking and failing to see clearly the outcome of one's actions. That's why we have education and we have people caring about the safety of others. It all serves the purpose of raising the awareness about the involved dangers.
@ bakerjw, rick, hokiedad4 and mcours2006 : thank you for sharing your experience, i hope your care will have its seeds later on.

@holytrousers,
Sometimes explaining safety to someone in person may get you a reaction worse than in these discussion forums.

The idea that people do wrong (in any pursuit) because they "don't know any better" is absurd. Aside from the clinically socio/psychopathic, virtually every adult knows right from wrong. They choose to do one or the other.

We are all free to be good or bad. Giving a complete stranger a lecture for riding the wrong way on the road, or not wearing a helmet, or any other thing... well, frankly speaking, what gives that lecturer the right?

Sure, they have the free will to do it, but who are they really trying to help?

I know the law and I know the risks-- but I still don't stop at every stop sign, and I jump signals before they're green. I do it every day. I calculate the risks.

And I have definitely had the nanny-types say things from their car windows, like "You know that was a stop sign," or "That light was red, you know," in the exact tone you would expect. Yeah, I do know. I just don't care.

Maintaining my own safety is infinitely more important that what a stranger thinks about the letter of the law.

I work at a home improvement store & I am obligated to warn customers about unsafe behavior & that the store ("we") doesn't want to see anyone get hurt, especially children. what they do after they get this warning is out of my or the store's control but we've done what we can to avoid tragedy

those same requirements don't exist out in the wild, so I'm less likely to offer direction to strangers. I will however, warn riders coming from the opposite directions about hazards they are about to encounter (which I had just passed). for example, warning a fast paceline that I just passed a woman knocked down to the ground by a fast cyclist, DUH! that's an exaggeration, I would never be able to get all that out in the split second it takes a fast paceline to pass me. it might actually be more like: "watch out ahead!"

oh, one thing ...I have told kids to buckle their helmets. why do boys think it is cool not to buckle their helmets :foo:

I see quite often, the person advising cyclists about safety does so from a superficial understanding, at best. In fact, from what I've seen the more inexperienced of them are more inclined to give unsolicited instruction. And those inexperienced instructors are rightfully ignored by everyone.

Because of that, I limit my "safety advice" to objecting to a bonehead stunt that has endangered me - not even that I think was "unsafe" but which actually caused a degree of danger. Or when someone asks me directly, which happens more than you'd think.

I could spend my entire bike ride "correcting" people. Not my style or worth my time. I only say something if their actions are about to effect me negatively.

Helmet nannies are the usual suspects for this type of unsolicited and usually ignorant "advice" given to strangers and acquaintances alike.

When is the last time you appreciated unsolicited scolding, and then changed your behavior?

Putting themselves at risk ... ignore. Putting me at risk while doing something dumb ... yes and typically including a couple colorful words to punctuate my thoughts.

The high regard for "helmet" does get a little weird. Last week I'm on the ground saying "God I hurt" which is uncharacteristic for me, some guy runs up all concerned about my helmet. With earnest advice about replacing it of course.

@Daniel4: would you mind sharing your experience concerning those violent reactions ? Personally, no one ever reacted violently when i gave him an advice for his own safety. When i catch a car that has just put me in danger and i shout at him, they usually apologise. I never use vulgar language, though.

@DrIsotope: i didn't follow on what basis do you claim that every adult knows right from wrong ? i didn't know right from wrong when i rode without a light, i survived, miraculously. I have a big scar on my face. I am glad i was a helmet-nanny at that time. If i knew at that moment that riding without a taillight would lead to that accident, i would have opted for a train. Now i know : no light = no ride.
Maybe that's civic attitude to share one's lessons ? Isn't that what culture is about ?
Speaking of law, i expect car drivers to deal with me as if they were dealing with a car : that's the only way to be safe on the road. If we are not respecting the same rules, how can you ever imagine car drivers will respect us ?

@rumrunn6 : that's exactly what i'm talking about, simple things that can improve other's safety. The other day i was escorting at night a young cyclist because he didn't have taillights on a dark busy highway. I asked him why he didn't even wear a helmet ? He said he was afraid about his hairdo. Young people have to be told about what is important and what is not. Cool-looking shouldn't come their minds before Surviving.

@wphamilton : can you please elaborate your statement ? What is the correlation between advising others and superficial understanding ?

@ThermionicScott : i wasn't aware we were talking about scolding other cyclists. Do you care for other cyclists' safety when you encounter them on the road ? Have you had any experience with advising them ? :)

@Hypno Toad : don't you think avoiding colorful words can yield better results ?

Well, then that is likely how you're going to get killed. To many drivers, you are nothing more than an impediment, something actively preventing them from reaching their destination-- at best. To some drivers, you don't exist at all.

You can obey every rule and get killed. I have personally known people killed by cars, and they were riding legally and respectfully, in bike lanes, wearing helmets. None of that mattered.

I ride for MY safety. I ride as if everyone in a car is out to kill me. I do not care a whit if the driver of a motor vehicle respects me. I just want them to not hit me.

I've said this before and I'll say it again right now: I run stop signs, I jump lights, I disregard laws. Do you know how many times I've almost hit a car? NEVER. Do you know how many times I've almost been hit by a "law abiding" driver? TOO MANY TO COUNT.

@holytrousers

Well, we all ready know how vitriolic or defensive on-line comments can be. Plus, every once in a while we read in these discussion forums or elsewhere suggestions or advice about arming oneself.

If you look hard enough, you'll find past threads like this one where other posters suggest not to engage.