dmanthree

I know, I'm preaching to the choir, but a friend recently rear-ended a cable service truck and got really banged up. Multiple cuts to the face, six cracked ribs and (another) broken collarbone. He freely admits he was "zoning" when it happened and it's on him. He just wasn't looking. So, well, you know what to do.

Again, just a friendly reminder. We're too old for that crap.

Wildwood 

Zoning out while riding a bicycle in traffic? Musta been a beautiful ride! Beforehand.

WaveyGravey

Thanks. I find myself "day dreaming" sometimes.

Carbonfiberboy 

One of our most experienced riders rear-ended a parked car while fooling with his Garmin. As above, messed him up pretty good. Distractions proliferate. Best to stop and fool with stuff. The other thing we see here is riders being hit at night by traffic from the right which ran a light or stop sign. Our lights aren't that visible from the side.

Artmo 

A few years back, a guy riding in our area rode at speed into the back of a contractor’s truck and died on the spot.

rm -rf

I was messing with my Garmin while riding through a small town with no traffic. I looked up, with just enough time to (mostly)swerve around the parked pickup truck. I brushed along the side of the truck while I was getting the bike stable again, and flipped the rearview mirror with my shoulder. Whew.

~~~
"Too nice" paving
The local rural county roads have been getting lots of repaving over the last few years. It's fantastic for riding.
But, with very low traffic and smooth pavement that's only a couple of years old, it's too easy to not look at the surface at all. Just ride and enjoy the day and the views.

So the rare new pothole or debris on the road isn't seen.

I've had two pinch flats in the last 5 years on smooth downhills. Each time, I hit the only piece of gravel kicked out onto the road, large and angular. That wouldn't pinch flat on a flat road, but the 30 mph downhill speeds got me a pinch flat. Luckily, the roads were straight enough, and no traffic, so I was able to stop while upright (while drifting all over the road from the flat front tire).

BobbyG

Front-facing radar?

boozergut

Good reminder, a clumsy ADD friend was recently remarking while riding along a lake "hey look at those herons, that is so cool". WHACK! He rode right into a street sign. It was a rough trip to urgent care for him.

dmanthree

I don't think it was traffic since the truck was parked had the cones out, and a red flag, according to my friend. I wasn't clear about that in the original post. He was riding the shoulder but just zoned out.

bruce19

I don't think I've ever day dreamed on the bike.I'm too involved with the bike and the ride.

John E

I just wish motorists would stop either zoning out or allowing themselves to be distracted.

It would be nice if Teslas on autopilot (dreadful and deadly marketing hype for what is really just a pretty decent driver assist) would stop zoning out and running into the backs of parked vehicles.

CAT7RDR

I ride at times without thinking of what I am doing.
Kind of like driving a manual transmission year after year.
It comes automatically to shift.
The danger for me is I zone out and not aware of other cyclists coming from behind me.

Wildwood 

My wife says men are incapable of multi-tasking. But she never included pedaling and looking as two separate tasks.

rumrunn6

thank you. reminds me of 1 morning heading off to my work commute. was looking down at my feet they looked up to see the back end of a neighbor's pickup truck, sticking way out of their parking space. juuuust in time ...!

terrymorse 

Overtaking riders are nothing to worry about. They need to avoid hitting you, not the other way around.

Obvious exception: always check behind before changing road position, just like when you're driving.

CAT7RDR

It would be if I actually held a line. I am not very disciplined that way and have had cyclists yell at me for not doing so.
Sounds like a theme to bring back the "We're going to yell at you!" thread.

big john

I was climbing up to Griffith Observatory and there was a young guy hammering away ahead of me. He had his head down and there was a car double parked in front of him. The whole place is a zoo with cars and pedestrians everywhere. I couldn't warn him and he ran straight into the car. He was upset with the driver but was able to ride off.

HMJ

I just got a new (to me) car that has a front sensor. When it thinks I'm too close to the vehicle in front of me, I'll hear a beeping noise and BRAKE will start flashing on my dashboard.

While I don't necessarily disagree with these added safety features in a car, there's a big part of me that hopes we don't go there with bikes.

And yeah: keeping your head up is a good thing!

BTinNYC 

My awareness and decision making declines after about 2.5-3 hours of riding. So that's my max for solo city rides.

easyupbug 

I saw a cyclist car doored, horrific, I now always have always mirror on my glasses so I don't even have to look back for a split second.

rsbob 

I use radar (audible chirps on head unit) so I don’t have to take my eyes off what’s in front of me. When looking in your rear view mirror, even for a second, your concentration is shifting to looking at the mirror - It can be fast but it still is a shift. And agreed, being doored would be awful. That’s why I always try to stay a car doors’ width away when passing parked cars. I also look for occupants, but that is secondary.

work4bike

It's true that mirrors can distract you, so you have to be careful in using them -- they are a tool, much like a hammer or table saw. However, I find mirrors one of my most important tools for keeping up on situational awareness. One example is a road I ride on nearly every day is a shoulder-less road with traffic speed of 45-mph. A small section of it collapsed recently, forming a half pothole on the fog line. I use my mirror to decide when to swing left further out in the road.

And this tactic I use for a bunch of obstacles that I encounter on various roadways.




.

dmanthree

I once crashed when I touched wheels with a rider in front of me. They didn't know I was there and changed position. my fault, really.

dmanthree

Not the driver's fault and I hope he realizes that! Granted, it shouldn't have been double parked, but head down? sorry...

big john

Around the observatory is chaos with so many cars and people trying to park, getting in and out of car, etc. When riding there you must be hyper-vigilant. The guy was being a dufus.