By Pat Lafleur
FortThomasMatters City Beat
Like any Kentucky-grown boy on Memorial Day, I took this long
weekend as a chance to be outside as much as possible. For me and — to my
delight — for many others, this meant riding my bike all over Kenton and Campbell counties. By Saturday evening, I’d
lost count at around 50 other people I’d passed on a bike in NKY. This is
great.
Alongside increased outdoor activity this weekend, though,
Memorial Day often brings with it increased auto traffic, many
vehicles hauling boats, trailers, campers, or some other cargo. On top of these
new rolling hazards, the increase in auto traffic inevitably yields a
proportional increase in hostility from drivers aimed at cyclists.
While cyclist-aimed hostility is not a new phenomenon by any
means, I thought I’d take this opportunity to outline what I see as 5 simple
rules that cyclists and drivers alike must follow in order to maintain harmony
on NKY’s roadways:
1. Share the road. Whether you’re in NKY
or NYC, this one applies. Everywhere. Period. The FTPD website lays out
this issue in clear terms: “Every person riding a bicycle on a
roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the
duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the laws of this state” (City
Ordinance 74.01). It is also illegal for anyone
over the age of 12 to operate a bicycle on the sidewalk, anywhere (City
Ordinance 74.13). For the record: “Get on the sidewalk!” is the most common
shout I hear coming from an automobile, while I’m on my bike. According to
state law, cyclists simply cannot do that, nor do they have to.
2. The road we share is a two-way. This is a
clarification of Rule #1. Car-drivers should treat bicycles as vehicles just as
bicyclists must respect the drivers’ mutual right to use the roads without
hindrance. This means everything from looking for roadside debris — NKY has
loads of this — before passing by a cyclist, to periodically checking behind
for oncoming automobiles. It’s simply considerate behavior — regardless of
your vehicle of choice.
3. Drivers: speak up, but only when absolutely
necessary.
My experience as a cyclist suggests that there’s something much more satisfying
for a driver about honking at cyclists than honking at other drivers. This is
almost always because (and understandably so) most drivers don’t know how to
predict cyclist road-behavior (something I address below). Let me say right
now, though: 90% of the time, honking is superfluous.
The person on the bike is
exposed to so much more of their surroundings than the average driver, and
chances are she already knows you’re there, either through her increased
visibility range or the roaring roadside sounds bombarding her ears. Honking
simply startles and generates feelings of unwelcome. This also goes for
flashing lights. Not productive communication.
4. Cyclists: Never make speaking up necessary. Most of the
on-road aggression directed toward cyclists is a consequence of not making it
clear to auto drivers how you are about to maneuver. Following bikes laws makes
your behavior on the road as a cyclist much more predictable and thereby much
less threatening to auto drivers. In KY, it is the law to:
•
Ride with traffic, on the right side shoulder.
•
Use hand-signals to indicate maneuvering.
•
When riding at night, equip bike with a light that emits 500
ft. ahead and at least 50 ft. behind.
•
Ride with a bell or other such device (not a siren) that can
deliver sound up to 100 feet.
•
Never ride more than 2 abreast, so as not to impede flow of
auto traffic.
•
NEVER RIDE ON THE SIDEWALK.
5. They’re called roads: not auto-roads
and not bike-roads. The best way to harbor more patience for those using the
road with a different type of vehicle than you: reconsider how you define
“road.” Be aware that there are alternatives to how you chose to commute, and
those alternatives come with different capabilities and restrictions. Those
differences include, among others: speed, maneuverability, and visibility. At
the end of the day, the road is there for all of us to use. Being ready to
accommodate those alternatives is crucial to a harmonious road.
