How to drive safely with cyclists on the road

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, but now that I have 3,000 miles of road cycling experience and under my belt I figure I can qualify myself as an ‘experienced cyclist.’ Having ridden through 9 states on every type of road from farm roads to mountain passes to state highways and interstates, I feel like I have some good things to talk about. While out biking, we interact with easily thousands of motorists per day, so this is an important topic!

Motorists have different attitudes towards cyclists. Some think they’re rude, some think they’re dangerous and shouldn’t be on the road, some appreciate them and go out of their way to accommodate them, and some are just plain annoyed with anything that slows them down for 30 seconds – cyclists included. So the first step to driving safely with cyclists on the road is to try to get past any negative feelings you have towards them.

I think a lot of the negative feelings toward cyclists come from fear. Motorists are scared of cyclists. Which is understandable when you’re driving a giant steel box and a bike is on the road with you. What’s important to understand is that cyclists don’t make the road dangerous. As long as we both respect each other’s space and drive with common sense, everyone will be fine. Should cars not be allowed to drive on roads with giant trucks? Giant trucks are certainly a danger, but they can coexist on roads as long as everyone gets along. Same concept with bikes.

So whether you like it or not, the fact is that cyclists are allowed on the road. We pay taxes, we are considered vehicles, and we are allowed to be on almost any roads except for the interstates – and in some states we are actually allowed on the interstates as well. Road cycling is a great sport… it’s fast, fun, low-impact, eco-friendly, and totally easy to practice. Imagine that the cyclist on the road is YOUR brother/sister/parent/child/friend and think about how would you want motorists to treat them.

Now for the do’s and don’ts.

• Do be prepared to see us on the road. Drive as if there’s a cyclist on the road… don’t be speeding around blind curves, driving half in the shoulder, etc. And if you see one cyclist, there’s a good chance there might be another few on the road up ahead (or in our case, another 20…)
• Do give the cyclist three feet of space when passing. 3 feet is the legal minimum but you should always give them as much room as you can. Remember that while you are in a giant box with a seatbelt and airbags, all we have to protect ourselves is a helmet.
• Do anticipate the cyclist’s path. Keep an eye out in the cyclist’s line of travel for any obstacles that might cause them to move. Parked cars, a disappearing shoulder, debris, and potholes are all things that might cause them to move further into the lane of travel. 
• Do be prepared for sudden movements. Cyclists should be signaling their movements, but always be prepared for the unexpected. It’s always a possibility that the cyclist sees a road obstacle at the last minute and makes a sudden movement without thinking. Just give them enough room for error.
• Do use your signals. Just because you’re driving around bikes and not cars doesn’t mean you don’t have to use your signals. If you’re moving out of your line of travel to pass us, you should use your blinkers the same way you’d use them if you were passing a car. If you’re entering oncoming traffic to do so you might consider using your flashers. Just let us and other traffic know what you’re doing.
• Do also watch for signals. With any luck the cyclists on the road are courteous and are using their signals as well. With a lack of turn signals and brake lights, the only thing we do to signal our intentions are hand signals. It’s pretty simple: left arm out for left turn. Right arm out for right turn. Open hand facing backwards for “slowing” and closed fist facing backwards for “stopping.”
• Do look before opening your car door. Parallel parked in a city? Look before you open your door. Since bikes are riding close to the parked cars, getting “doored” is one of the most common bike/vehicle accidents
• Do let us in if we need to get in the lane. If we’re signaling that we want to get in the lane to make a left turn or to avoid an upcoming obstacle in the shoulder, please let us in :) Keep in mind it’s very hard for us to stop quickly since we are clipped into our bikes. If cars keep blowing past, we will get stuck in a bad situation!

• Don't drive distracted. Tired, blasting music, on the phone, texting, you name it, don’t do it!
• Don't pass at lightning speeds. Unlike you may do when you pass a truck on the highway, don’t speed up over the speed limit to pass us. This is terrifying. It’s much more comfortable for us if you can actually slow down to pass.
• Don't throw trash out your car window. Well, besides the obvious reasons you shouldn’t do this… any trash is a nightmare for us because we have to see it and avoid it while we’re riding. Broken glass is especially disastrous (See picture in my upcoming post about what a piece of glass did to my tire). Also, STAPLES!!! I’ve gotten 3 flats from staples!
• Don't honk or distract the cyclist. A honk from right next to us or behind us is guaranteed to startle us. Our vans do the “4K honk” (a series of quick beeps) to let us know they’re coming up behind us and to cheer us on, and I understand that sometimes drivers want to cheer us on too, so this could be up for debate. It is nice when we get cheered on by drivers. However, I would say air on the side of caution and just mentally cheer them on. It’s better to not risk startling them.
• For the love of all that is holy: DON’T pass on a blind curve or an uphill.  You’d think this is obvious but apparently not. I can say hands down the scariest moments on my bike have been when cars decide to go into the opposite lane and pass without actually being able to see oncoming traffic. I’ve seen cars cut it close with other cars wayyy more times than I’ve seen them cut it close with one of our cyclists. It puts everyone on the road at risk. Don’t do it!!! Just wait the extra one minute for an opportune time to pass.

Overall I’ve been pretty impressed with the way we’re treated on the roads. We occasionally get yelled at, cut off, angrily zoomed past, or exhaust blown in our faces, but in general drivers are pretty courteous. So thank you!! I hope that road cycling gets more popular and more people feel comfortable biking to work/school/wherever. The more bikes we have on the roads, the less pollution, smog, and traffic congestion! Keeping these things in mind will improve interaction between cyclists and motorists, and make both more comfortable.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to share with friends to keep us all safe on the roads!