BIKE: Lane has accident, is ok

[Librik or Babich]

"Lane S. Wimberley" wrote:

> ... I'm now wondering what I might have done to avoid this.

That is the most worthwhile question to ask.

> Not entirely sure what happened, but I think someone pulled out of an apt
> parking lot in front of me.  ... I was heading east on Woodward at a
> pretty good clip ... downhill ... I was in the bike lane.

A rule of thumb that I have is that whenever my speed hits half the posted
speed limit, I take the lane. I do not think bike lanes are a good thing on
downhills, though they are a great thing on slow crawls uphill.

Granted, doing this technique requires a speedometer. In fact, this rule is
the one thing I actually need my speedometer for. The main utility of my
computer is the cadence function, which helps me to optimize my climbing
speed while minimizing fatigue. But I monitor my speed closely on downhills,
unless I have simply occupied the entire lane before beginning my descent.

The other thing this technique, or any assertive approach to lane control,
needs is a means of knowing what is behind you all the time, and how your
situation to the rear is developing. For me this is mirrors, and my limited
perspective inclines me to believe that properly positioned, non-vibrating
mirrors are the only way to monitor pursuing traffic with enough constancy
to confidently pull off an assertive degree of lane control. Head checks
work for critical moments like when executing a lane change, but they do not
work so well for comfortably controlling a lane.

This is a difficult point to argue to anyone who has never had a good way of
monitoring pursuing traffic, since they do not know what good information in
this regard can allow them to do. My suspicion is that you kept to the bike
lane in spite of going too fast to safely use it because you did not have an
easy enough method of merging with cars in the main lane of traffic.

Therefore I would suggest that the root of the problem that caused the
collision had more to do with poor interaction with pursuing traffic, which
resulted in not enough lane control for the situation that you created by
allowing your speed to increase to the point that it did.

--
Mike Librik, LCI #929
Easy Street Recumbents
512-453-0438
45th and Red River St., thereabouts
Central Austin
info
www.easystreetrecumbents.com
www.urbancycling.com

"Is it about a bicycle?"