Cyclist rushed to the hospital

[Donald G]

RULES FOR CYCLES ON ANY BC ROADWAY ..

Rights and duties of operator of cycle
183 (1) In addition to the duties imposed by this section, a person operating a cycle on a highway has the same rights and duties as a driver of a vehicle.

By law, cyclists have the same rights and duties as operators of vehicles. The same rules of right-of-way, traffic signs and signals, apply to cyclists as apply to motorists. If you are in doubt about the rules of the road, obtain a copy of Road Sense for Drivers - BC's Safe Driving Guide from an ICBC office.

[Donald G]

BC DRIVE SMART ADVICE ON BICYCLE LANES ..

Bicycle Lanes
Submitted by DriveSmartBC on Wed, 2006-06-28 00:00
Posted in Lanes
Bicycle LaneOur community recently put bike lanes in and within the first week there was a cyclist injured. Can you address how to handle bike lanes as a motorist? Is the bike lane treated as just another lane of traffic? When you are turning into a driveway or onto a road to the right and you have to cross a bike lane and there is a cyclist there, does the cyclist have the right away?

A bicycle lane is a designated use lane of the highway intended for use by cyclists only. It is separated from the usual traffic lanes by a single solid white line and designated by a diamond and bicycle symbol. Motor vehicle drivers cannot drive, stand or park in this lane.

If the designation is not painted or signed it is not a bicycle lane, rather it is part of the shoulder of the highway.

Turns at intersections must be made to the first available lane. The bicycle lane is not available on a right turn unless you are a cyclist, so motorists must travel a little further into the intersection before turning. In fact, the Manual of Standard Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings for British Columbia contains a warning sign for this situation instructing that right turns must be made wider than normally.

Passing on the right is another consideration. Many drivers think nothing of passing a overtaken vehicle turning left but they cannot do this if it means traveling over the solid white line or off of the roadway. The rule is supposed to protect cyclists in the bicycle lane, which is not part of the roadway, but a wise cyclist would never count on proper driving behaviour.

Lastly, we need to examine the case where a motorist needs to turn into or leave a driveway or alley. You are permitted to cross over a designated lane in order to park or leave the highway. Just signal, shoulder check and enter if it is safe to do so, yielding to cyclists in the bicycle lane. If you are leaving the driveway or alley, you must yield the right of way to cyclists approaching closely enough to be a hazard.

References:

Driving on Laned Roadway - Section 151 MVA
Designated Use Lanes - Section 153.2 MVA
Turning at Intersections - Section 165 MVA
Emerging from Alleys - Section 176 MVA
BikeSense - The BC Bicycle Operator's Manual
Rules of the Road - Road Sense for Drivers
Manual of Standard Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings for British Columbia

[Donald G]

It appears that most of the injury and death vehicle/ bicycle deaths that have taken place in Kelowna are because;

1. Vehicles are illegally using the bicycle lane while making a right turn;
2. Cyclists are approaching intersections BESIDE the vehicle on their left, instead of staggered ahead or behind it;
3. Vehicle drivers are not consistently checking their RIGHT hand mirror and doing a RIGHT shoulder check for bicycles when making a right hand turn across a bike lane.
4. Cyclists are using bike lanes to approach an intersection, switching to the pedestrian crosswalk to cross the intersection and then switching back to the bike lane riding away from the intersection.
5. Many cyclists are not obeying the same rules of the road as vehicles as they are required to do and many vehicle drivers do not understand and accept that bicycles have the same rights as vehicles on city streets.

[36Drew]

It appears that most of the injury and death vehicle/ bicycle deaths that have taken place in Kelowna are because;

1. Vehicles are illegally using the bicycle lane while making a right turn;

One only has to have a good look at google maps in satellite view to grasp this. Have a look at the wear markings on the stop bars on, for example, Baron Road. The road shoulders on Baron are actually marked cycle lanes (although sparse and somewhat worn markings). A good example is Baron and Banks. Baron and Leckie is another good example. The stop-lines are worn out in a road position that vehicles just shouldn't be driving.

2. Cyclists are approaching intersections BESIDE the vehicle on their left, instead of staggered ahead or behind it;

Can you clarify if you're referring to cyclists using a paved shoulder or a marked cycle lane? If the latter, keep in mind the MVA defines the cycle lane as a lane. That's the "proper" place for them to be.

3. Vehicle drivers are not consistently checking their RIGHT hand mirror and doing a RIGHT shoulder check for bicycles when making a right hand turn across a bike lane.

Also - signals. Before the action, not during or after. Equally frustrating as another road-user is someone just whipping across lanes without the almighty indicator signal. Other road users cannot read minds - cyclists/drivers/riders alike.

4. Cyclists are using bike lanes to approach an intersection, switching to the pedestrian crosswalk to cross the intersection and then switching back to the bike lane riding away from the intersection.

5. Many cyclists are not obeying the same rules of the road as vehicles as they are required to do and many vehicle drivers do not understand and accept that bicycles have the same rights as vehicles on city streets.

I think there are a large number of cyclists who probably don't even know the "rules of the road" as they don't drive. At least, that holds true down here where many rely on cycling and public transit. I don't know about there.

There's also plenty-a-driver willing to off a cyclist they perceive to be doing something incorrect - often even when the driver is factually mistaken. Evidence to that can be found in many threads in this forum.

[spooker]

It appears that most of the injury and death vehicle/ bicycle deaths that have taken place in Kelowna are because;

1. Vehicles are illegally using the bicycle lane while making a right turn;
2. Cyclists are approaching intersections BESIDE the vehicle on their left, instead of staggered ahead or behind it;
3. Vehicle drivers are not consistently checking their RIGHT hand mirror and doing a RIGHT shoulder check for bicycles when making a right hand turn across a bike lane.
4. Cyclists are using bike lanes to approach an intersection, switching to the pedestrian crosswalk to cross the intersection and then switching back to the bike lane riding away from the intersection.
5. Many cyclists are not obeying the same rules of the road as vehicles as they are required to do and many vehicle drivers do not understand and accept that bicycles have the same rights as vehicles on city streets.

#1, yes
#2, this is a tough one to swallow ... considering that a cyclist goes significantly slower than a car, to be *beside* the car means that the car will have had to overtaken the cyclist and then slowed down ... or the vehicle is just accelerating from a stop ... in both situations it's more that the driver is not paying attention (that said, I believe in a healthy dose of paranoia as a cyclist when next to a car in this position)
#3 pretty much same as #2
#4 not heard of any accidents from this behaviour, usually a cyclist will only be in the crosswalk if they are on the sidewalk on the approach, but choice by the cyclist either way
#5 this statement is confusing, doesn't take into account rationalizations that are used for both cases

If you look at the last couple of years where a crash has been newsworthy you'll see the following

* Cyclist was right-hooked by a car not paying attention (1 death*, 1 serious injury, 1 less serious injury)
* Driver was not paying attention when opening the door (1 death, numerous injuries)
* Driver's attention was elsewhere (1 death*, 1 injury)
* Driver did not see the cyclist (2 major injuries)
* Cyclist did not stop when legally required** (1 death)
* Cyclist was riding the wrong direction, through the crosswalk, in the dark (1 injury)

It's not that I am trying to excuse cyclists who don't ride by the rules of the road ... that's going to happen just as frequently as drivers doing the same ... and so far we've only heard of the RCMP looking for drivers involved in hit-and-runs versus cyclists being able to get away ...

The future is that we need to get more people cycling, otherwise we're just throwing more money at infrastructure that costs an arm and leg ... to get people to cycle we need them to feel safe, that will happen with more separated infrastructure and better education for both cyclists and drivers ...

What can we do now? (I think you know the answer I would give)

[GordonH]

Boils down to this:
Be aware of your surroundings at all times, be able to act or react quickly but safely. This goes to drivers, cyclists & pedestrians.

Everyone just wants to get to were they are going alive and well, no need to do foolish things.

[Donald G]

Unread postby GordonH » Yesterday, 4:17 pm

Boils down to this:

Age old defensive driving by both vehicle driver and cyclist.

[pentona]

Age old defensive driving by both vehicle driver and cyclist.

Agree.

I would like to see the police do their part, to start with and enforce the helmet law. Oh I know...folks will say that they don't have time to do that. Then why have the law? All they have to do is yell at these folks who do not wear them and/or toss the bike in the trunk of the PC and tell the rider he can get it back when he displays a helmet. End of "that" problem.

Its a start at least and would reduce injuries and some deaths for certain. I just cringe when I see a lot of these folks riding BMX bikes, on the sidewalk, with backpack and hoodies on. You don't have to be a rocket science to know what they are up to.

[spooker]

It still seems like the point is being missed ...

Defensive driving has been taught for decades and yet how defensive do cyclists have to be for a single offensive driver?

Two of the recent deaths of cyclists point to driver fault but yet other than being haunted by their own conscience there has been nothing done by the RCMP ... people say that the helmet laws need to be enforced, what about distracted driving that seems to be riskier?

Enforcing the helmet law does nothing, there have been studies that show the helmet law does more harm than good ... it's actually been found that drivers give cyclists more room when they don't wear a helmet, sounds like a reason to doff the helm!

I do agree that cyclists need to integrate properly with traffic (ride by the rules of the road) and that kind of enforcement does happen ... talk to the RCMP and Bylaws if you don't believe me ... but that changes the behaviour of cyclists just as much as enforcing the laws on drivers (i.e. barely) ...

Are people ready to learn? And by people I mean cyclists and drivers? Are people ready to slow down so they can pay attention?

It doesn't boil down to something simple, that's too glib and just dismisses the problem that we have right now ... cycling is not something done by the poor and ignorant who can't afford a car or can't pass the test ... we shouldn't allow offences against the cycling community to be swept under the carpet because it's such a small percentage of the traffic population ...

You see the problem, I challenge you to do something personally ...

[cdawson]

I'm not a cyclist hater, I live too far out of town to ride mine to work. I admit I like seeing them, but.. they also make me nervous as hell. The other day I counted cyclists on my way to and from work, heading down springfield, and then across the hwy into downtown to the library parkade to park.

I counted 10 or so.
1. was in the bike lane going my direction - rode blithely through our red light - thank god the car who had the green to go straight saw him and was far enough away to slow down- so..lucky cyclist there yeah?
2. saw another riding their bike in the bike lane carrying his helmet.. I didn't understand why it wasn't on his head. But hey, not my brains.
3. another on the hwy, doing to drive and dash across to the median and moving traffic, and then across again, rather then going to a light.
4. another who walked their bike across a crosswalk.. then got back on again to head down the sidewalk full of pedestrians when there was a bike lane right there. ok ..sure?
several others who were either going against traffic, in the car lane, or seeming to be unable to decide if they were cars, bikes or pedestrians, the rule they were following changed constantly it felt like. hopping from bike lane, to my lane, to sidewalk as if the rules were entirely fluid as to what they wished to do, where they were going.

Make me nervous? Hell yeah. I feel like when I'm driving downtown this time of year I look like an owl with my head swivelling so many damn directions just to ensure I don't hit a cyclist - question is.. we keep blaming drivers.. and if I ever hit a cyclist even though I'm hyper awre of them - I'm sure that'd be my fault too. I'd just like to see a bit more 'awareness' on cyclists part and admitting hey, they aren't always the perfect in these scenarios.

[Ken7]

Thee is something wrong with a cyclist having the right to proceed directly through the intersection on a green light and a vehicle having the right to make a right turn at the same intersection.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the cyclist has the right to approach the vehicle from the right rear at 50 KMH. There will continue to be "crashes" until drivers learn to recognize the possibility that a cyclist may be approaching and passing them from the right rear and cyclists learn NOT to pass a vehicle signalling a right turn at the green light intersection.

Defensive driving would eliminate all such crashes. I wonder how many cyclists and MV drivers know whether the cyclist or the vehicle have the right of way in such situations ??

I'll throw this out here Donald. As technically the lane the cyclists is occupying is a designated lane, I believe it is changing lanes before safe to do so. We called it in Saskatchewan. What's your thoughts, never enforced in here in BC. Now if there is no bike lane, I'd suggest passing on the right for the bike and he/she is at fault.

[Donald G]

Unread postby Ken7 » 5 minutes ago

I'll throw this out here Donald. As technically the lane the cyclists is occupying is a designated lane, I believe it is changing lanes before safe to do so.

From what I can find the BC MVA agrees with you. Including the fact that a motor vehicle can not drive (half) in a bicycle lane to make a right turn and must right shoulder check to insure that no "through" bicycles are present while crossing the bicycle lane on a right OR left turn.

The BC MVA seems to be mute regarding a vehicle changing lanes in an intersection to comply with the bicycle lane and a bicycle passing a vehicle in an intersection. The addition of the "right hand lane" bicycle lane adds a new "dimension" to vehicle driving that did not previously exist at intersections, except for slow moving pedestrians. The fact that many cyclists, approaching a red light at an intersection, use the bike lane until the crosswalk, switch to the pedestrian crosswalk to ride through the intersection and change back to the bike lane after crossing the intersection in the crosswalk is another hardly ever policed complication.

The rule for survival at an intersection at the moment appears to be DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, at least until cyclists and motor vehicle drivers adapt to the imposed realities of bicycle lanes.

[spooker]

The BC MVA seems to be mute regarding a vehicle changing lanes in an intersection to comply with the bicycle lane and a bicycle passing a vehicle in an intersection. The addition of the "right hand lane" bicycle lane adds a new "dimension" to vehicle driving that did not previously exist at intersections, except for slow moving pedestrians.

No, there's nothing specifically pertaining to changing lanes in an intersection ... just covers the fact that it must be done in a safe manner ... "unless the driver has ascertained that movement can be made with safety and will in no way affect the travel of another vehicle" ... I'd be hard pressed to draw any comparisons between pedestrians and cyclists since that it typically covered by separate infrastructure and crosswalks ... cars and bicycles are legally equal, the bike lanes are put to the right since they are expected to be slower moving traffic

The fact that many cyclists, approaching a red light at an intersection, use the bike lane until the crosswalk, switch to the pedestrian crosswalk to ride through the intersection and change back to the bike lane after crossing the intersection in the crosswalk is another hardly ever policed complication.

I never saw this move until Saturday ... not sure if I just never noticed it before you described it, 2 out of 3 other people here in the office have not seen it either ... going to be looking for it so I can ask someone why they're doing it since it makes no sense to me ... the only thing that I can think of is that the cyclist isn't sure what to do in the intersection since the line of the bike lane disappears ... though this is the same thing for cars so why they'd treat it any differently is a head scratcher for me ... would love to see more examples through dashcam footage if possible ... might be related to intersection design, but I'm just pulling threads here ...

The rule for survival at an intersection at the moment appears to be DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, at least until cyclists and motor vehicle drivers adapt to the imposed realities of bicycle lanes.

Shouldn't that be the rule for being on the roads, period? I think defensive driving pretty much says the same thing, never act in a way where you are assuming the behaviour of another road user ...

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Riding in proper position or not,I rely on eye contact..if they dont see you , dont proceed.
Ride like you are invisible because you are.

[Donald G]

BICYCLE RULES IN MOST STATES OF THE USA (NOTE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT LAWS FOR GOING STRAIGHT THROUGH AN INTERSECTION)

http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/chapter3a.htm