Be kind to cyclists and pedestrians
We can't all bike, take public transport or walk to work (for a variety of reasons). But those of us who need to take our own vehicle can still contribute to sustainable transport solutions by being kind and thoughtful towards those who ARE walking or biking. For some reason a lot of motorists seem to resent walkers and bikers. This is incomprehensible to me! We should be grateful to cyclists and pedestrians for doing their bit to reduce emissions and congestion, and allowing us to use their share of fossil fuels! So here are my personal tips for drivers (Exclamation marks indicate personal frustrations!)...
- WATCH for walkers and bikers, especially at intersections.
- Give cyclists plenty of room when you're passing them. If it's not safe to pass, then slow down and follow them until it is. Don't just shove your way past!
- Treat pedestrian crossings like a give way sign... slow down when approaching them and be ready to give way to pedestrians.
- When crossing the footpath to go in or out of a driveway, let pedestrians go first.
- Don't obstruct footpaths when you're parking. Imagine someone with twins in one of those double push-chairs trying to go past. If your parking will force a parent to push their babies out onto the road, DON'T PARK THERE!
- When driving beside a bike lane, take care that you don't encroach on the lane, and look twice for bikes before crossing the lane.
Thanks for listening :)
Submitted by Lindis on 23 January 2008 16:06:43
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Comments
Thanks for your comments Lindis - I'm a regular bike commuter in Welly and see some good and bad bike/car interaction.
One thing that always gets a thumbs up from me is a car waiting for me to get through a tunnel before over taking (alot cross the yellow line!). Tunnels can be really scary places for people on bikes!
Submitted by mady on 23 January 2008 16:10:36
Re. Lindis'point
"When driving beside a bike lane, take care that you don't encroach on the lane, and look twice for bikes before crossing the lane."
Doesn't a bike lane technically have the same status as a normal lane for cars and other traffic i.e. a car wanting to cross it would need to indicate left and through traffic (including bikes) should have right of way? I would argue that bikes travelling close to the curb on a road are effectively generating their own lane and left-turning traffic should give way. This doesn't happen at present and is not enforced in the context of the road code. In Berlin,Germany, where I lived for a number of years, and a city of 3m people, bikes are everywhere and this despite there being trams, buses and cars galore. The difference is that all right turning (in our case it would be left turning) traffic must give way to cyclists that are travelling straight ahead. All car drivers must check their mirrors (and blind spots) before turning...and they do this rigorously.
I live in Wellington and am not a cyclist because I don't feel it is safe. I don't think the road heirarchy is right and I believe all amendments to the road code that strengthen cyclists' status on the road should be encouraged.
Submitted by PaddyG on 24 January 2008 15:56:09
Hear hear, PaddyG! I completely agree!
In the part of Auckland where I live (Mt Albert) new cycle lanes have been marked on the sides of some main roads. Because they are marked lanes, with a white line dividing them from the next lane, I believe they are treated like a legally distinct lane and cars need to indicate etc as you said.
Unfortunately many NZ drivers seem to be completely oblivious to cyclists and I see incidents every day where cars turn left into driveways in front of bikes, and cars queueing at lights sit in the bike lane, blocking bikes.
This is unacceptable! It's time kiwi drivers developed a bit of respect for our bike-riding fellow citizens.
Submitted by Lindis on 29 January 2008 13:21:54