Effective Cycling

John Forester, a well-known Cycling Transportation Engineer, has written extensively about riding in traffic. The main concept behind his book entitled Effective Cycling is that "Bicyclists fare best when they act, and are treated in return, as drivers of vehicles, with the same rights and responsibilities that motorists have." According to Forester, there are five principles of effective cycling:

• Ride on the right - Ride on the right side of the roadway with traffic.
• Yield to crossing traffic - When you reach a more important or larger road than the one you are on, yield to crossing traffic.
• Changing lanes - When you intend to change lanes or move laterally on the roadway, yield to traffic in the new lane or line of travel.
• Position at intersections - When approaching an intersection, position yourself with respect to your destination direction—on the right near the curb if you want to turn right, on the left near the centerline if you want to turn left, and between those positions if you want to go straight.
• Position between intersections - Between intersections, position yourself according to your speed relative to other traffic, slower traffic is nearer the curb and faster traffic is nearer the centerline.

Allen Muchnick of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (waba.org) occasionally teaches classes in Northern Virginia on the principles of Effective Cycling. The classes include time spent riding in traffic to allow cyclists to practice effective riding techniques.

Roads vs. trails - Sometimes you have two options for commuting to work by bike: riding on the road, or riding on one or more trails. Cyclists riding on the road using the Effective Cycling techniques are generally much safer than those using trails.

Accidents on trails - According to a survey of League of American Bicyclists' members in 1996, the risk of having an accident on a sidepath or sidewalk was much higher than on the road. Many factors make riding on the road safer than riding on trails. Motorists are usually looking out for other motorists, anticipating from which direction cars are approaching, knowing how they will react in traffic. Most motorists are not as aware of cyclists on trails, especially those approaching counter to the flow of traffic.

Major intersections are particularly dangerous for riders on trails. On my commuting route, nearly every time I take the trail parallel to Wiehle Ave., I have a negative encounter with motorists turning right on red at Sunset Hills Road as I approach from the south. They look to their left for oncoming traffic and ignore pedestrians and cyclists approaching on the sidepath to their right. When I am riding on the road, motorists are aware of my presence because I am obeying the rules of the road and my behavior is similar to that of a motorized vehicle.

Legal rights of cyclists - Virginia Code reflects the above principles. It also accounts for the fact that cyclists have a choice to ride either on the road or trails. When riding on trails, the rules that apply to pedestrians are supposed to apply to cyclists (§46.2-904). However, on the W&OD Trail, there is some controversy about the rights of cyclists in crosswalks among local police. As most of you probably know, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority has posted stop signs at all of the trail/road intersections. Local police expect cyclists to yield the right of way to motorists at these locations despite the presence of crosswalks, contrary to Virginia Code.

As a result, several cyclists have been issued citations for failure to yield to motorists after bicycle/car accidents in crosswalks. In the past couple of years at least two serious bicycle/car crashes have occurred at the Sunset Hills/W&OD trail crossing. Despite the fact that in each instance the motorist appeared to have sufficient time to yield, in both cases the injured cyclist was said to be at fault. Local police say that the trail is considered a roadway, and bicyclists are considered vehicles that must yield to oncoming motorized vehicles.

So in summary, be careful out there. If we ride effectively, cycling is a safe and enjoyable activity, but we must be aware of the risks involved. By working with groups like the Reston Bicycle Club, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Virginia Bicycling Federation, the League of American Bicyclists and others, you can help promote safe cycling conditions in this area. Most importantly, the more cyclists that are out on the roads commuting each day to work, the better off we all are.

Mark your calendars: Friday, May 7, 2004 is Bike to Work Day at the Reston Town Center pavilion from 6:30 – 9:00 a.m.