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Cycling accidents: share your experiences

Re.: Passing on the left

Well, I am not going to say I know the letter of the law here in Japan. If passing cars on the left with a bike is legal, I am surprised but will concede the point.

Here in Japan I usually avoid the "filtering forward" maneuver because I am riding on the sidewalk, when there is heavy traffic congestion. All I ask is that bicycle riders should also try to see things from a car driver's perspective. Passing a bicyclist isn't always an easy maneuver and having to repeatedly pass the same bicyclist might get on a motorist's nerves.

And I can't ride my bicycle 40 kph!!!!! More like 20 kph!
 
Scary

I've learned by experience to suspect any lighted (free) taxi where there's a person waving or standing on the side of the road, and any engaged taxi with a fare sitting in the back seat looking like she's about to pay! Taxis get more than their fair (fare) share of criticism, so all I will say is that the nature of their job necessitates a certain cavalier attitude, and we as cyclists must live with that, but be even more guarded whenever we come near them.

Great advice, Andrew. Just last week I saw a bike messenger get "doored" by a taxi. I had read a lot about the dangers of doors opening into cyclists, but I had yet to see it happen.

The messenger was, yes, filtering up to a red light, riding the one-meter gap between the stopped cars and the curb, when the back door of a taxi sitting about four cars back from the intersection suddenly popped open to disgorge the passenger. The cyclist was traveling 10-15kph and had about two meters of reaction time. He hit the brakes and swerved toward the curb, managing to unclip gracelessly before gently hitting the door at a 45-degree angle. After taking brief stock of his bike, the shaken but otherwise unharmed cyclist muttered an oath at the driver and pedaled off.

It brought home to me the fact that getting doored by a taxi is a very real danger.

Rubber side down!

Deej
 
Pennsylvania Bicycle Driver's Manual

Yes, yes, yes, I know, we are living in Japan, not Pennsylvania. But I found this neat webpage with lots of good advice for bike riders:

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdBikePed.nsf/infoForward?OpenForm

I think in Chapter 3 they are quite specific about the proper place to pass a slower moving or standing car is on the RIGHT (of course, they say left, but Americans drive on the right). They point out car drivers aren't expecting to be passed on the LEFT (ditto last parenthesis).

Maybe Japanese drivers are used to bicyclists trying to pass them on the left, but judging by some of the cases cited here, some of them aren't.

The Pennsylvania manual doesn't really address the "filtering forward" tactic, except when there is a traffic jam. The manual says then it is okay to "weave" between the cars.

It's really a great manual, obviously written by a bicyclist.
 
I prefer to overtake cars on the right, but it is very very rare. Cars should be well in front of me or far behind me. I'll pass them when there is a traffic jam and I'll hold a safe distance between the curb (1m) bike lane or not to give me some leeway. If I know a car wants to pass I let them and time it so they can without hurting me. I'll slip up onto the sidealk till the car passes or slow right down behind a parked car and hand signal them to pass.

My 2 cents too...

Pete agree with you when it comes to passing cars. At traffic jams I will pass on the right or the left depending where I judge there to be the maximum space, hence maximum safety.

Drivers dont mind where you pass them, especially at traffic lights I imagine they kind of envy you... in any case they dont care and it is quite legal for a bike to do this in Japan. The law in Japan basically boils down 'are you cycling safely' and I know that is kinda vague but thats Japan, eh.
 
Great advice, Andrew. Just last week I saw a bike messenger get "doored" by a taxi. I had read a lot about the dangers of doors opening into cyclists, but I had yet to see it happen.

The messenger was, yes, filtering up to a red light, riding the one-meter gap between the stopped cars and the curb, when the back door of a taxi sitting about four cars back from the intersection suddenly popped open to disgorge the passenger. The cyclist was traveling 10-15kph and had about two meters of reaction time. He hit the brakes and swerved toward the curb, managing to unclip gracelessly before gently hitting the door at a 45-degree angle. After taking brief stock of his bike, the shaken but otherwise unharmed cyclist muttered an oath at the driver and pedaled off.

It brought home to me the fact that getting doored by a taxi is a very real danger.

Rubber side down!

Deej

This exact same thing happened to me about a year ago. What annoyed me about it was that the taxi overtook me, (thus knowing I was there) to get to a person waving him down then popped the back door before the person even got to his front bonnet. Result, it was almost me that ended up in his back seat, not the client. I hit the brakes and JUST missed the door. I had some not too polite things to whisper to him through the conveniently open door as well:gun:

Since then i have been extra conscious of when I see someone waving for a taxi as that means the bugger is behind me and about to lurch across my path to pick up his 710yen or whatever it is these days.
 
All the major accidents I have had in Japan have not been caused by anyone else, but the amount of times I have been ridden into, narrowly missed by trucks and cars, stepped in front of by pedestrians is MUCH MUCH more than I ever had in England. The people here just dont look where they are going. It is insane.

I am currently recovering from a broken Radial Head in my right elbow, from a stack I had a month ago. Sucks, but it was my own fault, so its kinda funny. Kinda.
 
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