“Hundreds of cyclists are killed, and thousands injured, each year while navigating the nation’s roadways. Bicycle riders can help prevent crashes by following a few basic rules of the road:

• Always wear an approved bicycle safety helmet to protect your head from serious injury when riding. [Good advice, but not a law for adults anywhere, and not something that will "help prevent crashes."]
• When riding with others, form a single line, one bike length apart, on the right–hand side of the roadway. [Only three states require single-file riding in most circumstances. While this says 'right-hand side of the roadway', it could easily be read as the right edge of the roadway, given that there's no statement anywhere about the importance of moving left to avoid hazards, keep away from right turning vehicles, or to get into position for a left turn.]
• Walk your bike across busy roads and intersections. [Not the law anywhere, not likely to improve safety, and definitely not a mobility improvement.]
• Use hand signals to show others that you are stopping or making a turn. [But how do you make a safe left turn?]
• Help other drivers to see you. Wear light or brightly colored clothing. [It is the law to have a headlight at night. They never mentioned this anywhere in the list.]
• On streets where cars are parked, watch for car doors opening into the roadways. [This assumes you will be riding in the door zone.]
• Avoid riding after dark or if the weather is bad. All cyclists are at risk during the hours of darkness. [A definite cramp on your mobility. You won't be able to cycle home from work much of the year. Again no mention of the required lights.]
• Give cars and pedestrians the right–of–way. It’s an act of courtesy, and it’s safer, too. [Yes, the most important rule: yield to cars at all times.]

I hope the League will take measures to improve the quality of information distributed by AAA.

It turns out that at least some of the AAA’s clubs provide ‘bike safety’ information directed at motorists. For example, the Mid-Atlantic club offers this advice:

Sharing the Road – How We All Can Make a Difference

Each year, there are more than a half-million collisions between motor vehicles and bicycles in the United States. Many of these incidents are the result of motorist, failing to properly yield to bicyclists. The following safety tips can make a difference:

• Motorists need to increase their awareness of bicyclists when making turns and remember to look for bicyclists when traveling in a straight line. [Unclear and not specific enough in terms of right hook and left cross.]
• Check for bicyclists along the edge of the traffic lane before opening car doors so you do not cause a collision when exiting your vehicle. [Fine, but should also mention that safe bicyclists ride out of range of opening doors.]
• Allow three feet of passing space between your car and the cyclist. Tailgating or honking can startle or fluster a bicyclist, causing them to swerve further into the driving lane. [Fine, except that 3 feet is insufficient if you are going fast or driving a truck.]
• Be patient. Remember, cyclists are moving under their own power and can’t be expected to go the same speed as cars. [And you might have to wait before it is safe to pass.]
• Pay special attention to blind spots. Due to their size and the location of bike lanes, bikes can often get lost in a car’s blind spot, so double check before changing lanes, making right-hand turns or before opening your car door on the traffic side when parked. [This seems to assume you will be turning right while leaving room for a bicyclist to pass on your right, rather than merging right before turning, as required. ]
• Bicyclists also should use bike paths and always watch for turning and parked motor vehicles. [Yes, staying off the road is the best way to share it.]
• Bicyclists should be encouraged to clearly communicate their intentions to motorists by using proper turn signals. [And use the proper lane position and yield before moving across the road.]
• Wearing helmets, visible clothing and using bike paths when available are key factors to ensuring a safe, pleasurable biking adventure. [Again with the bike paths -- but still no mention of lights.]

Seen in Berkeley, Calif, Ride on the Street, Walk on the Sidewalk

I remember seeing these signs in Berkeley some years ago. They are in complete violation of the MUTCD (wrong color, symbols, and font), but they do convey a useful message, particularly by citing the relevant city and state codes. I think (an improved version of) these signs would nicely complement Shared Lane Markings that I have suggested as an alternative to door-zone bike lanes in the Jamaica Plain business district. Perhaps a combined sign would do the trick, with an arrow pointing left under the Ride on the Street message and another arrow pointing right for the Not on the Sidewalk message.

Someone is sure to raise the “sign pollution” issue. Well, I can point to dozens of signs that could be removed from the corridor. I counted 10 “SLOW”" signs (or, less grammatically, “DRIVE SLOW”), and perhaps a few more have sprouted since then. These signs violate the basic principle of the MUTCD that signs should convey a clear meaning. How fast is SLOW? Only a little bit above the statutory 30 mph speed limit? Ironically there are no speed limit signs in the whole Centre-South corridor.

An even larger source of sign pollution are pedestrian crossing warning signs. They are haphazardly posted a block or two before a crosswalk and (rarely) near the crosswalk. Usually they are too high to be noticed. Boston has recently used these warning signs in a much more effective way: at the crosswalk, mounted as low as possible, with an arrow pointing to the crosswalk.  This helps alert drivers of the need to yield and reinforces the crosswalk pavement markings when they can be difficult to see (at night and after the thermoplastic begins to wear).

Tracks along Roadway Warning from Portland

The tragic loss of a young bicyclist this week reminds me of another warning sign that we really do need: to alert cyclists about the dangers of trolley tracks. This sign is used in Portland, Oregon, but nowhere else that I know of. It is not in the MUTCD. Fortunately, we no longer need them in the Centre-South corridor (since the tracks were paved over after being an unused hazard for 23 years), but we do need them in the remaining places that trolley tracks are in the road (not in a reservation): along the E branch from Heath St to Brigham Circle, and in Cleveland Circle.

Remember Me? I was the first birthday gift that you asked for and actually got. We’d get away and explore new places, limited only by imagination and sunlight. All the other kids wished they were you: lucky, fast, and free. What do kids wish for now?

Turns out it’s part of a national ad campaign “designed to inspire non-cyclists to ride.” I’m not sure that these ads will be that effective, although a second part of the campaign is promised. For the past 10 years Bikes Belong has tried to increase bicycling by promoting “more and safer places to ride.” This usually means grants to support advocacy for bike paths. How about promoting the network of places we already have — the public roads? It turns out that the Bikes Belong Foundation, a non-profit spin-off launched in 2006, has a “Share the Road” project that so far has done one pilot event at Stanford. I hope this effort expands. From 2003 to 2006, Bikes Belong funded a few bicyclist skills training programs, but no longer does. There was no explanation about this change on the website.