Here's something that has happened several times, always in Vancouver: I am holding in the left lane, ready to turn left on a fairly busy 4 lane street. Oncoming driver stops and waves me on. Meanwhile, the oncoming curb lane traffic is whizzing by - as it should. Are they really not with it, or are they trying to cut down the number of pesky bicycles on the streets??
I was once involved in an accident due to this phenomenon (thankfully I was in a largish Oldsmobile).
A kind driver waiting in the rightmost straight lane waved a driver crossing the road in front of her from the left on. What she was communicating was "you may pass in front of me".
What the driver crossing interpreted the gesture as was "c'mon through - there's nothing coming up the right turn lane either", which wasn't the case (intention-wise or otherwise).
The car crossing got clipped really well in the back end, did a 360 and clipped my left front fender as it spun. D'Oh! Of course, it would have hurt a lot more had I been standing there on a bike (worse yet, on a 'bent). ;-)
It all depends on where you ride. At EVERY university I have attended or visited, curb-hopping was a necessary skill just to get around.
I always thought that universities paid pretty close attention to requirements about the disabled. This implies curb cuts for wheelchairs. It also implies that one can ride one's bike right into the lecture theatres
It all depends on where you ride. At EVERY university I have attended or visited, curb-hopping was a necessary skill just to get around.
I always thought that universities paid pretty close attention to requirements about the disabled. This implies curb cuts for wheelchairs. It also implies that one can ride one's bike right into the lecture theatres
Having required curb cuts and ramps does not mean they are located in the best spot for cycle use. On one of my former rides, the road dead-ended into a 15" curb with ramps for cross-traffic but not for traffic continuing onto the sidewalk straight ahead. The street was once a through-street but they closed it to make a more pedestrian friendly environment. No thought was given to the cyclists who now have to cross this area to get to buildings formerly available by this street (the long way around adds almost 1/2 mile to the trip - not a good thing when you are going from one class to another). It also impacted those who want to end their trip there because of the placement of the nearest bicycle racks.
Those who cannot bunny-hop the curb must compete with pedestrian traffic on a 6 foot wide sidewalk to use the ramps. For me, it was a simple hop and I was on my way either to the nearest rack or to the next intersection where the street continues (at walking pace, of course, because this little plaza is crowded).
