I am a 65-year-old pedestrian and bicycle commuter survivor. I’ve never allowed myself to get hit by a car. It simply didn’t make sense, from the physics standpoint, to risk tangling with tons of steel while traveling on foot or on two thin wheels. But surviving was always a true challenge. It is even more challenging today. Surviving the motorized world as a cyclist or pedestrian is a test of awareness, agility and presence of mind.
If one wishes to survive, one must adopt an attitude believing that there is no such thing as a right of way for cyclists or pedestrians. The other part of this simple shift in consciousness then allows us to view drivers who do yield right of way as thoughtful, aware, kind or even generous. The rest of the drivers out there are potentially as dangerous as loaded guns.
If a person thinks like that, then there’s hope for safety.
Now this is where I should quote all my research statistics about today’s huge increase in auto-pedestrian and auto-cyclist accidents. I should also discuss the growing problem of distracted drivers, high speeds and the significant increase of cars on the road. But I’m not trying to prove the obvious right now; I’m trying to save people.
Although I spent 30 years bicycling to work, and many more years walking, I am also a driver and have owned 17 vehicles. I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles, both in urban and rural settings. Some of the most frightening moments I’ve had as a driver were close calls with cyclists or pedestrians — those unforgettable near misses when I failed to see a walker or cyclist until it was almost too late. I will always be grateful to the actively aware cyclists or pedestrians who avoided me as a driver.
Furthermore, some of the most frightening moments I’ve had as a cyclist or pedestrian were when I had to actively avoid being hit by a car.
There it is: Avoid being hit. That is the ultimate key to safety and survival for anyone on bike, blades, skateboard, scooter or foot. Defensive walking or cycling has always been an important aspect to safe side road or sidewalk travel, but in today’s world, defensive bike or sidewalk travel is imperative. If one adds colorful clothing and flashing lights to this newly adopted attitude that right of way is not a given, well, safety becomes even more probable.
The cyclist or pedestrian can’t afford to mute their senses. This means no Bluetooth music or phone conversations. This means never crossing an intersection without looking all four directions. This means never moving until cars either stop or slow and you make eye contact with the driver. This means assuming that every driver on the road does not see you until you see them stop, yield and make eye contact. And finally, this means also that you have to be ready to run, dodge, stop or even leap when all else fails.
The reality is this: Every time I go out, I see pedestrians walking out into crosswalks often with faces buried in their phone without ever taking a look back over their shoulder to see if a car is about to turn. I see cyclists flying into busy intersections without looking back, side to side or without making eye contact with left turning cars that might wipe them out. And I see children and young adults skateboarding, rollerblading or biking from sidewalks to street intersections completely oblivious to the traffic around them.
E-bikes are even worse, because they have extra speed and momentum and can plunge into an intersection just in time to get hit by a right turning car that initiated their turn long before the bike arrived.
So how do we get the walking and cycling public to adopt such an attitude? Maybe we need to create a few slogans like: Trust Drivers and You Die. Or maybe we could try: Trusting Right of Way is the Wrong Way. I kind of like this one: Cars Are Predators — They Want To Eat You.
We also need to educate everyone. We need to make all pedestrians, cyclists and other sidewalk or side road travelers adopt the new paradigm. If drivers need a license to drive, maybe walkers need a license to be pedestrians and bikers a license to ride. That might be taking things a bit too far, but haven’t the accident rates gone too far, as well?
My final thought comes in the form of one last slogan idea which is this: Drivers Don’t Care, So Be Aware!
Mark Doherty
Mark Doherty is a retired high school English teacher, freelance writer, folk musician and an avid outdoorsman and cyclist. He has published several books and numerous articles and essays. Doherty has lived and worked in Utah since 1985 when he relocated from Colorado.
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