I’ve been reflecting today as I do my usual commute to work (by bicycle) on a recent letter by one of your correspondents to the Editor (John Hesketh).
As a car driver myself (and most of us cyclists are), I do understand and empathise where he is coming from.
It is frustrating if something “slow” is in front of you on the road and appears to taking over the whole lane, rather than being closer to the side. It is very concerning when cyclists may take a quick exit to the left of a car driver at an intersection where a car is about to make a turn across their path.
I really do understand where you are coming from, and put my hand up – as a car driver too – of at times not being as considerate as I could be and being tempted to take short cuts.
But let me tell you about just an ordinary day – today – on my bike coming into my work in the central city of Dunedin.
Apart from a slightly slower start due to having to turn back to get my forgotten mobile phone, things proceeded as normal.
There’s the dodgy part heading up Neidpath Rd (where cars can zoom around me on the corner and push me towards the bank – not problems today.
Heading down Stafford St was uneventful – the car at one intersection let me pass by, rather than trying to cut across my path (which is a regular occurrence). There was no rubbish truck suddenly doing a U-turn in front of me (which happened on one occasion coming down the hill and nearly ended in calamity). All good.
Turn left into Princess St and into the middle of the rather narrow lane by Wains Hotel: the first threat. A car door suddenly opens, but I miss it during to being well out of the way.
Next threat – a delivery truck is sitting in the left turning lane by Dowling St. Heading to the right of it and a car accelerates to pass me to get through an orange light – a bit of a scare.
Next challenge, turning right into Moray Pl. I signal to turn right, and a car on the road straight ahead of me seems reluctant to move. A cheery wave means they have figured I’m not going to cut in front of them – all good again.
Down through the intersection of Moray Pl and Stuart St without incident (unlike one time when I was knocked over by a car turning across my path), but on to another spot to watch. This is the intersection of Great King and St Andrew streets. Here, the bike doesn’t trigger the traffic light sensors, so the only way is to get off the road and push the pedestrian signal. Before I complete this, the lights are triggered by a car… and another left-hand-turning vehicle thankfully sees me and I can get across.
For me, the benefits of being on the bike outweigh the risks, but even on an ordinary day it can make you think.
All of us can get a little “precious” about how good our road habits are, and how terrible everyone else is. The point of all this is that we are human, somewhat unpredictable at times. We actually need to keep an eye out for each other.
My lowest point was getting a ticket on my bike for nipping through an intersection (I was late) and going through a red arrow. A nearby police car ensured I was held to account!
But, I am a legitimate imperfect road user, and all I (and any other cyclist) need is for other road users to keep an eye out for me and put yourselves in my shoes. In Dunedin where traffic congestion is a rare occurrence, all of us can get a little complacent about our driving habits. It’s not a competition, or a battle, but sometimes it can feel like this –even on a very ordinary day.
- Andrew Metcalfe
