Cycling Visibility: Staying Visible When Riding With Traffic

Separate bike lanes, on either the right or left side of the road, allow cyclists to pass slower moving traffic. However, the cyclist must exercise a higher degree of caution when approaching critical areas such as intersections and entrances where cars are turning. A driver of a car is often not aware of a cyclist because he did not pass the cyclist or did not perceive him in his rearview mirror. The cyclist may have been in the driver’s blind spot, or the cyclist was lost in the visual clutter. These factors are only compounded by the relatively short amount of time, sometimes just seconds, that a driver checks his rearview mirror. It is for this very reason that a cyclist passing cars is in the best position to avoid an accident from a turning vehicle. The cyclist should be alert for cues indicating that a vehicle is going to turn, such as vehicle turn signals, brake lights, a slowing vehicle, a quickly closing gap with the vehicle in front, and traffic control devices. As an extra precaution, when approaching these critical areas, the cyclist should attempt to ride in the bike lane along the gap in-between the cars in the same manner as if he were to have “taken the lane”.  By doing so, the cyclist is more visible to the car behind him and allows him to better monitor the movement of the car in front.