Experienced cyclists invariably develop a sixth sense about what drivers’ intentions are. I have often written about the importance of being alert at all times and not just following the rules when it comes to safety.
In this column, I want to extend the concept of alertness beyond just seeing what someone else is doing to anticipating what someone else is going to do.
If a car is about to pull out in front of you, a telltale sign that the driver may not have your best interests at heart is the driver will start inching forward after (sort of) stopping, trying to make up his or her mind about what he or she is going to do. After a couple of probes, it is not unusual for a driver to wait until the last moment before losing patience and then shoot out in front of you.
With enough experience, you can predict what the driver is going to do in this situation with at least 70% accuracy. You don’t have to come to a complete stop and politely say, “Go ahead, it’s OK to cut me off now,” but you can slow down a bit and prepare to use the brakes if necessary.
This same experience helps even when motorists are behind you. If they can’t pass you, are they patiently waiting a respectful distance behind you? Or are they as close to you as they can get and impatiently revving the motor?
Based on their behavior when behind you, it is not hard to predict what they will do when they pass you. Of course, you would never do this when driving a car, but it is not unheard of for drivers to cut back sharply to intentionally scare you as punishment for inconveniencing them. Or even to speed up to pass you and then have to hit the brakes when they pull in front of you so that they can make their right turn.
If you guess right and plan for the worst, it may save you a serious accident. If you plan for the worst and guess wrong, you can say a silent thanks and go on your way.
Trust your instincts
I must have a highly developed sixth sense when it comes to this situation. Only twice in more than 300,000 miles of riding have I bailed out without a second thought because of what I sensed was coming up behind me – and both times it was definitely the right decision.
The first time was on Concepcion Road in Los Altos Hills, a moderate uphill climb from Fremont Road. I felt a car coming up too fast behind me and pulled as far off the road as I could. The car disappeared around the bend ahead of me; I breathed a sigh of relief and got back on my bike.
Three minutes later, I came around another bend and saw the car stopped in the middle of the road. A teenage girl was standing next to her bike in the road. The driver was screaming at her. He had left the keys in the car, so I took them. The driver had encountered the girl, jumped out and thrown her to the ground. When I spoke to the driver, he started crying and said this girlfriend had left him. I don’t know if I did the right thing, but I told the girl to go on and kept the driver there for 10 minutes until she was safely home before giving him back the keys. I did call the Sheriff’s Office when I got home, and deputies went to his house to talk to him and his parents.
The second such incident was on Stelling Road in Cupertino. Same thing happened behind me, and I pulled over and watched as the driver continued down the center line and plowed into a car in a pocket turn lane waiting to turn. I hurried to the scene (another person had already stopped) and found a woman with a shattered windshield and a bloodied face; she had no idea what had happened and asked the man who hit her, who was obviously intoxicated, and he told her she had turned left directly into his path. The other witnesses and I separated the two until the police came, and I told the woman with the bloody face that she had done nothing wrong. Had I not been there to tell her that, I am sure she would have believed she had actually caused the accident.
What is my message? Learn to read the subtle clues that can let you know what a driver is going to do, and then trust your instincts. It is not black magic – we all have the power to do this – but it takes practice. These situations don’t happen often, but being cut off at an intersection does, and the same awareness of what the driver may do will help you in that case – if not as memorably.
Chris Hoeber is a local resident, avid cyclist and founder of a cycling club. Email questions and comments to [email protected].
