this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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You know, today I was at an intersection with my bike, where I had a stop sign and the other street had a lot of traffic. Usually I wait for a car on my street to try crossing so I can cross with them because no car is gonna stop for a bicycle. But I made the mistake of staying on the right side when apparently most of the cars on my street wanted to turn right, going in front of me. Less than half of them used their turn signal. Seriously people?
You wait for a car to initiate crossing because the road is so busy that you need to just cross and hope the cars without a stop sign will slow down for you? That sounds like a horrible intersection for everybody.
Yeah, one of the places in dire need of a traffic light. But in the absence of it I will definitely blame cars for not following basic rules.
Stop signs are a situation where I ALWAYS take the lane. Going through the intersection with a car is a recipe for disaster. I take my own turn like any other vehicle. I stop at the line right in the middle where a car can't just slip around me like I'm not even a fucking there, I plant my foot, and make eye contact with anyone approaching the intersection before I pick up my foot again.
This is the way. Drivers are usually not able to understand how to respond to bikes at intersections, so imitating something they understand, a car, is how you stay safe.
Can confirm, I have no idea what bike signals even look like (although I presume a hand out to one side means going that way), so doing what cars do would at least give me a good idea of where it's going.
At least where I live, Bikes are legally considered Cars in most cases.
Also, this is the official documentation in Ontario for bike signals, not sure how it compares to other parts of the world.
I did that once in a left turn. I didn't make the green light so I stopped in the "bike left turn lane" (in front of the car lane). A second or so later when it was full on red a car swerved into the opposite lane to get past me and blasted into the intersection. Had it been a second later he would have been struck by a car.
Some idiots have absolutely no self control... I bet those 30 seconds he saved must have cured cancer or solved world hunger or something...
That's probably the safest way of crossing but getting in front of cars and hoping they will slow down is scary. I just try to avoid these intersections all together.
I kind of just stay behind the car in front of me and let their actions tell me their intent.
I can’t be too hypocritical because I fail to signal on a bike much - I’m using two hands to control my braking and direction, and signaling costs one.
I like to signal well before I start turning so that I have both hands to complete the turn. I also don't use the legally defined turn signals since I find cars don't understand most of the time and it's easier just to stick an arm out in the direction I'm turning.