Bicycle Board Members,

On February 15, Bicycle Board Education Committee members will be teaching the 4 Mon County Schools Driver's Ed Teachers how to teach their students how to drive around bicycles.  To give them memorable mental images, we would like to cite specific locations around Morgantown at which each lesson could be applied.  For example, Spruce St. would be an example of a place where a motorist could avoid colliding with a cyclist riding on the sidewalk if the motorist looked both ways before exiting a parking lot.

Below, I've listed some of the lessons.  If any of them remind you of a location at which proper practice of the lesson would be especially easy to visualize, I'd appreciate your telling me the location.

1. Leave at least 3 feet of passing space between the right side of your vehicle and a bicyclist.
2. Pass only when you can see that it's clear far enough ahead to be able to complete the pass before traffic comes.
3. Don't pass a cyclist and then cut them off.
   
4. Look both ways for cyclists before pulling out of an intersection, driveway or alley.  Cyclists are hard to see.  Cyclists riding far to the right can be obscured by vegetation or parked cars.  Look for cyclists on sidewalks, too.
   
5. When turning left, yield to oncoming cyclists just as you would yield to an oncoming motorist.  Look for oncoming cyclists.  Cyclists are hard to see.  Cyclists riding far to the right can be obscured by passing cars.
   
6. Watch for cyclist hand signals and lane position that indicate that they are going to stop, turn right, go straight or turn left.
7. Before opening your car door, look behind you for cyclists.

Perhaps one way to think about this is to recall when and where you almost crashed (or did crash :-( ) because a motorist didn't practice one of these lessons.  (For example, cars always seems to pass me really close on Pleasant St. between So. Univ. and High St. even when I'm in the middle of the right lane.  So, that stretch might be a good example of where they should leave 3 feet.)

Thanks to Marilyn for leading the effort to get bicycling in the Driver's Ed curriculum!

Frank
Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles