As a bicyclist, of course you encounter dangerous situations on the road daily. We cyclists all know that the roads are full of distracted and negligent drivers and that the urban infrastructure is often inadequate to prevent bicycle accidents, particularly in a congested place like San Francisco. That’s why it’s important as California cyclists, we stay aware of some of the most common dangers on the road, the situations that can be particularly hazardous, and how we can avoid bicycle crashes when we encounter them. Let’s look at two common dangerous situations, the “left cross” and “right hook”, and refresh…
Is bicycle riding inherently dangerous? I don’t think so. However, whenever there is a crash between a car or truck or bus and a bicycle rider, the cyclist is most likely to suffer grievous personal injuries. The San Francisco Bay Area and all of Northern California are great places to ride a mountain bike, a road bike or a cruiser or a hybrid bicycle, but the streets are too often congested with motor vehicles, whose drivers are distracted or who don’t know how to keep a proper lookout or how to properly share the road with bicyclists. The vast majority…
