An open letter to motorists who dislike cyclists
Tanya, das Crazy Biker Chick, schrieb einen offenen Brief an alle Autofahrer, indem sie für mehr Verständniss und gegenseitige Rücksichtnahme zwischen Kraftfahreren und Fahrradfahrern wirbt.
Ich kann ihre Aussagen nur unterstreichen, möchte hier aber noch einige besonders herausheben:
I ride in the middle of the lane if the lane is too narrow to share safely. This is actually a courtesy to you, because you don’t have to guess how wide your vehicle is versus how much space is available, and decide if you have to change lanes or not. If the lane next to you is wide open, it really isn’t necessary to blast your horn or yell things out your window. Maybe you think there’s room for me to be riding in the gutter, but I really have a better view of the pavement there than you do. There’s debris there that will flatten my tires, and potholes that can break my bones. If I need to swerve to avoid some garbage someone threw out their car window, I need room to maneouver. Its not going to make either of our days if we collide.
You may think riding a bicycle in a downpour or a snowstorm is crazy. Its actually quite pleasant if you’re dressed for it. But I don’t expect you to “get it”. I only expect you to remember that there’s still a human being riding a bicycle out there. Flooring it through puddles to make the biggest splash possible is not funny. Passing too close is never a good idea, but in a snowstorm when the roads are slippery, please leave as much space as you can.
I try to make my best guesses what you might do next from your lane position. You can help take out the guesswork. While it may seem that the turn signal has gone out of fashion, I really do appreciate when you use it in advance. This lets me move as best as possible so we don’t have any conflict.
Und zum Abschluss der Dank an all die Autofahrer, die schon jetzt Rücksicht walten lassen:
Thanks. And thank you to the motorists that already get it. Thank you for waiting before opening your door. Thank you for leaving a safe amount of space when passing. Thank you for waiting patiently behind when it was not safe to pass. Thank you for signalling. Thank you for respecting the speed limit which makes the roads just a little bit saner to be travelling on. Thank you for noticing when I made a mistake and avoiding a collision. Thank you for slowing to let me in when I stuck out my arm because I wanted to move into the left turn lane. Thank you for not using your horn when it was not necessary. Thank you for all the little ways that you cooperate.
