Missed connection

[dplasters]

@baiskeli 94207 wrote:

Here’s a new hazard I discovered while attempting to avoid hazards.

I was on Vietch at Lee Highway, about to move from the bike lane to the special bike box at the front of the traffic lane:

Getting to a box like that is dangerous, though, when the front car is trying to turn right on red, or the light changes just as you’re moving in front of the car lane.

But it’s even more hazardous if a car, as I witnessed, starts moving forward while the light is still red, anticipating the green. (The car then turned right).

Luckily I hadn’t gotten close enough to take the box yet. Watch out for this hazard when you’re taking the lane in front, box or no box.

Hello, I am “Captain I don’t know anything about that intersection but I’ll put my stinking opinion out there anyway”. You’re allowed to turn right on red there? Given the angle that is required to look left, the pedestrian crosswalk waaaaay out in front of you, the bike box and that the left lane is allowed to be further forward this should be a no turn on red kind of world. I see a sign next to the right light but can’t make it out.

The creeping car syndrome is crazy and is dangerous for everyone, cars included. I’ve watched cars slowly creep waaaaaaaay out into intersections. I don’t really understand what they are thinking. As some who drives a manual, I hate the creep game.

[DismalScientist]

There is no turn on red here (except for all us scofflaw cyclists).

I don’t really see the point of the bike box here. If going straight, I would wait behind the cars. There is rarely a long line here. Generally, I think the green cycle for Vietch is absurdly long given the lack of traffic.

[consularrider]

This intersection may have gotten the bike box because 90% of the cars in the right lane turn right. About the only time I went through this intersection was on my way to my former office after FCCII. If I was arriving at the light well into the red cycle, there could be a line of five to ten cars which backed up beyond the previous intersection. Maybe they hope to reduce the possibility of a right hook if both a car and a cyclist are waiting for the light?

[baiskeli]

@dplasters 94213 wrote:

You’re allowed to turn right on red there?

Oh, I didn’t say you are ALLOWED to do it.

Given the angle that is required to look left, the pedestrian crosswalk waaaaay out in front of you, the bike box and that the left lane is allowed to be further forward this should be a no turn on red kind of world. I see a sign next to the right light but can’t make it out.

I don’t remember, but I think it’s not legal there. However, the incident I was talking about involved a van moving forward on the red (over the bike box), but not actually turning until the green. He could easily have hit me either way if I were trying to get to the box at just that moment.

The creeping car syndrome is crazy and is dangerous for everyone, cars included. I’ve watched cars slowly creep waaaaaaaay out into intersections. I don’t really understand what they are thinking. As some who drives a manual, I hate the creep game.

Yeah, and pedestrians do it alot too. They even stand and wait to cross several feet into the roadway. I’ve seen many a walker almost clipped by a bus turning right because of that nonsense. Just wait, people.

At least some cyclists commit instead of creeping. They just run the damn red light all the way through. No pussyfooting around.

[baiskeli]

@consularrider 94260 wrote:

This intersection may have gotten the bike box because 90% of the cars in the right lane turn right. About the only time I went through this intersection was on my way to my former office after FCCII. If I was arriving at the light well into the red cycle, there could be a line of five to ten cars which backed up beyond the previous intersection. Maybe they hope to reduce the possibility of a right hook if both a car and a cyclist are waiting for the light?

You’re probably right. The risk of a right hook is smaller with a box, but still there. Plus the box introduces a small new risk – getting hit while trying to move left in front of the lead car that is just starting to move, even if it’s going straight instead of right.

So watch for light changes and impatient drivers when taking the box (assuming the lead car hasn’t taken it already like some do).

[baiskeli]

@DismalScientist 94217 wrote:

There is no turn on red here (except for all us scofflaw cyclists).

I mentioned right on red in general terms only–just saying it’s a problem when trying to take the box. Perhaps they only put boxes where right on red is forbidden though.

I don’t really see the point of the bike box here. If going straight, I would wait behind the cars. There is rarely a long line here. Generally, I think the green cycle for Vietch is absurdly long given the lack of traffic.

That’s probably the smartest way to do it, and I may do that from now on. But I’ll probably find myself at the very end of the bike lane before I stop and think about it.

[dplasters]

You: The squeak(ish) like noise coming from my right pedal.

Me: I know you are cheap and plastic and came with my bike. I care not. I will shut you up when I get home.

The hard way.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6636[/ATTACH]

[bikenurse]

You: Fully kitted Fred on Carbon road bike with race wheels who passed me on Cherrywood lane in Greenbelt at high speed within what felt like inches. You couldn’t call your pass but you could raise your right hand to wave at me after you passed
Me: in the bike lane on my evening commute home from work with reflective panniers and lights on. I was not a part of some imaginary peloton.
Call your damn pass and get over yourself. I’m sure glad I didn’t have to swerve or you would have taken both of us out. I don’t understand why this is so difficult.

[dkel]

@dplasters 94896 wrote:

You: The squeak(ish) like noise coming from my right pedal.

Me: I know you are cheap and plastic and came with my bike. I care not. I will shut you up when I get home.

I had a similar problem recently. I kept getting this squeaking sound, and I adjusted everything and tightened everything, and couldn’t get it to go away. Took it to the LBS, where every mechanic in the shop rode it and heard nothing. I realized later that it was my shoe squeaking; of course no one else could hear it!

[ShawnoftheDread]

Me: outbound on the TR Bridge, waiting patiently behind another cyclist and a line of runners. Once the other cyclist passed, I decided to bide my time for the bump out 50 feet ahead instead of squeezing past.

You: woman on hybrid with yellow Ortliebs, sucking my wheel and asking “aren’t you going to pass?! There’s plenty of room.

Me: I’m going to wait for the bump out, but go for it if you really need to.

You proceeded to pass, scraping you kick stand and pannier on the guard rail. I waited a bit for a safe and easy pass. Ten seconds later, I’m behind you again as you’re trying to squeeze past the first rider and another line of runners.

Me: “It didn’t save you any time the last time, what makes you think you’ll safe time this time?”

You: “You’re being a jerk!”

Me: “no, I just think you should be a bit patient.”

So, you squeezed past that line, and the next couple of people by the parking lot and by Doom, and went through at the end of the yellow at Ft. Myer. Good job.

I’m sure you realized I was the one whistling past you as you started your climb out of Rosslyn.

[Geoff]

@bikenurse 95086 wrote:

Call your damn pass and get over yourself. I’m sure glad I didn’t have to swerve or you would have taken both of us out. I don’t understand why this is so difficult.

Recently I feel like I should wear a sign on my back: Call.Your.Pass.
*deep sigh*

[dkel]

All these posts get me thinking the same thing I’m thinking when I’m out on the trail lately: all these turkeys are going to go into their long winter’s nap pretty soon, and then I’ll have the whole place to myself! Can’t wait!

[jrenaut]

@dkel 95093 wrote:

All these posts get me thinking the same thing I’m thinking when I’m out on the trail lately: all these turkeys are going to go into their long winter’s nap pretty soon, and then I’ll have the whole place to myself! Can’t wait!

Ahh, Freezing Saddles, when the fair-weather clowns clear out of the garage and I can park my bike in the choice spots again even if I don’t arrive until 9:15.

[dplasters]

One day, I feel like I should ride into the city on the W&O to see what all this complaining is about. I keep asking the cars to call their passes out here in Fairfax and damn it if all I get is a honk once every few weeks.

All kidding aside, sometimes I swear it sounds like the roads I’m on are safer than some of the trails you all are riding on….

[Geoff]

@dplasters 95102 wrote:

One day, I feel like I should ride into the city on the W&O to see what all this complaining is about. I keep asking the cars to call their passes out here in Fairfax and damn it if all I get is a honk once every few weeks.

All kidding aside, sometimes I swear it sounds like the roads I’m on are safer than some of the trails you all are riding on….

In the grand scheme of things, calling your pass is part of the “small stuff” we shouldn’t sweat. It is a courtesy, and it does contribute to safety, but if it’s my biggest concern, Ahm doin’ aright. My “Call.Your.Pass” sign is sorta the equivalent of the bumper sticker that says “Visualize using your turn signal.”

[Author]

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