School Commute Safety for Teen Girl

[jk22204]

My friend’s daughter recently told her mother that she doesn’t want to commute to school on her bike anymore because she is uncomfortable with men yelling at her from the road and a more recent incident where a walker tried to stop her and grab her handlebars while telling her “Yeah girl, you ride that bike”. Does anyone have any safety tips or suggestions that I can give my friend and her daughter? She is in middle school and uses the W&OD trail to get to school.

[n18]

I thought teenagers would be safer from such situations because a bike hides a female’s hourglass shape, and I still think it is. They can go around a trouble spot easily. But they trade this safety for invisibility from car drivers, unless they dismount when crossing intersections.

YouTube can stream live from smartphones, and the video is kept for 12 hours. Amazon has a camera for $71 that can stream live to Facebook/Youtube but only on iPhone. It has handlebar mount, and waterproof enclosure. I am sure there are others that can stream for Android.

[lordofthemark]

@jk22204 169795 wrote:

My friend’s daughter recently told her mother that she doesn’t want to commute to school on her bike anymore because she is uncomfortable with men yelling at her from the road and a more recent incident where a walker tried to stop her and grab her handlebars while telling her “Yeah girl, you ride that bike”. Does anyone have any safety tips or suggestions that I can give my friend and her daughter? She is in middle school and uses the W&OD trail to get to school.

That’s terrible. We in Alexandria are doing work on safe routes to school, but the focus of that effort is traffic safety. I would suggest A. Call the police in the local jurisdiction (Arlington?). B. If there is another kid interested in riding, have them convoy together.

There is the idea of using a camera, not sure I would trust that though. Women here may have better ideas.

[anomad]

Is there a vigilante justice bike gang following nearby option?

I’ll ask the ladies of the house for suggestions. They were teenagers on bikes when it was much less common. I’m guessing they’ll say ride like you’re on a mission and dress to blend in. Wear something that looks like a GoPro on top of helmet. And, those guys are assholes.

If riding with a friend is an option that’s cool or just following along someone who rides about the same pace. Speaking as a somewhat over-protective middle aged guy, if another cyclist said they wanted to ride along with me because they don’t like that intersection or area coming up, or whatever. I would bend over backwards to ride with them and help them feel safe.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

Jk22204 sorry about the situation, that’s terrible

This seems like a good thing to seek advice from the Washington area Women and Bicycles Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WomenandBicycles/

[AFHokie]

@jk22204 169795 wrote:

My friend’s daughter recently told her mother that she doesn’t want to commute to school on her bike anymore because she is uncomfortable with men yelling at her from the road and a more recent incident where a walker tried to stop her and grab her handlebars while telling her “Yeah girl, you ride that bike”. Does anyone have any safety tips or suggestions that I can give my friend and her daughter? She is in middle school and uses the W&OD trail to get to school.

Please tell me you reported this to the local police, especially the guy who tried to grab her handlebars

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[anomad]

After consulting the women of the house… They didn’t have anything politically correct to say.

Helmet cam or appearance thereof is a decent idea. Ignore the assholes and pedal on was the most realistic. Ride with a pissed off woman’s roller derby team in tow was probably most likely to include a felony outcome.

[Sunyata]

@jk22204 169795 wrote:

My friend’s daughter recently told her mother that she doesn’t want to commute to school on her bike anymore because she is uncomfortable with men yelling at her from the road and a more recent incident where a walker tried to stop her and grab her handlebars while telling her “Yeah girl, you ride that bike”. Does anyone have any safety tips or suggestions that I can give my friend and her daughter? She is in middle school and uses the W&OD trail to get to school.

This makes me more angry than I could have possibly imagined. :mad::mad:

Men are seriously yelling at her from the road?! And trying to stop her by grabbing her handlebars?! 😡

WHAT IN THE EVER LIVING F#CK!? It is bad enough this kind of crap happens to adult women, but middle schoolers?! 😡

This happens on the W&OD?! Where and what times? I would like to figure out if this is normal every day traffic or construction workers. Perhaps an enhanced police presence can deter this ridiculous behaviour.

Safety tips (assuming she lives in VA): Train her how to use pepper spray and have her carry it on her handlebars (they make holsters that can be strapped to the bars). Use it liberally when asshats are being asshats. If she rides in the early morning/late afternoon, ensure she has SUPER bright lights so that observers have a harder time determining who is on the bike. Teach her how to move the beam away from oncoming bike traffic if necessary. Have a trusted adult male ride with her for a few mornings/afternoons. Request local PD provide enhanced patrols through that area. Have her take a self defense class.

Now what YOU (as a whole, not necessarily the OP) can do: Call out shitty behaviour when it happens. Do not let your male friends get away with being a jerk to women. If the good men in our lives continuously call out this bad behaviour, it will decrease as it becomes less and less acceptable. Stop ignoring it and do something.

[AFHokie]

@Sunyata 169832 wrote:

Train her how to use pepper spray and have her carry it on her handlebars (they make holsters that can be strapped to the bars). Use it liberally when asshats are being asshats.

I wouldn’t strap any defensive item to the handlebars. Anything for personal protection should be kept on your body and within easy reach (i.e. not buried under other items in a jersey or jacket pocket)

On the handlebars it’s visible to any would be assailant who would likely see you reaching for it.

Plus theres a good chance that by the time you decide you need to use it, you might not be within easy reach of your handlebars.

If I’m still upright and moving, I would keep pedaling to get away. Trying to use it while still moving is a good way to crash.

If I’ve stopped it’s because the assailant forced me to stop by blocking my path or caused me to crash which means there’s a good chance I’m no longer within easy reach of the handlebars.

That said, a large metal frame pump makes an excellent improvised baton.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[Emm]

@AFHokie 169836 wrote:

On the handlebars it’s visible to any would be assailant who would likely see you reaching for it.

Second concern with this–is pepper spray allowed on school property? I know having pepper spray was a suspend-able offense in my high school, even if it was left in a car. On the handlebars would make it very easy for school officials to spot. Another object that’s legal, like AFHokie’s recommendation for a frame pump that can be accessed quick may make more sense. A whistle can help too. A few times when I’ve been harassed on the street I got very loud, and it succeeded in getting the harasser to back off. Sunyata’s recommendation about lights is also a very good one. And having her (or her mom) post on the Women and Bikes facebook group may help. There might be some women locally who’d be willing to ride along with her if they commute around the same time.

I also agree with other posters–they should report this to the police, especially someone grabbing her handlebars. Her getting harassed is completely ridiculous. I mean it’s bad enough that this happens to adults, but MIDDLE SCHOOLERS?!?!?

[jabberwocky]

Well, thats enraging.

Helmet cam is a good idea. You can get cheap ones these days. I used to commute with a GoPro on my helmet and absolutely noticed an improvement in driver behavior when it was there.

Definitely get the police involved. I doubt there is a lot they can do immediately, but hopefully they can target the area for increased patrol. Catcalling from cars is bad enough, but actually grabbing at her handlebar while riding is particularly egregious.

@AFHokie 169836 wrote:

I wouldn’t strap any defensive item to the handlebars. Anything for personal protection should be kept on your body and within easy reach (i.e. not buried under other items in a jersey or jacket pocket)

On the handlebars it’s visible to any would be assailant who would likely see you reaching for it.

For carrying something self-defensive on the bike, I’d recommend the HPG Kit Bag:
https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/1/ProductID/2
Its low profile and keeps things easily accessible (and, as AFHokie says, not attached to the bike). Designed for people who want to carry a firearm, but works really well for anything you want accessible and not attention drawing.

That said, I’m not sure I’d ask a middle schooler to carry something like pepper spray or encourage her to engage in any sort of physical defense except as an absolute last resort. Thats a lot of responsibility to put on someone that young. I guess its up to her and her parents. Given that shes experiencing that sort of behavior, I don’t really blame her for not wanting to continue to bike commute.

[OneEighth]

Which section of the W&OD?

[Dewey]

So sorry to read about your friend’s daughter’s experiences. The other commenters suggestions about finding someone to ride with, a camera, helmet light, all sound good. For a brighter front headlight I’ve found Peter White cycles helpful regarding lighting. If she is over 14 she can legally ride an ebike in Virginia, Crazy Lenny’s in Wisconsin are currently doing a deal on an iZip E3 Vibe Plus for $490 plus $200-300 shipping, to get out of Dodge you can add a $50 “boost button” to over-ride the pedal assist and accelerate the ebike up to its 20mph top speed, it comes pre-wired with spade connectors for 6V DC lights running off the battery pack and Peter White can advise what ebike lights would work, cost maybe $50-150 for a high lux headlight.

[Dewey]

@AFHokie 169836 wrote:

a large metal frame pump makes an excellent improvised baton.

A steel U-lock might also work but I agree with others if at all possible to ride out of reach.

[Steve O]

@AFHokie 169836 wrote:

That said, a large metal frame pump makes an excellent improvised baton.

A u-lock used as a weapon could be pretty formidable.

[Author]

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