Westside BikeSIDE!

Tuesday I was riding on Pico east to an appointment. I was approaching a red light 300 yards away at Bundy when a large black pickup passed me.

I appreciate aspects of how he passed me. He passed smoothly, travelling only 6 or 7mph faster than me. As he passed I had a feeling of confidence that he would not hit me, assuming I didn’t need to swerve.

However, he passed with about 6 inches of clearance. If I had to swerve to avoid a road hazard, or avoid a car door, then I would have been toast. So while we waited for the light to change I approached him to discuss it.

Often when I approach drivers I am livid because they callously endangered my life. However, in this case I felt that the driver cared, but simply didn’t understand cyclists, or the dangers they face. So I approached the conversation from a standpoint that he simply didn’t understand that I need more than 6 inches to maneuver.

Long story shorter - the conversation went well. I started by explaining that I appreciated the care he took in passing me, explained my objection to the closeness of the pass, and pointed out eventually the law will force him to give me 3 feet of clearance when passing. He initially objected but then asked what he should do. I explained that he should wait until he could change lanes or pass within the lane with sufficient clearance. I ended the conversation by thanking him for talking to me. I’m not sure I persuaded him, but I think he will be less likely to stereotype cyclists as crazy irrational nutjobs.

I almost never talk to drivers like that, and I think that’s a mistake. By approaching driver’s with the assumption that they are behaving unethically you immediately put them on the defensive, and opportunities for persuasion become scarce. If you approach them with the attitude that they don’t understand that they’ve endangered you, you create an opportunity to engage them rationally, even if they were behaving recklessly before. If they turn out to be a raging cyclist killer then you’ll find that out quickly - and you can change your approach.

So next time somebody runs nearly me over, I’ll take several deep breaths, promise myself to try to remain calm, and approach the situation with the attitude that they just don’t understand.

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