{"id":7236,"date":"2014-04-23T22:09:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T05:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=7236"},"modified":"2014-04-24T10:22:51","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T17:22:51","slug":"30-days-biking-day-23-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/04\/23\/30-days-biking-day-23-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Days of Biking, Day 23: Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The driver looked directly at me as I stepped into the crosswalk at First and Jackson and rolled through his right turn without stopping. Guess that red light was just a suggestion, huh, buddy?<\/p>\n

Failure to yield being one of the top causes of collisions, this driver’s behavior didn’t come as a total surprise. What saved me from what could have been a tragic — possibly fatal — encounter was that I made eye contact. It told me that he knew I was there and he didn’t give the hindquarters of a rodent. \"Closeup<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u00a0learned the importance of eye contact when I took the League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 course taught in Spokane by Eileen Hyatt, a League-Certified Instructor who served on this organization’s board at the time. I’d been riding to work at WSU Spokane for a while (having met with Eileen early on as my Bike Buddy who helped analyze a good route and reminded me of the rules of the road for bicycling). Eileen assured me that I’d still benefit from the course despite my experience.<\/p>\n

She was right, and one of the best tips I took away was\u00a0always make eye contact.<\/strong> Coming to a turn,\u00a0look<\/strong> at the drivers coming toward you.\u00a0Look<\/strong> at the pedestrians stepping into the crosswalk. Turn your head while waiting at a red light, make eye contact<\/strong> with the driver behind you, and smile. That way he\/she knows that you know there’s someone waiting behind you as you start to turn your cranks coming out of a dead stop and you’ve provided that little bit of human connection that takes you out of the “speed bump” classification.<\/p>\n

Special note for riding around big rigs of any kind — RVs, semis, pick-up trucks, commercial vans: Position yourself where you can see the driver’s side-view mirrors. If you can’t see them, the driver can’t see you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you look,\u00a0<\/strong>you get to see if the people you see actually see you and acknowledge you, and you increase the odds they’ll adjust their behavior accordingly.<\/p>\n

I’m especially attuned to this because the closest I ever came to getting hit by a driver was when she turned her head in my general direction but her eyes didn’t actually do their work.<\/a>\u00a0Because\u00a0I\u00a0<\/em>was looking at\u00a0her,<\/em> I knew this and had time to adjust and prevent a collision.<\/p>\n

This evening as I left the office and rolled my bike along the sidewalk toward the same corner as this morning’s crosswalk encounter I made eye contact with a driver waiting to turn left into the lane I’d be entering with my bike.<\/p>\n

This time the driver saw me and held position rather than hitting the gas and trying to beat me into the curve. Thanks, Driver #2. The eyes have it.<\/p>\n

Day 23 in the 30 Days of Biking, 30 Words, Nearly 30 Pictures<\/a> series<\/em><\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n