Bicyclists Express Worry Regarding Safety

By Lisa Massicotte, The Chronicle

June 28, 2021

Since the pandemic, many have found their way to newly acquired outdoor hobbies, including bicycling.

But along with people’s newfound love of cycling comes a growing safety concern of cyclists out on the roadways this summer.

“I would encourage the inexperienced riders to find people with experience on the road and pair up with them, maybe through a club,” Willimantic Fire Department Chief and cyclist Marc Scrivener said.

But, regardless of someone’s experience level, the cycling community’s concern over distracted and aggressive motorists is at a high, according to local cyclists.

“We are vulnerable to distracted drivers, impaired drivers and aggressive drivers,” Mansfield resident and longtime cyclist Beth Hankins said.

Hankins, who is also a member of the Thread City Cyclers (TCC) club, described her recent encounters with such motorists.

“I just had the worst experience. In the last couple of weeks I’ve just had drivers coal roll me, where they spew a blast of black smoke on purpose because they think it’s funny, and another one veered up right next to me just to terrify me,” Hankins said.

As a cyclist, Hankins said she and other riders can do their best to ride safely and obey the rules of the road.

However, it also depends on the drivers.

Concerns

TCC club member and Ellington resident Patrick Bowe went into detail on several safety concerns cyclists and motorists need to be aware of when out on the road.

Those concerns included:

• Overly confident cyclists and motorists running lights and stop signs.

• Making turns on the road.

• Traveling through intersections.

• Cyclists blending in with the surrounding environment.

• Riding through patches of shade and sunlight, which can impact vision.

One common incident Bowe sees with cyclists is when they want to travel straight through an intersection while a car coming up behind them wants to take a right turn.

“Very frequently the car will pass the bike rider, (the motorist) really doesn’t have a good handle on how fast you’re actually moving. As soon as they’ve passed you, you’re out of their range of vision and thought process,” Bowe began.

Then the car would slow down, after passing the cyclist and move over as it makes its turn, which may result in the cyclist crashing straight into the car, he said.

“That is a very common accident,” he said.

For Storrs resident and TCC club member Kerry Landeck, one of the biggest risks as a cyclist is making a left-hand turn, especially at a traffic light, she said.

“A cyclist has to look behind them, while nudging into traffic, waving to get the drivers’ attention to let them know you are there and looking to turn,” Landeck explained.

“I always try to give a thumbs up and smile as a thanks,” she said.

Although she’s never had a negative experience making this turn, at other times she said she has experienced aggressive motorists.

“I have been told to ‘get off the road’ and buzzed by cars, cars driving close, intentionally,” Landeck said.

Another big concern mentioned by Bowe and law enforcement was cyclists not wearing helmets and not replacing them when needed.

Bowe said one cannot plan to fall or not to fall during a ride and then shared his story about a run-in with a chicken.

“Last year, I was attacked by a chicken south of Willimantic. Someone had free-range chickens and one of them came out to the side of the road and got tangled up in my front wheel,” he said.

“I pivoted over the top of the bicycle, went down on my shoulder and ruined my helmet.”

Although it may seem like a funny story, that helmet saved his life, he said.

Additionally, Bowe has seen other cyclers be reluctant to replace helmets after having an impact, which is dangerous because the helmet is no longer effective once its foam has been compressed.

Scrivener said he only rides on the road with a group due to many of these aforementioned reasons.

Scrivener said motorists need to have patience with cyclists, as they have the same right to be out on the road.

“I certainly know there’s people who have reported some aggressive driving and intentional aggression toward bicyclists,” he said.

He added he’s seen people complaining online about how cyclists inconvenience drivers.

“There’s often some degree of complaining on social media about how the bicycles inconvenience the drivers and, I’m sorry, people may feel inconvenienced, but that doesn’t give anybody the right to act aggressively toward the cyclists,” he said.

Patience

Patience is important because it may take a few moments for cyclists to see a car coming and move over in time, Scrivener explained.

“It doesn’t always happen instantaneously. It may take a few moments. You’ve got to use some common sense. Just slow down to take a moment to think through the situation before zooming past,” he said.

When a cyclist is faced with an aggressive or threatening motorist situation, Coventry Police Chief Mark Palmer said to get as much information as possible about the location.

He said that includes the make and model and color of the vehicle, what the driver looks like and, ideally, a license plate.

“That’s something that should certainly be reported to the police. Get the license plate of the vehicle if you can. Call the police department right away and we’ll respond,” Palmer said.

But to many cyclists, reporting incidents to the police may be easier said than done, according to Hankins.

“It’s just really hard to get a license plate when you’re riding and someone is speeding off in front of you, so I don’t know what to do,” she said.

Scrivener said it’s important for the cyclist to not engage with any aggressive drivers and to instead focus on de-escalating the situation.

If a driver pulls over and becomes threatening, Scrivener said to immediately dial 911 and talk to the dispatcher in a loud and obvious manner.

“That usually right there causes the threatening person to take a pause and think about what they’re doing,” he explained.

Follow Lisa Massicotte on Twitter - @LMassicotteTC.

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