With students back in school, more bicycles are on the road. While traffic congestion can test anyone's patience, it's important to share the road with cyclists.

Remaining calm, obeying traffic laws and treating each other with courtesy and respect can make your journey safer and more enjoyable, whether by car or bicycle.

Under Texas law, bicycles are vehicles and are afforded the same rights and responsibilities of any other vehicle. For cyclists to be treated as drivers of vehicles, they should act as drivers of vehicles: ride as if you're driving a slow-moving car, ride with traffic, signal your intentions and use lights at night.

Drivers should remember to change lanes, wait until it is safe and leave extra room while passing.

It is sometimes feasible to pass a bicycle within a wide lane, but leave at least three feet between auto and bicycle. If the lane is too narrow, don't take the chance.

Cyclists ride on the right but need at least a foot of safety margin from the curb. Debris, potholes, and glass are hazardous to bicycles and force cyclists to the left. Cyclists also need to stay out of the door zone of parked cars, which is approximately three feet.

These same hazards can also be present in bike lanes, forcing cyclists to ride in the traffic lane. Cyclists can see hazards that drivers cannot and should ride in the center of a narrow lane to discourage motorists from passing too closely.

Intersections and driveways pose the biggest threat for collisions and require drivers and cyclists to anticipate problems.

Novice cyclists and some drivers believe cycling on the sidewalk is safer than cycling on the street, but because drivers are not accustomed to looking for traffic coming from sidewalks, it is more dangerous than riding in the road.

Sidewalk cycling is illegal in many places, and it increases the danger at intersections and driveways and can cause conflicts and collisions with pedestrians.

Riding on sidewalks demands extra caution, and cyclists who ride on sidewalks are often less knowledgeable about safety than those who ride in the street.

Drivers should anticipate cyclist mistakes without encouraging them. Cyclists should appreciate driver courtesy and not disrupt traffic flow.

Cyclists need to choose the correct lane. Right-turn-only lanes are for turning right, not for proceeding straight. To make a left turn, merge to the left. If cyclists can't merge to the left, cyclists have the option of making a left turn as a pedestrian, first crossing the street in one direction, then in another. This is safer than trying to turn from the right side of the road.

Drivers need to be cautious when crossing a cyclist or bike lane while turning right. First, merge into the far right lane, including the bike lane, then turn. Speeding around a cyclist and suddenly turning right or stopping is an accident in the making.

Cyclists should use hand signals when merging or turning and always look back over their shoulder for oncoming vehicles before merging, even if you have a mirror. Motorists can't see your mirror, and when cyclists don't look back before merging, drivers think the cyclist didn't check for oncoming traffic.

Most drivers are doing their best to look out for cyclists, but the few who aren't are a lot easier to notice.

Jean Marie Linhart is a bicycling safety instructor with the League of American Bicyclists and a visiting assistant professor at Texas A&M University.

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Posted by: KT On: 10/22/2008

Comment Title: Thank you
You know as a bicycle dependent person I greatly appreciate this article. Growing up in a big city full of alternative transportation and then coming to Texas A&M is like night and day difference. So many people yell at bikers, or harass them by getting too close to them with their cars. Where I come from people share the road willingly. In the southern states where the car is the dominant means of transportation locals just don't understand bikers. Often bikers can't afford cars (especially independent college students such as myself) or they just want to be kind to the environment. Regardless of whether or not you believe that global warming is human induced, a car still pollutes and no matter how you look at it, a car is not "good" for the environment. Also it is a great way to stay trim. Obesity in the US is outrageous. Riding a bike can help people live a healthy life.

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