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Sharing the Road

As much as any of us might like to wish, we don’t own the road. We have to share it with other drivers. Sometimes, we have to share it with bicyclists and pedestrians, too. Encountering something other than another car while you’re driving can quickly become stressful. Take these tips to heart to reduce your stress and keep yourself (and others!) safe on the roads.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Pedestrians, Bicyclists & Motorcyclists

Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists are users that have less protection and are at more risk in traffic. For this reason, they are known as “vulnerable road users”. It is very important to do everything we can to keep them safe since we have the most control over whether they would survive in a crash.[/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”Pedestrians” title_align=”separator_align_left”][vc_column_text]

A pedestrian is considered any person that is on foot, whether they are walking, running, jogging, hiking, sitting, or even lying down! Skaters and skateboarders are considered pedestrians, too.

Some ways to protect them:

• Be extra watchful when in shopping plazas and neighborhoods
• Don’t back up out of a parking space until you do a thorough check behind your car
• Look for signs that there might be people nearby
• Search for pedestrians when approaching crosswalks (yield for them if they are crossing!)

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You could easily consider bicyclists pedestrians on wheels. Bicyclists are often found on the roadways or in their respective bicycle lane. Bike lanes are found on the right side of the road are typically 4 to 5 feet wide, however, in areas with higher traffic speeds and volume, they may be wider.

Protect them by:

• Check your blind spots before making a right turn at an intersection
• When passing them, keep at least 3″ between your car and them
• Increase your following distance so they have time to respond safely to road hazards
• Be especially watchful in urban areas and near shopping plazas and neighborhoods

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Motorcyclists are road users that are riding on a small two-wheeled, motorized vehicle. They are much more unbalanced than a normal vehicle traveling on the roads, and do not typically have any protection other than a helmet and eye-protection devices. They are directly impacted by environmental elements such as wind, rain, dust particles and even small bugs! In addition to this, they must always be aware of road surface conditions such as oil, potholes and mud.

You can help by:

• Making your intentions clear (always signal your turn!)
• Check your blind spots (motorcycles are small, fast and easy to miss)
• Increase your following distance to give them time to respond to traffic flows and road surface conditions

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