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GETTING
ACROSS NON-STANDARD INTERSECTIONS
Not
all intersections are of the standard, "crossroads" type.
Though the same principles of lane positioning apply to all intersection
maneuvers, some situations can be confusing and deserve a second
look.
ENTERING
THE ROAD
Bicyclists sometimes will ride against traffic
or take unusual routes across intersections to get to their lane
positions. Don't do it!
Instead, look for a good place to
enter, where you can start out with a normal intersection maneuver:
a left or right turn, or a lane change to merge into traffic. The
traffic laws apply as soon as you're on the road, and even if you
have to walk your bike half a block to a driveway, a legal start
is much safer. Besides, you often get started faster, since you
can then move with the normal flow of traffic.
When entering the road from a narrow
driveway, ride down its middle. A pedestrian could be approaching
on the sidewalk from either side, and a car could be about to enter
the driveway from either direction. By placing yourself in the middle,
you can see in both directions equally well.
When entering the road, look left, but always look right as well
for pedestrians and overtaking cars.
Even when preparing
for a right turn onto a rural highway, look left, right, left, and
then right again. A car approaching from your right can pull out
to pass very quickly and head for you in the lane you're about to
enter.
DIAGONAL
INTERSECTIONS
Traffic follows the usual rules at a diagonal
intersection, but it's harder for drivers to look into the diagonal
cross street behind them. Be especially careful of vans and trucks,
which have a right rear blindspot.
Some of the turns in a diagonal intersection
aren't very sharp, so cars may not slow down very much. Be alert
to oncoming left-turning traffic, and be sure the drivers have seen
you.
ON-
AND OFF- RAMPS
When you're riding along a road and an on-ramp
comes in from the right, stay in your normal lane position. Traffic
from behind you on the ramp will first pass to your right, and then
to your left.
An off-ramp is much like a right-turn
lane, except that the traffic is faster. If you're going straight
and the ramp goes off to the right, stay in your normal traffic
position, to its left. The exiting traffic will pass you on your
right, and the through traffic to pass you on your left.
When you're passing an off-ramp, exiting
drivers may hesitate to pass you on the right. It's effective to
stay a little farther to the left than usual and make a left-turn
signal. Drivers can see your hand signal for hundreds of feet behind
you, so it's useful even when cars are traveling at highway speed.
A one-way roadway can have on- and
off-ramps to the left side. When entering on a ramp from the left,
ride along its left side, then the left side of the roadway until
you can cross to your normal lane position. When exiting on a ramp
to the left, cross to the left before the ramp and ride on the left
side of the ramp.
Sometimes two roadways will join
or divide, but the total number of lanes will stay the same: For
example, a couple of one-lane roads can join into a single two-lane
one-way road. In high-speed traffic, it's best to ride along the
edge, as with ramps. When entering or exiting from the left in slower
traffic, you may ride on the right side of the left road, so you
avoid having to cross as many lanes.
TRAFFIC
CIRCLES
A traffic circle is a left-curving street with
several side streets going off to the right.
The right lane of a traffic circle,
then, is a right-turn lane used by entering and exiting traffic.
Enter the traffic circle in the right lane if you're going to turn
right at the first exit. But if you're going past the first exit,
change lanes to the inside as you enter the circle. Ride around
at the outer edge of the inside lane. It sometimes helps to make
a left-turn signal while in the inside lane; drivers then feel comfortable
about passing you on the right as they exit the circle.
Change back to the outside lane as
you approach your exit. Use your normal tactics and hand signals
for lane-changing.
In a traffic circle or rotary intersection, a) Keep to the right
if you will take the first exit, b) and c), Ride in the inside lane
if you are going past the first exit.
Because of the
traffic circle's left curve, cars go straight to turn right. For
this reason, it's especially dangerous to cross an exit of a traffic
circle in the right lane. Bicyclists who always keep to the right
will tell you that traffic circles are very dangerous. On the other
hand, you'll find it surprisingly easy to ride around in the inside
lane. Drivers don't go very fast there, since they follow the curve.
TWO
LEFT TURNS IN A ROW
Sometimes you need to make two left turns quickly,
one after the other; for example, if you're turning left at an intersection
and then turning left into a driveway at the middle of the block.
In this case, don't head for the
right side of the street after the first left turn. You may not
have time to change lanes to the left again. Finish your first left
turn in the correct lane to begin your second left turn.
LEFT
TURNS ON ONE-WAY STREETS
If a one-way street is two or more lanes wide,
laws in most states allow you to ride at either side. When you make
a left turn from a one-way street onto another one-way street, it's
easiest to ride around the corner on the left.
And there they are -- the difficult
intersection types. Once you can handle these, you can ride just
about anywhere. You can even figure out how to handle intersections
not described here by using the principles of lane changing and
positioning on which all intersection maneuvers are based.
Steer
out of trouble >
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