Respect between cyclists and drivers

Some of the most important trials in the country send us a message of awareness

 

In recent years with the great growth of triathlon and cycling the number of people who go out to train on Spanish roads has multiplied considerably ... and with them also the number of collisions with fellow cyclists, rare is the weekend that we do not have a news of any outrage.

In the following article I intend to try to raise awareness not only to the drivers that respect the cyclists, but also to the cyclists that we must also comply with the rules. It is very painful when talking with friends outside the world of sports "Have you seen? Yesterday they ran over 10 cyclists and 3 passed away " and by response of some of them you receive "It's that the cyclists circulate badly, they do not respect traffic lights ..." and the worst thing is that this thought is very widespread among drivers.

Between all we must change this opinion because otherwise we will never get to be respected, we must also bear in mind that cyclists are the weakest and in the face of any accident we have almost all the tickets to lose out to a car.

Therefore, we must all be aware to comply with traffic regulations, not go over 2 cyclists in parallel, do not skip traffic lights or continuous lines, do not use the mobile phone (the typical selfies going by bike that are often posted on social networks) . Also use lights (white front and red behind) when we drive at night. On the other hand I recommend "help to see us" always going with light-colored clothes and also for our safety is convenient to use a rear-view mirror to know what is coming from behind.

To finish the article we asked the opinion of several professional triathletes about what advice they could give us to improve the relationship between cyclists and drivers.

Víctor del Corral

I agree that sometimes there are cyclists who do not meet the standards, although these are the least, and that drivers may be upset when they see such a situation, but I think one of the main problems is that the roads are not suitable for a good coexistence between cyclists and drivers, the roads are narrow, many lack shoulder, sometimes there are hundreds of traffic lights that force you to stop continuously without an alternative option, ... This ends up making the circulation a jungle in which unfortunately we always lose the weakest, the cyclists.

I always like to say, if you want to be respected, start by respecting your first one. As a cyclist I respect the regulations as much as possible, even so I find myself sometimes in annoying and dangerous situations, as the situation is what it is, and we all need to live together and share the road, from here I would like to ask the cyclist for respect.

Miquel Blanchart

The truth is that lately it is very common to hear some other altercation between cyclists and drivers, but the truth is that both parties believe that we are equally responsible since we should respect more the code of circulation and not act as if we were pedestrians (Pass the traffic lights in red, change direction in places not allowed, etc ...), and especially if we circulate in a group, always in a row of 2, or in single file.

But on the other hand, the drivers think that they should have a little more empathy, and above all respect, since many times they act putting in danger the life of the cyclists, from a simple touch of horn where this can cause the odd gesture causing a fall, from a constant pressure with accelerations and improper approaches, to other more serious cases such as attempts to run over or threaten to make us leave the road. We are very vulnerable and I know that according to what moment a game may seem that only scares us, but at the moment of the accident the thing changes for a lifetime.

That is why we must respect the code of traffic and thus live together on the road, and above all we must never get to the confrontation between vehicle and cyclist, as this can have very serious consequences.

Guruzte Frades

I think there is no culture that the road belongs to everyone and we all have the right and duty to drive on them and respect traffic regulations. It's a matter of being civic. However, the driver of a car always has to take into account that the cyclist's chassis is his own body and that you have to pay close attention when carrying out any maneuver near him.

Saleta Castro

I think that to ask for respect, the first thing we have to do is respect ourselves. It is clear that there is everything and there will always be a driver trying to take us off the road, insult us or whistle but more reason not to skip traffic lights, not go three, do not go with headphones ... It would even help to go with clothes that favor visibility, light colors or with something reflective. And always be clear that on the road if we have an accident, cyclists are the ones we lose.

Judith Corachán

My advice would be to have "respect" on the road, on both sides. I believe that the roads, unfortunately, are not prepared for this coexistence but with more reason we must all do our part so that we can circulate without incident. I think a key point is for drivers to know the rules.

That they know that we can circulate in parallel, that they know a group of cyclists is as if it were a single vehicle and in a roundabout they should wait for the last one to pass ... And besides the rules, they understand that a bike does not have the same capacity as reaction and braking that a car, as it affects the slipstream of a vehicle nearby, we need a space to dodge something that we find lying on the road, that obviously our body is the chassis and we play our lives ... to put on in our skin!

Of course, for this to happen, we cyclists are the first to do our part respecting the rules.

Gustavo Rodríguez

I guess many drivers will see us as a nuisance and more in this society in which we live, in which it seems that a chronometer on a permanent basis sets the pace of all our actions ... bad combination on the road. Basically, I think everything comes down to an exercise in empathy by both parties.

If you are a driver, when you have to overtake a cyclist, do it with respect. Think that the one that circulates in the bike could be your son, father, woman ... and be aware that the 1`5m is an obligation, and not a courtesy. It is difficult to explain the vulnerability that is felt when you pass a car almost touching, but believe me it is a lot.

If you cycle, do not give reasons to feed that animosity that some drivers feel towards cyclists. Respect the rules and facilitate overtaking in compromised areas. Sometimes small gestures can greatly improve coexistence.

From Triathlon News we want to send this message so that we are all prudent when we drive a vehicle, either 2 or 4 wheels. The important thing is the safety of everyone and mutual respect in order to save lives on the road