When it comes to cars and bikes, those kindergarten lessons about sharing sometimes fall a little short.
Conflicts between drivers and cyclists are nothing new. But the weather's getting nicer and gas prices suck, so more people are breaking out their bikes.
Cars and bikes can coexist, even if the roads aren't ideal for cyclists. Both groups just need to be mindful of each other and obey the traffic laws.
"Most of the time we get along beautifully, we really do," says Dave Lamb, an avid recreational cyclist who lives in Chili. He's also an active member of the Rochester Bicycling Club and helped organize a recent Savvy Cyclist class.
When bikes and cars don't get along, however, it can be tragic. Last month, three area cyclists were hit by cars in a single week. A cyclist was killed in one of those collisions.
"It seems pretty early to have three pretty serious accidents," Lamb says.
In two of the collisions, including the fatal one in Palmyra, the drivers were charged with driving under the influence. In those cases, it's likely there wasn't much the cyclists could do.
The third accident brings up a couple of road-sharing issues. In that case, the cyclist was struck from behind on Lake Avenue. Police said that the cyclist swerved in front of the car.
The stakes involved with sharing the road are higher for the people on bikes. Twenty-five pounds of metal - or sometimes carbon fiber - tubing and the fragile human body don't stand a chance against a ton or two of rigid steel. In 2005, for example, 748 cyclists across the country were killed by motor vehicles, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In New York State, bicycles are classified as vehicles and, as such, are granted the same rights to the road as cars and motorcycles. Drivers need to be aware of cyclists and must treat them as vehicles. But for cyclists, with those rights come responsibilities.
"Obey the rules of the road," Lamb says. "Don't blow through that red light even though it's pretty easy to do on a bike."
They should also avoid swerving and other unpredictable movements.
One of the biggest problems cyclists face is the understanding of where exactly they are required to ride. Case in point: In a recent Democrat and Chronicle story, a Rochester police lieutenant was quoted as saying that cyclists should "stay as close to the curb as possible." Cycling advocates and even State DMV guidelines warn against doing that.
Yes, cyclists must stay to the right on the road when it's practical. State laws, however, require only that cyclists stay as far to the right as is safe. Safe, says Lamb, is left to the discretion of the cyclist. It's OK to move to the left - called "taking the lane" - if there is debris or other hazards. Sometimes, that's the safest and most visible spot for them.
"It's a mistake to try to push cyclists as far to the right as possible," says Joshua Poppel, executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. "There's a minimum maneuverability that they need to maintain."
The closer a cyclist gets to the curb, the more likely that he or she will encounter potholes, drains, debris like broken glass or car parts, or any number of other hazards.
It's smart, and often necessary, for cyclists to maintain a buffer of a few feet on either side. That depends, in part, on cars giving them some space - not squeezing them farther to the right, possibly into unsafe positions. If a cyclist is forced to ride too close to parked cars, for example, "there's a very good potential you will have the unhappy experience of getting doored," Lamb says. Riding too close to parked cars can also make it difficult for cars at intersections to see an approaching cyclist.
But Lamb and Poppel are experienced cyclists. As the weather warms up and gas prices climb, there are going to be more people like John Wiesenthal on the road.
Wiesenthal, a Henrietta resident, has started using his bike as transportation - it's a way to get to the post office or library instead of relying on his car. He'd also like to start commuting to work. As a cyclist, he's not terribly experienced, but he's already taking notice of problems that others have griped about for years.
He's noticing, for example, that a lot of shoulders aren't very wide. If he gets pushed too far to the right, he has to deal with storm drains. Wiesenthal would like to see the cycling experience become safer and less intimidating, and he'd like to see some pavement designated as bicycle-only. Or at least more bike lanes.
"I'd like to see the community start talking," Wiesenthal says.