Signaling your approach: Bicycle safety should rank top-of-mind for all riders
“You can’t remind people about safety too much,” reader David Owens commented.
With warmer weather and more cyclists hitting the roadways, safety should rank top-of-mind for anyone sharing traffic with vehicles of greater mass and speed. As of early May, motorist crashes have already killed four Illinois cyclists, including two in Cook County. In 2023, 42 cyclists died in vehicle crashes.
Safety, however, applies to trails as well as roadways. For those biking on multi-user trails, roles are reversed. Cyclists are the “motorists,” faster, often heavier and more maneuverable. Trail traffic is diverse — runners, walkers, equestrians, dogs and others — all slower-paced.
With trail users, ages range from toddlers to seniors, quick-reflexed to slow, able-bodied to those with disabilities, including visually and hearing-impaired. People frequent trails for different reasons, not necessarily to move quickly from point A to point B, like roadway users.
If we are all truly “along for the ride,” as this column aspires, responsibility for trail safety also must be top priority.
One Northwest suburban reader who walks frequently with her husband in numerous parks and forest preserves expressed frustration with zooming cyclists. Her complaint: they approach too fast and offer little warning or none at all. Consequently, the couple avoid Fabbrini Park and Barrington Road Pond in Hoffman Estates, and especially Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village.
Her fears are not unfounded. A June 2013 bike-pedestrian crash at Lake Arlington took the life of a trail walker there. A young biker collided with a 74-year-old woman who died from a head injury two weeks later (dailyherald.com/20130709/news/fatal-lake-arlington-trail-accident-renews-calls-for-safety).
The woman’s death led to improvements by the Arlington Heights Park District that included painted path arrows, directional signage and a change in the flow of biking vs. foot traffic.
Yelling is free
Cyclists can use horns, whistles or bells to signal their approach from behind. These inexpensive devices break the ambient calm of Mother Nature, easily heard even on windy days. Of course, yelling costs you nothing.
It’s just pure courtesy to alert someone you are about to pass. By the way, this also applies to all you speedier cyclists when overtaking riders like me.
Whether it’s yells or bells, announcing yourself allows others time to react. Depending on the situation, shouting “on your left” or “on your right” provides even more information. Timing your alert can be tricky — too soon and others won’t hear you, too late and they jump.
Speed is critical. Slowing to pass others yields fewer startled reactions. Many multiuse paths have posted speed limits. Forest preserve trails in Cook, Kane and McHenry counties have a 15 mph limit. In Lake County Forest Preserves, it’s 20.
In the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Johanna Biedron, community relations executive assistant, noted there’s no set speed.
“Any person operating a bicycle must operate at a controlled speed and not endanger the safety of themselves, others, or property,” said Biedron.
Rules or no rules, trail courtesy demands speed appropriate to conditions — wet pavement, large groups, dogs.
Safety: A shared responsibility
Cyclists and non-cyclists alike should make allowances for each other. Paths vary in width, with S-turns and blind curves designed to accommodate terrain features, plus add visual interest. Even the same path will be narrower or wider at different points.
Regardless of design, with little room for error, everyone shares responsibility for safety. Very simple, predictable protocols are customary: travel right, pass left; when stopped, move off-trail; manage erratic movements of children and pets.
As the 2013 Daily Herald editorial noted after the Lake Arlington fatality, users on foot should stay right, not expanding to three or four abreast, yielding no space to pass. It also decried earbuds, which block sound, advice for all path users.
Some years ago I witnessed a ballet close call on Cook County’s Deer Grove Trail. The twirling dancer, totally enthralled by her ear-budded music, finally heard me yell “on your left” after my third shout. Startled, her grand jeté into the underbrush probably saved her from the ER, not to mention her stage career.
If you can’t live without your music, podcast or favorite sports jock, wear just one earbud. Better yet, keep both ears unblocked: Invest in bone induction headphones or a Bluetooth speaker. Like a bell, a speaker also announces your oncoming approach.
My most exasperating encounter is a dog off leash whose nose leads him randomly. Puppies, like human youngsters, are even more curious, unpredictable and noncompliant.
Other aggravations: on-leash dogs sniffing on the left, while the owner texts on the right. Also, dogs on 20-foot leashes. Either way the path is compromised.
Cycling shorts
The 2024 Ride Guide published by Ride Illinois lists upcoming organized Chicago area rides and club sponsors. See club websites for details.
June 2: Arlington Heights Bicycle Club, Arlington 500 in Lake Zurich.
June 9: Bicycle Club of Lake County, BCLC Ramble in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.
July 7: Fox Valley Bicycle and Ski Club, Swedish Days Ride in Sugar Grove.
• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.