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COLUMN: A Cariboo cyclist and a Williams Lake driver navigate sharing the road

A correspondence between a cyclist and a driver sharing their experiences in sharing the road
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An intrepid cyclist rolls up to a business along First Avenue in Williams Lake, with some snow still on the hills in the background. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

This column is a tongue in cheek correspondence between Maddie the Motorist, and Byron the Bicyclist. It is meant to educate as well as entertain the reader.

Dear Maddie;

Riding my bike to work the other day, a motorist approached from behind slowing down, staying behind me until the intersection where they turned right, and I was safe.

A block later, another motorist passed me too close and then turned right in front of me.

Yikes!

I managed to slow down avoiding getting squeezed to the curb.

But this made me nervous because this is one of the more common ways for cyclists to be hit and injured by drivers.

It seems some motorists aren’t quite sure what to do.

What is the best way to educate drivers and keep all road users safe?

Signed: Byron the Bicyclist

Dear Byron;

Yes, you are right about not being quite sure about bicyclists.

Sometimes I see cyclists go anywhere they want, which can scare and confuse drivers.

My driver’s education of many years ago taught me bicyclists have the same legal rights and responsibilities as motorists do.

However, in practice, I’m not quite sure how to deal with cyclists, because the bicyclist moves slower.

I suppose us drivers should err on the side of caution and not cross in front of the bicyclist.

It can seem like it takes a long time to wait for a person on a bike, but the other day I counted, and it actually only took a few seconds.

Lifting my foot from the gas and touching the brakes to slow down for a few seconds isn’t so bad.

Signed; Maddie the Motorist

Bert Groenenberg is a cyclist and pedestrian who has mainly biked or walked to work on Oliver Street for 30 years.