Bicycle Safety for Dummies

bike path marking

 One of the larger problems of the content farms that flourished before Google slapped 'em upside the head with the Panda II update was that more than a few of the self-appointed freelance journalists thought nothing of "writing" a post by performing a cut-reword-paste job on something they'd read somewhere else. Obviously, they'd be nailed for plagiarism without the rewording step, but they often lacked sufficient knowledge of their subject to realize when amokking in a thesaurus introduced problematic content. That, we suspect, is what happened when Terry Hurley tried to share a few "Bicycle Safety Tips" with everyone at LoveToKnow.com.

If the truth be told, this is a topic that's been covered a jillion times online, so we have no idea which content Hurley decided to reword. And to be further truthful, most of what she uploaded was more or less correct. That being said, Terry's reword job introduced a few head-scratchers and at least one dangerous bit of misinformation. We'll start with some questionable statements:

• "In most places, bicycles are considered a type of vehicle..." – A bicycle is a "type of vehicle" everywhere. In most (US) jurisdictions, they are considered a legal vehicle with all the rights and responsibilities of a motor vehicle. That's a little more serious than a "type of vehicle"!
• "Always ride your bicycle on the side of the road with the flow of traffic." – That's ambiguous: does Hurley mean "always ride on the side of the road," or does she mean "always ride with the flow of traffic"? For the record, it's "with the flow of traffic."
• "Do not pass motorists on the right side." – No, Terry, the rule is not to pass motorists stopped at a sign or light on the right side unless there is a separate lane.

Hurley then pounded out a bunch of boilerplate about helmets, lights, and reflectors; neglecting to mention state laws that require any or all of the above.

We saved the most... interesting for last:

"If you are riding in slow-moving traffic, ride in the middle lane."

With that, our staff cyclists almost all snorted in derisions. You see, in her reword step, Terry left out some important words. Her statement should read, "If you are riding in slow-moving traffic, ride in the middle of the lane." Even that is a little dicey; many cycling experts believe you should always ride ¹⁄₃ of the width from the curb.

Hurley had zero to say about carrying packages (or another person) or about riding two abreast, which – although it irritates some drivers – is fully legal in most states. She also forgot to even mention bicycle lanes. Given her clear ignorance of anything she hadn't read in her source, we have no choice but to award Terry the honor of a Dumbass of the Day award, bicycle safety division.

DD - BICYCLES