Portland Water Bureau Launches Bike/Truck Safety Campaign

Check out this video, via BikePortland.org, on bicycle safety, part of a Portland Water Bureau campaign to reduce truck-cyclist collisions there. Last month, the Water Bureau held a bike safety seminar, which involved cyclists climbing into the cab of a city truck to see (or not see) driver blind spots for themselves.

The accompanying vid definitely puts the onus on cyclists (since "drivers are trained for safety"). Still, there’s valuable info here on how the road looks from a truck driver’s perspective, and it’s impressive to see a city not only acknowledging the dangers trucks pose to cyclists, but taking action to mitigate them. Writes BikePortland.org editor Jonathan Maus:

I’m usually skeptical of educational videos as they are often cheesy
and pedantic. But this one worked. Much of the footage was taken from
inside the truck’s cab on crowded bikeways I’m very familiar with, but
they looked completely different from a trucker’s perspective. It was
eye-opening and nerve-racking just to watch the truck’s rear and side
mirrors as bikes darted in and out of view — I couldn’t imagine the
stress of actually operating that vehicle.

  • There is a fine line of stupidity when it comes to exercising our rights as cyclists. Yes, we have the right to roads, especially when bike lanes exist. However, some caution needs to be exercised as well.

    Drivers who are not familiar with cycling often don’t expect a bicycle to be as fast as they are. They believe to be clear far more often, and far more quickly than they usually are.

    This video is an excellent example of this and I hope cyclists everywhere will heed its warning.

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