How do you as a cyclist avoid getting hit by cars turning right?

I recently befriended a nice fella named Jan. He’s into graphic design and has been known to collect the odd plastic novelty toy. Hailing from the Czech Republic, the 30-year-old came to Vancouver at age 11 and is one of those annoying Europeans whose English is better than many native speakers.

He gave me a questioning look when I asked him about any formal safety education he may have been taught in the Czech Republic. He does remember a once-a-year bomb drill where everyone went to the school basement and tried on gas masks.

Like Natasha who I interviewed for a previous blog, Jan doesn’t remember having to wear a seatbelt when he was in a car with his parents. In fact, he doesn’t remember seatbelts even being in cars.

As for his parents’s direction in the safety department, “They weren’t overhanded (with safety prevention), Jan told me.

“I think they let us explore quite a bit, so the minor stuff like using a knife meant letting us get nicked a few times. This was part of the learning process for us.”

In Canada, he says he learned more about safety from experience than through school, friends, or television.

While riding a bike quickly down a street without a helmet, he was once pulled over by the police and asked why he wasn’t wearing one. Despite the incident, Jan hasn’t invested in a helmet of any kind yet.

“I still bike without a helmet, but its more recreational biking along the sea wall,” the relaxed Jan told me; however, he followed up with, “I know I should wear one.”

Jan has never broken a body part before. This speaks to his conscientious nature but also speaks to his reluctance to not wear a helmet. He told me that if he had ever injured himself riding his bike, skate boarding, or skiing, he might actually put a helmet on.

To get around the possible dangerous of riding a bike in traffic, Jan takes the bus instead. He says he’s seen too many near accidents between bikes and cars to want to ride in traffic. As a pedestrian, he’s vigilant about his safety, but he’s not so sure of others.

“If you’re a pedestrian in Amsterdam, you have to watch out for bikes and cars. There’s definitely a hierarchy in Europe, and pedestrians are at the bottom of it.”

Jan went on to tell me,

“I don’t know if it’s a Canadian or North American phenomenon, but I think overall people here assume that other people will look out for them. I think in Europe they’re more conscious of themselves (in traffic). The boundaries are more established. In Prague, even if you’re walking in a crosswalk, you know the car may not stop for you. Here I see people getting off the bus, and immediately they jump into the street.”

Jan comments made me think about my attitudes about how traffic is supposed to work. I have found myself more than once stepping into traffic relying on the car speeding towards me to stop.

As a pedestrian or cyclist what’s your attitude towards safety in traffic?

When I last blogged on this subject, my interviewee made an interesting point about how culture relates to safety. He said that while in Europe he, “…noticed fewer people wearing bike helmets compared to here. The [European] drivers have been taught how to drive around vehicles”. Whether that statement is true or not is up for debate. However, the idea that culture contributes to your attitudes on safety is one that I thought about when I was interviewing Natasha.

Natasha came to Canada from the United Arab Emirates when she was six years old. In UAE, she rem embers being taught about fire prevention in school but not much else regarding safety. Shortly after arriving in Canada, Natasha remembered her mother telling her, “If you’re in the back seat [of a car], you don’t have to wear a seatbelt, but if you’re in the front seat, then you have to wear one, or you’ll get a ticket.” When in Asia, Natasha said, seat belts weren’t really, “on the radar.”

“Bike helmets are a new thing for me”, says Natasha. She bought her first one in her 20s. When I asked her why she eventually bought one, she replied, “The older you get, the more accidents you hear about, so the more real it feels. As a kid, it just never felt real.”

But her story about roller blading might give more insight into why she’s so adamant about wearing a helmet today.

“When I started roller bladding in my early 20s, I roller bladed to work. I remember a manager telling me, ‘You should really wear a helmet and knee pads when you roller blade’. I was like, ‘No way’. Helmets weren’t really part of my reality. Then I was hit by a car on my way to work. I broke my ankle, and I had to have surgery. I never roller bladed again.”

Natasha says she feels naked without her helmet while riding her bike. But she did tell me that she’s naturally impulsive and is always in a hurry. She thrives on being efficient, and she knows that cutting corners can put her in harms way.

Her answers to my questions suggest that her attitudes on safety are mostly based on her personality and experience. But it’s hard to deny that her unique cultural upbringing could have played a significant part in her attitudes towards safety today.

Now I’d like to know about your story. How were your attitudes on safety formed?

 “I wear a bike helmet to protect my brain because I met someone who didn't and had an accident, and he's not all there anymore.” 

“Safety can be a cultural or even generational thing. When I was growing up, I don't remember my parents being so adamant about safety issues such as wearing a helmet while cycling as they are now with their grandkids. Attitudes have started to change, but it'll take time.”