Shoulder checks

[Cabal]

How often do all of you perform regular shoulder checks?

I hardly see other Toronto cyclists do it.

I do it constantly out of habit, if anything just to signal cars and let them know that I know they're there.

[Derek Tse]

Hmmm...do you mean turning your neck and look behind your shoulder? I do it all the time, come to think of it, it is a habit developed from driving, that is why I also check over the right shoulder when I move closer to the curb after for example passing a parked car.

[Cabal]

Yea, and doing it periodically even if you're not making a maneuver.

If there would ever be mandatory examination for cyclists, I think a good test would be to see if they can look behind and recognize an object while riding at an average pace.

Another would be how quickly they could swerve out of the path. This is done on basic motorcycle parking lot tests. You ride directly at the instructor then they quickly put their left or right hand up and you have to turn into the direction. They judge your reaction time.

I don't think testing like this would ever be done for cyclists though, haha.

[Laurel]

i always do it! to see if there's a cyclist behind me, when coming up to an intersection, changing lanes.

i agree that some kind of testing for cyclists would be ideal (but unfeasible). even just having my g1 helps me on my bike, i think, with rules of the road, knowing what cars will be doing, etc.

[Svend]

I never do it while driving, there are no blind spots with the 3 mirrors and turning my head doesn't help me see more. Saying that, a camera on the rear bumper would be a good idea to see if a small child is behind me if I was backing up.

I should do it more often when cycling, not just when changing lanes. It's something I have to remind myself to do.

[Joe LaFortune]

I'm glad someone else has noticed this problem. I have noticed that pretty much every cyclist I see fails to perform shoulder checks. With me, I can't, simply because I ride a semi-recumbent, but my eyes flick to my mirror about every 20 seconds or so---just as I was taught 30 years ago when learning to drive, more often if there's steady traffic approaching from behind.

[Cabal]

I think more shoulder checks would lower accident rates, and generally promote more alert cycling overall.

If there's no training, maybe an ad campaign that educates cyclists would do good. You know what, it would also help pedestrians too. LOOK BOTH WAYS, don't do anything blind.

[joe]

This topic will be continued in the new Forum on the BikingToronto.com domain.

I've started a topic on Shoulder Checks. :)