SEIDMAN: Will pandemic’s surge in cyclists mean more conflict or courtesy? - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

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Florida has long held the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita bike death rate in the nation. What you can do to minimize the danger if you’re new to the road.

A friend recently stopped by a local cycling shop to expand her exercise routine by purchasing a new bike. Nothing fancy, just a cruiser to burn a few calories and stir a breeze on a stifling afternoon.

"Sorry," the shop owner told her. "My inventory is gone. I won’t have anything for at least a month."

If the coronavirus has been bad for most businesses, it’s been a boon for local bike shops, which experienced an almost instantaneous surge in business when the shutdown began. Area cyclists say they’ve also noticed more riders on the roads.

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"There was a very definite uptick in numbers almost immediately," says Jesse Erlich, an avid cyclist for the past 25 years. "The paradigm is shifting very quickly because of COVID-19."

But whether inspired by fitness, environment or virus avoidance, many of the new cyclists are inexperienced, unconfident or ignorant of the rules of the road. Pairing them with drivers who may be elderly, unfamiliar with their routes, distracted by cellphones or too aggressive, can be a deadly combination.

Florida already has the dubious distinction of having the highest-per-capita bike death rate in the nation. And while the majority of drivers and cyclists are courteous, a longstanding animosity between the two occasionally flares.

Recently, when driving over the Ringling bridge, Erlich witnessed a nasty example known as "coal rolling." This involves a diesel vehicle blasting a plume of smoke just as it passes a cyclist in an attempt to startle the rider. After watching a clearly inexperienced rider wobble and almost fall, Erlich took a video on his cellphone and provided police with the truck’s license number.

"It’s an antagonistic thing," he says, "a way of giving cyclists the middle finger."

That’s an extreme example of unfriendliness, but hardly the only one. Most common is for passing drivers to leave less than the legally mandated three feet between their vehicle and a bike rider (even if there is no marked bike lane). Cyclists are allowed to "take the lane" if it’s the safest thing to do and when making left turns, but they do so with extreme caution, Erlich said.

"We don’t want to be in the road; we know we’re not welcome there, but sometimes there’s no choice," he said.

The biggest threat is from drivers who are distracted, impaired or bent on getting to their destination, says Jim Dodson, a Clearwater attorney known as "the bike guy" for his frequent litigation in bicycle/auto accidents.

"By and large, crashes are caused by careless drivers," says Dodson, himself a four-times-a-week rider. "It’s an angry world, an impatient world, and [drivers] get incensed if they have to slow down for 30 seconds. They forget I’m there with nothing between me and 3,000 pounds of steel but my clothing."

Those new to the road should choose routes that minimize exposure to speed, traffic and multiple lanes and learn the rules of the road, says Dodson. For example, people who may not have ridden since their parents told them to ride against the traffic "in order to see cars coming" may not realize that is the absolute opposite of safe practice.

Wearing bright, noticeable clothing and using head and tail lights also helps. When Dodson’s granddaughter recently saw him kitted out in his neon yellow jersey, bike shorts and socks and goggles for a ride, she told him he looked like a bug. "Yes," he admitted, "but a bug you can see."

Though in Florida, a no-fault insurance state where only $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) is required, cyclists should increase their policy to at least $100,000, Dodson advises. If you’re hit by a car while cycling, it is your own auto policy (unless you don’t have one) that will pay your medical costs.

A notorious lack of legal consequences for drivers also shifts the burden on the cyclist. Dodson says it’s "pretty common that a police officer will come to the site of a crash and assume the bicyclist was at fault." For that reason, many regular cyclists are now installing video cameras on their bikes.

Mary Mcenery found out how much the odds can be stacked against cyclists after she was struck on her bike while crossing the Legacy Trail crosswalk at Central Sarasota Parkway with her husband. A car that had passed in front of the couple going west made an abrupt U-turn and came back through the crosswalk, knocking her to the pavement; she was saved from a head injury only by her helmet. The driver was not cited.

Because medical reimbursement in such a case goes through auto insurance companies, and could result in a doctor being deposed if litigation ensues, some physicians have begun declining to treat bike/car accident victims, Dodson said. Mcenery went to a hospital emergency room where she was diagnosed with a broken bone in one hand.

Nevertheless, Erlich hopes the increase in bicycles on the road will encourage drivers and cyclists alike to be more attentive, respectful and accommodating.

"We’re all drivers, we all pay taxes, and we all spend time on the road," he said. "I’m hoping that a new group of cyclists who are also drivers will change things one step at a time. There’s a group you’ll never convince, but hopefully we’re heading in the right direction."

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