Ergonomic Nightmare of the Week: Bike Lanes

Drivers: What do you do when you see a biker pedaling along ahead of you only a few feet to your right or even in the middle of the lane? First you mutter to yourself, “damn bikers, always in my way.” Then you either creep along behind him, holding up traffic in the process, causing an outbreak of honking behind you, or you speedily swerve around him as you nearly side swipe the car in the lane next to you.

Bikers: You are riding along, minding your own business, when suddenly the bike lane turns into a 6-inch shoulder of the road covered with rocky debris. What to do you do? You either keep on riding as close to the edge as possible and hope you aren’t run off the road by an SUV, or you get in the middle of the lane so at least the cars will see you. Either way you get honked at and yelled at to “get off the road.” You mutter to yourself, “where the hell else am I supposed to ride, what is it with these people?"    (Continued via Ergonomenon)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Bike Lane