Unless you live and ride in a very unique place, intersections are a part of every ride. There is no way to avoid them.

Intersections are pretty much the most dangerous place for riders.

How do you get through intersections without getting hit?  The most important thing is to PAY ATTENTION.  Don’t allow yourself to get distracted.  What are the drivers around the intersection doing?  Turn signals aren’t very reliable indications of what the drivers are actually going to do.

Intersection Traps

• Left turners.  These folks get far too many of us.  They should be a primary focus as you approach an intersection.  There are things that should peak your attention with left turners.
  • How far into the signal cycle is the light?  The closer the signal gets to changing to red, the more desperate the driver gets to complete the turn before getting caught by the red light.
  • Is there much of a gap between you and the vehicle in front of you?  When the vehicle in front of you clears the intersection the left turner often takes that as a cue to make the turn.
  • How many vehicles are lined up waiting to turn left? The more vehicles a driver has in front of him waiting to turn the more impatient he can get.  He will be more likely to blast his way through the left turn to avoid getting caught.
  • How dense is the traffic?  The heavier the traffic, the driver is more likely to take the risk and blast through the turn.
• How to deal with left turners:
  • Pay attention!
  • Be prepared to slow or stop.
  • Change lane position.
  • Wiggle the handle bars.  This makes the headlight move which can help get the driver’s attention.
• Folks running red lights/stop signs.  This has always been a problem but has gotten increasingly worse over the past couple of decades because of cell phones.  Drivers talking or texting on the phone are a major issue for us.  There isn’t much we can to about them except work on not getting hit by them.  Pay attention to intersecting traffic as you approach intersections.  Is there a driver coming up on the intersection that doesn’t seem to be slowing for the stop? There really isn’t much you can do to get the attention of a texter but there are some things you can do as you approach the intersection that are going to sound a bit familiar.
  • Pay attention!
  • Be prepared to slow or stop.
  • Change lane position.
  • Wiggle the handle bars.  This makes the headlight move which can help get the driver’s attention.
• Pedestrians can “run” red light/stop signs just like drivers.  They can be in a hurry.  They can be distracted by conversation with another pedestrian, talking/texting on the phone, plugged into their headphones.  They can step in front of you anywhere.  In addition to intersections, watch for them to step out from between parked cars.  Joggers are probably the worst type of pedestrian.  There are some things you can do to avoid hitting a pedestrians n.
  • Pay attention!
  • Be prepared to slow or stop.
  • Change lane position.  When riding alongside parked vehicles, move in the lane to get further away from the vehicles.  If there are multiple lanes, consider moving over to a different lane to give yourself more space.
  • Wiggle the handle bars.  This makes the headlight move which can help get the driver’s attention.

As I addressed intersection issues, you should have noticed that several things kept being repeated.

• Pay attention!
• Be prepared to slow or stop.
• Change lane position.
• Wiggle the handle bars.  This makes the headlight move which can help get the driver’s attention.

Why keep repeating these things?  Because these actions can greatly reduce the likelihood you will fall into an intersection trap.