Safety guidelines for bike messengers
by Fred Matheny,
Bicycling Magazine, May 1998
J-Bone has seen it all, and it shows. A longtime bike messenger reveals the secrets of urban survival.
When you think of bike messengers, traffic safety isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Messengers are often stereotyped as curb- jumping, aggressive maniacs who flaunt their bike handling skills in front of taxis, buses and the local constabulary.
Take J-Bone, for instance. At first glance he's the standard-issue courier, with a rainbow mohawk, a network of scars and a two-foot rod in his femur - occupational hazards of 20 years of messenger experience in San Francisco and Denver.
Time on the urban battlefield has also made him a bit of a philosopher. J-Bone on the uncertainties of daily survival: "On your next ride, you can run into a dragon. It will come out of the sky and burn you up, then fly away. And there's no one to cry to. Drivers will hit you from behind and knocks you down and they're gone."
As you might expect, he also nurtures a major 'tude. J-Bone on law enforcement: "I'll bust police for retaliatory ticketing and harassment. Seventy-five percent of citations are given to messengers on working time." Anyone who has seen the things J-Bone has seen in his years riding the mean streets can be forgiven a little pontificating.
"Messengering is a brutal occupation if you let it get to you. I've lost 15 good friends to suicide, murder, accidents and AIDS since I left San Francisco 11 years ago. When I go back, someone else is gone. The stress of fighting traffic and dealing with hostile drivers forces some couriers into alcohol and drugs. I'm a full-blown manic and I get crazy if things don't go my way."
But the hard-riding, loud-talking, street-smart messenger is only half his story. In his other persona, J-Bone morphs into Jason Abernethy, head of the Denver Professional Bike Messenger Association, an organization devoted to making the streets safe for cycling. Abernethy on motorists: "Their aggression toward cyclists is a lack of civic approbation."
Abernethy also promotes a messenger competition called the "Road Rash Bash," a point-to-point race through city streets requiring couriers to perform the same types of skills they encounter on the job. In a recent event, they had to haul firewood, newspapers and eggs. "If they don't come back clean," Abernethy chuckles, "they lose. This race is so hard, the winner is the baddest courier on earth." To fulfill his dedication to "benefiting those less fortunate than ourselves, " proceeds go to various charities.
It's an interesting paradox - the toughest messengers are often the most safety-conscious. And when you think about it, messengers have a much bigger incentive to ride safely than most recreational cyclists. For one thing, their paychecks depend on being healthy and ready to ride. And medical insurance is often a rarity, so crash injuries hurt their wallets as well as their bodies.
These days, Abernethy is a sadder, wiser man. "I've learned that you can't let yourself get crazy out there, even if you want to," he says. "You have to do your job while at the same time dealing with hostile traffic. I've learned to take 99% of human nature, including the actions of drivers, in stride. The trick is to remain calm in the face of any provocation. Turning into a crazed maniac doesn't solve anything. When cyclists confront buses, trucks and cars, the heavy machinery always wins." (For more on the state of cyclist/motorist relations, see "Road Rage," page 76.)
So if you want the best traffic-busting tips (learned from bitter experience) to make your training, commuting and errands less deadly, there's none better to ask than Abernethy. If they work for a pro who hits the streets every day, they'll work for you.
Grow more eyes
"Be aware of everything in a 360-degree circle around you," Abernethy advises. Don't focus solely on what's ahead. It's a matter of intuition and experience - once you get a feel for the general flow of traffic, you'll know what's behind without looking. It's a sixth sense that develops over time."
Abernethy isn't a fan of mirrors. "The crash rate is higher in dense traffic and helmet-mounted mirrors can poke your eye in a fall. Awareness is better than a mirror any day." Trick: Focus on cars, not drivers. "In my thinking, drivers turn into cars, they become cars," says Abernethy. "I look at the car, not the driver. This helps me remember that I can get emotional and cars can't. They're just metal and plastic without feelings. It doesn't help to get upset at them."
Read the road
Watch the road surface as much as you watch traffic. Beware of road cuts where city crews have been working on buried utility lines - they're often unmarked after they've been temporarily filled with tamped-down dirt. The dirt can settle over time and catch a bike tire, sending you over the handlebar. Same thing goes for anything with grooves that run parallel to your line, such as runoff grates and light rail tracks. Manhole covers and other metal (or surfaces get slippery as ice in a mist or drizzle. The danger is even greater when the temperature begins to sink to freezing and below. "Black ice can form and it's invisible and deadly. Slow down. If you have a choice, don't ride in these conditions."
Leave room on the right
Watch for cars making right turns in front of you and the doors of parked cars opening suddenly. "You're required to ride as far to the right as but that doesn't mean you have to hug the curb or ride up against parked cars if it's unsafe," says Abernethy. Stay to the left a bit so turning drivers can't cut you off. Scan parked cars for occupants who look like they're ready to get out. Watch sideview mirrors for the faces of drivers looking to pull out into traffic.
Watch for walkers
J-Bone tries to yield the right of way to all pedestrians. "They're cattle roaming amongst technical machinery," he says. Use a bell or a polite voice reminder ("Excuse me" rather than "Move it, you idiot! ") so you can alert peds - but not startle them into unpredictable moves. Always slow down in pedestrian zones. "Watch out for old people and children - they're usually less predictable."
Learn to love the law
Believe it or not, J-Bone insists that "good riders always obey traffic signals. Blowing lights isn't professional and the fines cut into your profit." Besides, says Abernethy, "it's a very good way to die."
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