Bike shop Upland: Common crashes #5: Red Light of Death

Our bike shop Upland is running a series on our blog exposing the top ten situations that cause bike wrecks, from Bicyclesafe.com.

Wreck #5: Red Light of Death

You stop on the right of a car at a red light or stop sign. They can not see you. When the light turns green, you advance, and then they turn right, slamming you.
This can happen with any size of vehicle, but this scenario is especially dangerous when it's a bus or other large vehicle that you're stopping next to. In 1994, an Austin cyclist was killed this way when he stopped to the right of a semi, and it turned right. He was crushed under its wheels.

 

How to avoid this wreck: Do not stop in a vehicle's blindspot.
Simply stop behind a vehicle, rather than to the right of it, as per the diagram below. In the diagram, you can see how visible this cyclist will be on all sides. The car behind them will see them directly in front.