Car culture, illusions of safety and commuting alternatives

I have been cycling in a city environment now for 9 years, 6 of which has been commuting without a car.  During that time I have lived all over my city of Albuquerque and noted the differences in city planning and infrastructure, driver behavioral patterns, bike lanes and lack thereof, traffic density and overall reception to the cyclist.  Though I have had spills, been hit by cars and been harassed/threatened: I have conversely had amazingly positive experiences and been welcomed and embraced as a cyclist in various ways and places.  I have also seen more bike lanes appear, vehicular apprehension to cyclists diminish somewhat, cyclists exercising more critical thinking in behavior and the outright number of bikes on the road increase.  Though inner city cycling has taken a big leap as more and more individuals commute to and from work, school, the grocery etc; our inherent danger as cyclists has not substantially changed with the increase in the previously mentioned.  The risk factor of being an object riding on the fringes of city streets (with or without a white-line-painted bike lane or a perforated half shell of foam on your head) with 4,000 lb + boxes of steel passing us at an average of 4 to 5 times the velocity is simply dangerous any way you want to look at it.

This guy is hanging out on the razors edge of safety.  It only takes a quick distraction of a driver to cause an accident
when we are so closely married with cars for space on open roads.

Car culture

When observing the aforementioned risks to riding one can't help but ponder the options to help mitigate the danger factor of cycling.  Some say more bike lanes, others say compulsory helmet laws and some even suggest the cessation of trying to function as a cyclist-commuter in a city setting altogether.  The bottom line is that none of the above embodies the answer to our problems.  The fact at hand here is that our cities, already as developed as they ever will be for the most part, were developed by those who had interests to cater to the advent of the automobile and its predicted proliferation.  Powerful lobbying and ease the of accessibility gave rise to the perceived need for a car culture to flourish and so became the de facto mode of thinking for civil engineers and city planners world wide.  The automobile was embraced as godsend and virtually everyone who could afford one acquired one and commuted daily with it.  The car shaped the genetics of the cities that we all live in bar certain notable places in the Netherlands for example.

Fast forward to 2017 and we see a large resurgence in cycling and its use not just as recreation but as a legitimate mode of transportation altogether.  The only problem with this growing trend in bicycle commuters is that we are growing in a way that is not supported by the environment that we are a part of.  We as cyclists are something like amphibians that are longing for the ability to exercise our limbs in a more useful way that transcends the realm of water.  Though we need and want a better, safer, more consistent place to dwell; it seems to be that it is sadly not as much within the confines of these cities as we had hoped.

its time for us to wake up a bit and face reality, our almost purely car-centric city infrastructure
 won't transform into this overnight, or any time soon (Copenhagen)

Alternatives

So you want to divorce yourself from car culture and commute more by bike and foot but see the dangerous nature of this option for what it is.  You understand the implications that exist and have come to terms with the fact that there are fundamental risk factors at present when you decide to live such a life.  So whats next?  You can do one of either two things: stop cycling altogether and throw in the towel, or look for options and alternatives for sustaining a safer and more consistent method of traversing the cities that we all live in.  If you opt for the latter, here are a few of the not-so-obvious things that come to my mind when thinking of how to work with all of this.

#1 - Neighborhood Riding

To the best degree that you can, riding on smaller neighborhoods is one of the best options.  It usually takes more time and planning to devise a more neighborhood and side road oriented method of commuting, but the payoff is huge in that you are contending with vehicles that are often driving at 2/3rd the speed of those on non-freeway city roads (35-45 mph).  You have a substantially better chance of being seen by slower automobiles and if an impact with a vehicle does occur, the difference is greatly reduced.

#2 - Travel when traffic is low

If possible, try to ride when you know traffic is going to be at its slow points.  Though you may not be able to dictate the time and place of destination for your commutes, you can certainly try and get that hour head start before traffic becomes frighteningly high paced and dense. 

#3 - Get some wide tires

There are going to be times when you simply cant help but have to do everything in your power to evade an accident.  Often times that means swerving out of harms way without taking into consideration things like irregularities in the road.  With all the cracks and bumps that exist in the road it is easy to get thin tires caught in these places which can pitch you clean off your bike (I speak from multiple personal experiences).  This one isn't about personal preference for the ride quality or speed factor of skinny vs big tires as much as it is about fundamental stability and the ability to evade harms way suddenly.

#4 - Be confident and assertive

If you make it clear to motorists that you know what you are doing on the road by demonstrating assertiveness and confidence in your riding, it is my opinion that drivers will become acclimated to the presence of safe and smart cyclists.  An example being you approaching a four way stop with a vehicle behind and holding the the entirety of a one-car lain: you are definitively making your intentions clear and have every right to be doing so.  Though this is very different from deliberately blocking the flow of traffic, it does allows you to assert your presence in a much more intimate, 1 on 1 way with drivers.  Making it clear that you are just as much a meaningful and discerning part of traffic as vehicles are is massively needed and in our best interest to show it.

#5 - Unplug and open up your senses

Perhaps this should have been the first part of my list here.  Nothing hinders our ability to exercise  preventive measure more than literally stripping ourselves away from our senses.  Be it texting or having headphones in your ears during riding, you are endangering yourself and others while riding.  Though you cant always see coming whats coming you can often hear it (and vice versa for that matter) by allowing yourself to be receptive via opening up all of your main senses.  Its also never fun to have to shout at the top of your lungs at a fellow cyclist who is wearing headphones that you are passing or having one swerve into you as they are texting or stravaing, or instagrming or whatevering on their phone.