The Left Turn

Based on the video, executing a safe left turn requires cyclists to master two different techniques depending on the situation. Making a left turn from a rolling position involves four key steps: scanning to ensure traffic is clear, clearly signaling your intent to drivers and riders nearby, setting up your position to clearly see into the turn, and squaring off the line to minimize time spent in the oncoming lane. Alternatively, making a left turn from a standing start requires evaluating intersection safety and busy traffic conditions. A highly recommended method is the "two-step left" (or "Dutch left"), which involves proceeding straight, stopping, turning the bike, and crossing when traffic clears or signals allow. If turning directly from traffic, riders must maintain proper position, select a light gear, and communicate intent to oncoming traffic. If an incident occurs, cyclists should file a police report, document details with photos, and contact an attorney.

Richard Fries:

With decades of teaching beginners and novices on how to safely ride a bike, I've never encountered one component of riding that has so many tactical interpretations. How to make a left turn. Let's break it into two components. We'll start with this section on doing it from a rolling position. As we approach a left turn, we want to take our position in the lane and what we call square off the turn. I look at this in four components. First is the scan to make sure traffic is clear. Two is the signal, a very clear signal that you're turning left for the riders and drivers behind you and ahead of you. Then what I call the setup, positioning yourself where you can see all the way into the turn, not going into it like a fighter pilot or a criterium racer. And then finally, the squaring off of the turn. We don't want to be in that oncoming lane longer than necessary. We want to give ourselves a nice square line. That's the rolling left turn. The second component of making a left turn is doing it from a standing start. We have to decide how busy is that intersection, how confusing is that intersection, and where do we feel safest. The safest way to do it is to do what we call a two-step left or a Dutch left. That means we proceed straight on our line, stop, turn the bike, and then cross on the proper signal or when there is a clear lane in the traffic. If you're doing that from a standing start in traffic, you want to be in the proper lane at the start. Have a light gear ready to go. Make sure everybody around you knows what you're doing before you do it, especially the oncoming traffic. But if you do have an incident or suffer an injury, make sure you file a report with the police.

Document everything, take pictures, and contact an attorney. At Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, we ride. We get it.

We've been there. We're on your side.

• The Left Hook – Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries Explains the Accident
• The Dooring: the Anatomy of a Bicycle Dooring Accident | Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries
• The Blind-Drive Exit (The T-Bone) | Bicycle Safety Explained by Richard Fries
• The Right Hook – Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries Explains the Accident
• The Four Fundamentals of Bike Rider Safety From Bicycle Advocate: Richard Fries
• Stuff Happens | Richard Fries' Safe Cycling Tips
• Being Right vs Being Safe
• Courtesy Equals Safety
• Cycling Skills
• Eyes Forward
• Horizons Matter
• Listen to the Horns
• The Magic Word
• The Ready Position
• The Road Rage
• The Importance of Deliberate Road Navigation