Opinion: As the days grow shorter this fall, watch out for cyclists

A guy hit me with his car in early October. I was on Sand Hill Road, biking home, when a Honda Element drifted into the bike lane and knocked me off my bike. I've seen countless cars do the exact same thing — around corners on Alpine, Junipero Serra, Portola, you name it. It's easy to casually slide over that white painted line demarcating the bike lane. Most of the time it's fine — there's no bike or person there. This time, though, I was there. And the car hit me.

I was lucky. I walked away with a few bruises and what might have been a minor concussion. Next time I may not be so fortunate.

In 2021, cars killed nine cyclists in Santa Clara County and seriously injured another 58. When I say "cyclists," I mean tech guys in spandex, of course, but also parents running errands, retirees getting around neighborhoods and kids going to school. In February of this year, a car killed Maria Jabon in Los Altos and not one, not two, but three cars hit and killed Sarah Ida Raphaelle Muller , a visiting Stanford student.

This fall, as the days get shorter and our commutes increasingly take place in darkness, watch out for cyclists. I drive a car. I know how hard it is to see out of most of them. But intentionally looking for cyclists or choosing to drive unaware can be the difference between life and death for someone who's just trying to get home.

I do my part: I have lights on my bike, I wear a helmet, I pay attention. But that's not always enough. Again, this time, I was lucky. The guy stopped, for one thing, which not everyone would do, and he sent me money to pay for my scratched sunglasses, along with a promise to "drive more aware in the future." That's all I'm asking, that drivers (myself included) do their part too. Paying attention is key, and allowing bikes safe amounts of space on roads is critical as well. California's 3-feet passing law went into effect 10 years ago, making it illegal for cars to just "squeeze past" bikes traveling the same direction and mandating that cars give those bikes 3 feet of space when passing. If this driver had been paying attention and following this law, he wouldn't have hit me.

Most days I ride my bike to and from Stanford campus, and most days that commute is one of the best parts of my day. Instead of sitting in a long line of cars, cursing traffic while contributing to it, I get to breeze by that line, feeling the Peninsula's more-often-than-not idyllic weather firsthand. I get to process my day, indulging in deeper thinking than countless emails and Teams meetings and dinner preparations would otherwise allow. Riding a bike is awesome. I want everyone to be able to experience just that, safely.

We're all just trying to get home safe.

Emily Pape works at a nonprofit and splits her time between Woodside and Boise, Idaho.