Street safety is also a user issue
Street safety is based in part on the right infrastructure design, but also user behavior.
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2472/4023419515_0b72e3d5ba_m.jpg "WIth the extreme number of people I witnessed tresspassing on the tracks here, several coming within seconds of getting hit by a train I fail to understand why this is a "quiet zone" with no whistles required from passing trains!")
Keep off the tracks. Sometimes a train seems to appear out of nowhere (this seems to be especially true for motorists). I hope Operation Lifesaver is still being taught in schools. I remember someone coming to my school to talk about train safety.
I think trains to many Americans are still a new concept. To best understand what I mean, read the newspaper articles in the two months following any new light rail opening in the United States. There’s a collision every week. Unlike Europe, we ripped out all of our streetcars, light rail, and trams, and we’re still in the beginning stages of returning to rail.
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4168218540_522ef85b96_m.jpg "I'm stopped. I don't know which direction the bus will turn, either right or go straight. I sort of know when the light is going to change, but what if I don't make it to a position ahead of the bus before the light changes?
Best solution: Yield.
This is an example of how bicyclists can and sometimes do put themselves in dangerous positions. See more situations like this in Chicago's educational video "<a href=\"http://chicagobikes.org/video/?loadVideo=buses_and_bicycles\" rel=\"nofollow\">Share the Road - Buses and Bicycles</a>."")
Bicycling and buses: Their large size and unwieldy maneuvering can make it harder to predict movements. Don’t play leapfrog and wait for the bus operator to make the first move (video) – the second move is now yours and safer.
![Array](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4168217628_5598d1a6b3_m.jpg "I followed behind this bicyclist because I believed they would present me an opportunity to photograph a dangerous behavior or action.
This bicyclist stopped ahead of the stop bar and the crosswalk. A bus drove through the intersection. I don't remember if the bus honked, or if the bicyclist had to back up, but one of the two happened - fortunately, no collision occurred. Bicyclists are required to follow the same rules of the road as everyone else - staying behind the stop bar is the legal position.
This is an example of how bicyclists put themselves in dangerous positions. See more situations like this in Chicago's educational video "<a href=\"http://chicagobikes.org/video/?loadVideo=buses_and_bicycles\" rel=\"nofollow\">Share the Road - Buses and Bicycles</a>."
<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/4488966558/in/set-72157622833407483/\">See a similar situation</a>.")
Recognize stop bars, crosswalks, signals. The stop bar isn’t at the bicyclist’s position for a very good reason.
