The yellow, diamond-shaped signs dotting city streets ask motorists to share the road, but Lawrence cyclist Nick Theobald often wonders whether drivers take that message to heart.

“After being hit by a car you’re a little more sensitive,” he said, before a recent bike ride from Lawrence to Baldwin.

Theobald was struck by a car while riding his bike last October at the intersection of Harvard Road and Iowa Street. He considers himself lucky for escaping the accident with only cuts and bruises.

“I don’t think they realize that they have a couple of tons of steel,” Theobald said of motorists. “I lucked out. I cut my leg and bruised my back when I hit his windshield. Apparently, he thought he had the right-of-way.”

Theobald is not alone. Last year 22 bicyclists were involved in accidents in Douglas County, and 21 of them suffered injuries, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation. In the past five years, more than 100 bicyclists were injured in accidents on Lawrence and Douglas County roads.

Despite those statistics, cyclists who regularly travel on the city streets say Lawrence is a bicycle-friendly place to ride.

“We have a lot of good roads and considerate drivers, and it really makes a difference in day-to-day riding,” Lawrence-Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee Chairman Eric Struckhoff said.

A pickup truck passes a group of bicyclists from the Lawrence Bicycle Club as they ride Wednesday on County Road1055 south of Lawrence. Cyclists often head out of town to avoid the heavy traffic of the city. In town, however, both bicyclists and motorists must obey the rules of the road, and it doesn't hurt to remember that a little courtesy goes a long way for both sides.

Struckhoff rides thousands of miles every year and sees common mistakes repeatedly made by both cyclists and motorists. The Bicycle Advisory Committee hopes to clear up some common misconceptions and educate both groups about the rules of the road, especially during the summer months when more cyclists are out on the roads.

“The average bicyclist should know that even though the law gives you the same rights as a motorist, it gives you the same responsibility to obey all the laws that exist for motorists as well,” Struckhoff said.

That includes stopping at all stop signs and red lights, riding with traffic, not against it, signaling which direction you are going, and in general, acting like a car if you’re riding in the road.

“One thing cyclists aren’t aware of is that you shouldn’t pass on the right side of a line of cars that are waiting at a light or stop sign,” Struckhoff said. “You should get in line like the rest of the cars.”

Bicyclists can ride on sidewalks if they choose, except for in the central business district, which includes Massachusetts Street.

Struckhoff said it’s just as important for drivers to know the laws that apply to bicyclists.

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“State law in all 50 states allows bicyclists to ride two abreast,” he said.

Yet Michelle Jensen, a rider for the Free State High School racing team, said she’s heard complaints more than once when riding side-by-side with another cyclist.

“I think that drivers don’t realize that we’re allowed to go two abreast,” Jensen said. “They yell at us a lot to go single file, and we don’t have to. It’s actually not as safe as if we’re two abreast because that way we’re more visible.”

Struckhoff says one of the most common mistakes drivers make is underestimating the speed a bicyclist is traveling.

That’s something Theobald noticed after his accident last year.

“I’ve found myself being frustrated and short-tempered with cars lately,” he said. “I scream at them sometimes, which is not the best thing to do.”

Instead Struckhoff hopes both groups will learn the traffic laws, follow them and, more importantly, use common sense.

“The main thing is to really be courteous out there,” Struckhoff said. “Whatever the law says, you go a lot further by just being courteous to your fellow road user.”