thirty-six wrote:
On 9 Dec, 15:19, "mileburner" wrote:

It would be a good idea if these were compulsory for pedestrians after dark,
especially this time of year when it gets dark early and there are a lot of
people around.

The art of crossing the road seems to be a fading one. What *most* people
tend to do now is wait for a break in the traffic and then dash. If
pedestrians wore these they would be seen a lot better and might be more
confident to walk purposefully, predictably without feeling the need to get
out of the way of traffic.

It would certainly make our ride on the road a bit easier if we could
see the darned varmints a bit sooner before they threw themselves into
the road without warning. I think the fitting of a handlebar bag
makes them think it OK . Might just go back to bare brake levers. A
poke in the kidney with one of them is not too comfortable. It would
also save the planet somewhat as we wont be thinking of 500W halogen
floodlights to show us the way. I did manage on the Pifco lights,
back when the pedestrian had not long acquired the responsibility for
his own safety when crossing the road. Even my 1978 copy of the
highway code tells them to wear a safety sash. It's appalling that
these road users can go about without any sort of lighting or aids to
visibility, causing accidents, collisions and death, and continue to
not be reprimanded by the courts. Forty years have now passed since
the responsibility was placed upon the pedestrian for his own safety
on the road and I do not know of any pedestrian receiving any penalty
for not being properly equipped for using a road at night. Surely
there must be some chief constables who joined the force since the
1960's.

I passed a cyclist in Byfleet tonight, what sort of front light he was
using I don't know, but it needed a dipped beam.

--
Tony Dragon