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Invisible Cyclists in Solstice Dark
Elisa
Have you considered that if your colleague is driving so fast that they cannot pick out a cyclist then the appropriate action may be to slow down rather than moan about them wearing dark clothing. When motorists say that a cyclist was invisible or they just didn't see them it is usually because they aren't looking. What you are really complaining about was that there was little time to take avoiding action when seeing a cyclist. That is a car speed issue rather than a cyslist visiblity issue. Cyclists in flourescent jackets enable drivers to go faster. Hence when they do hit a cyclists theor pedestrian they are more likely to kill them. I believe that the responsibility is squarely with the motorist to conduct their driving so that they can avoid any obstacles that are within their vision. That means GO SLOWER. Merry Christmas Rod King "Elisa Francesca Roselli" wrote in message ... In these dark winter months, I am car-pooling with a colleague to get to work. Although I am impervious to cold, I am not happy about cycling because of the poor visibility. My road to work is poorly lit, my eyesight is bad, my balance perturbed by the dancing beam of my front light and my glasses fog up every time I stop. In the car, I really do get to notice what can and cannot be seen from a motorist's point of view. And I am appalled to discover just how hard it can be to see cyclists and pedestrians, and how few of them seem to be aware of this. Much winter clothing is dark or black to begin with. Then many ride entirely without lights, or just a little reflector. Great aurioles of light surround the street lights and the headlights of the oncoming cars, casting everything else around them into a pitch black shadow from the glare. A few days ago, I was standing on a pavement waiting for a bus, looking directly into the traffic. Two cyclists swooped right in front of me - they were less than 30 feet from me before I even noticed them. On mornings and even in the broad daylight of the lunch hour, there is frequently a freezing smog that not only soups up the air but makes the ground slippery. This smog can come on quite suddenly - all is clear, then the car descends into a barely perceptible valley and the windscreen empties like a movie screen with the projector turned off. For night riding it has been my personal practise to wear a reflector vest and blinkie lights on armbands. I have a LED headlight and a small red backlight. But my lesson from this is that perhaps even I need to up the ante. I shall get myself a yellow reflector parka from Glow Dog, and wear that even as a pedestrian. And I need more blinkies, especially in the back. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but for those of you who do cycle in the dark, please make sure you are as visible as you can make yourselves. Perhaps do a visibility test with your gear - ask family or a neighbor for feedback on whether you can be seen and at what distance, especially if you are sharing the road with cars and headlights. Safe riding to all, EFR Ile de France |
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