How to convince others of trike safety

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Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
I spent a few years on a recumbent trike and the only thing that nearly hit me was some idiot on a road bike who was fiddling with whatever piece of electronic junk he had on his handlebar. As said 'bents stand out much more than uprights and I never had people go so wide when passing me.

I never bothered with a flag, either.
 

Bad Machine

In the garage .....
Location
East Anglia
I would like to fly a flag, but in my area the possibility of being trampled by a panic stricken horse outweighs the benefits.

Sorry, @Scoosh, I disagree - @a.twiddler's evaulation of the risk/benefit profile of flying a flag is subjective, and at odds with my own.

I've been riding the lanes around Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket (yes, as in Newmarket Racecourse) - on a recumbent trike (with flag) for the last ten years. IIRC, that's the same "area" where @a.twiddler says it's unsafe.

It's no big deal when you encounter a horse and rider. As any other road user should be, be alert, and considerate. If you're at risk of being trampled, then you've got too close. You should have proceeded with more caution. Learn from the experience.
 

a.twiddler

Veteran
Sorry, @Scoosh, I disagree - @a.twiddler's evaulation of the risk/benefit profile of flying a flag is subjective, and at odds with my own.

I've been riding the lanes around Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket (yes, as in Newmarket Racecourse) - on a recumbent trike (with flag) for the last ten years. IIRC, that's the same "area" where @a.twiddler says it's unsafe.

It's no big deal when you encounter a horse and rider. As any other road user should be, be alert, and considerate. If you're at risk of being trampled, then you've got too close. You should have proceeded with more caution. Learn from the experience.
Strange that after what I have written about anticipation, thinking "what if" and considering an escape route in various circumstances you immediately leap to the conclusion that I must be in the habit of approaching horses uncautiously close and failing to learn from whatever experiences you gratuitously imagine that I have had. Your evaluation can be considered equally subjective - what works for you, works for you. What works for me, works for me. Frankly, I give all road users plenty of room.

I like to see horses about. They and their riders generally cause no issues to me nor I them. It is indeed no big deal to encounter a horse and rider. I chose not to use a flag (though I think they are a cool accessory for a recumbent in different circumstances) because for my type of riding any benefit I might gain does not outweigh the fact that they do upset horses, maybe not all but enough. So maybe it is more an issue of respect for such road users that I don't make their riders' role harder for a benefit to me that would be marginal. Horses can be spooked by a plastic bag flapping in the wind, why add to other people's issues. I certainly haven't had any problems being seen by other road users but my LWB recumbent isn't ultra low.

Is the flag thing akin to the helmet thread? Have I wandered into a minefield?

It has been many years since I travelled through the Bury St Edmunds/Newmarket area and nice as it is I don't see the relevance to my post. Is it unsafe? How would I know, I don't live there. It is @Bad Machine who claims that I said that. I can only speak from my local experience where I live. I appreciate his years of recumbent experience but it is just as disrespectful of him to criticise my alleged approach to horses on the basis of no knowledge of my locality as it would be of me to make similar ones about his.

If my local circumstances changed then I would reconsider the flag thing. If I ever get the chance to get away for a few days once the Coronavirus situation eases, probably using more "A" roads, then I would stick a flag up "just because I can".
 

Bad Machine

In the garage .....
Location
East Anglia
I stand corrected - I had thought you were riding in and around Suffolk ? But are the horses where you live of a particularly unique and unstable temperment ? I wouldn't presume so.
My criticism was of your linking the likelihood of personal injury to the mere presence of a recumbent with a flag. That's just wrong - there has to be other factors that come into play, and I pointed that out.
Your choice to not fly a flag is indeed your choice.
And I have never found myself at risk of being trampled by a horse - and I always fly a flag.
 
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cwskas

Über Member
Location
Central Texas
We cannot control the actions of others, but we can do whatever might help make our travels more safe!

One of my cousins was hit yesterday afternoon by an SUV while turning into his driveway after a bike trip to the grocery store. He was wearing a helmet, which likely saved his life. He did suffer a subdural hematoma and will require extensive recovery.

Just a reminder that we are almost always the smaller participant in an accident. It is not only the potential of an accident but the potential severity which should be considered.

Willie
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I am keen to get a recumbent trike but am getting some opposition from concerned family members who think they are too unsafe. Can anyone give me any good information to convince them they are OK?
I'm 67, have 3 road bikes and typically go on 40 mile rides at weekends some in town some in country so am used to riding, I want to do some 200k audax rides but know that my current setups will be too uncomfortable for this

Ask your family to find a reports of trike accidents in the past 12 months in the country you live in. Give them five minutes. So the same for road bikes. See what they come up with. Also remind them you’ll be feet first not head first. So unlike a road bike, any accident you are very unlikely to bash your head.

It is utter bollocks that they are difficult to see. They get noticed far easier and better than road bikes.

One thing you will definitely want though is a good rear view mirror. You’ll have a far better idea of what’s going on behind you when on your trike then on your road bike.
 
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