how would you react?

[Randomnerd]

News from Edinburgh Zoo today made me chuckle: their potentially rutting pandas are sensitive to both hi-viz and leaf blowers, which are both now banned.
I must’ve been a rutting panda in another life.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I don't wear neon yellow on the bike; I wear black, red and white, on a white bike with black and white panniers. These are all highly contrasting and suit all of the conditions I ride in. Given that this is 98% in 30mph areas and 1% in each of 20mph and 40mph areas, there's really no excuse for a driver not seeing me other than failing to look properly.

 

[Rockn Robin]

I don't wear neon yellow on the bike; I wear black, red and white, on a white bike with black and white panniers. These are all highly contrasting and suit all of the conditions I ride in. Given that this is 98% in 30mph areas and 1% in each of 20mph and 40mph areas, there's really no excuse for a driver not seeing me other than failing to look properly.

Yes, the last part of what you say is so true. Too many things to distract drivers today, and text messaging being the post problematic where I live, second to drunks. There should be an automatic GPS tracking system that shuts the phone off when someone is text messaging while the phone is in motion. My sister-in-law drives for a living, and if she is caught using her cell phone (hand held) for any reason other than hands free through the companies blue tooth communication system, she will be instantly dismissed.

I just found out that the city I live in has the distinction of being the 3rd worst cities in the US for road fatalities, behind LA and NY (I believe them to be the two worst). In 2016, there were 115 fatal accidents on our roads, and 50 of those were because of drunks. On our major roadways within the city limits, the speed limit is 45mph (72kph), and most push 50 to 55. Ridiculous, and add that to the fact that many drivers here drive huge pick-up trucks and SUVs. Two months ago my wife was sitting at a traffic light. A huge pickup truck went barreling through the red light going from left to right in front of her just shortly after the light turned green for her. He demolished a small car killing the driver while he was making a legal turn. I'm glad that my wife has the good sense to delay moving off when the light turns green just to make sure traffic going across her path has stopped. It annoys drivers behind her, but too bad for them, poor diddums. She still has nightmares because of that accident. For the next week, I drove her back and forth to work, and even while doing that she was a nervous wreck. "Watch out for that car, etc.," she would keep saying. I wish I had a small Star Trek transporting devise in my car, if the technology was available. By the time I'm done during the day of driving, I would have caused a major traffic jam in Antarctica, because that's where I would have transported the bozos I would have encountered on the roads.

So when it comes to riding my bike, I stick to less traveled roadways that have bike lanes, and also bike trails, which fortunately we have plenty of both.

Stay safe out there.

 

[Milkfloat]

. There should be an automatic GPS tracking system that shuts the phone off when someone is text messaging while the phone is in motion.

This would prevent the responsible people on public transport using their phone.

 

[Globalti]

Yes, the last part of what you say is so true. Too many things to distract drivers today, and text messaging being the post problematic where I live, second to drunks. There should be an automatic GPS tracking system that shuts the phone off when someone is text messaging while the phone is in motion. My sister-in-law drives for a living, and if she is caught using her cell phone (hand held) for any reason other than hands free through the companies blue tooth communication system, she will be instantly dismissed.

I just found out that the city I live in has the distinction of being the 3rd worst cities in the US for road fatalities, behind LA and NY (I believe them to be the two worst). In 2016, there were 115 fatal accidents on our roads, and 50 of those were because of drunks. On our major roadways within the city limits, the speed limit is 45mph (72kph), and most push 50 to 55. Ridiculous, and add that to the fact that many drivers here drive huge pick-up trucks and SUVs. Two months ago my wife was sitting at a traffic light. A huge pickup truck went barreling through the red light going from left to right in front of her just shortly after the light turned green for her. He demolished a small car killing the driver while he was making a legal turn. I'm glad that my wife has the good sense to delay moving off when the light turns green just to make sure traffic going across her path has stopped. It annoys drivers behind her, but too bad for them, poor diddums. She still has nightmares because of that accident. For the next week, I drove her back and forth to work, and even while doing that she was a nervous wreck. "Watch out for that car, etc.," she would keep saying. I wish I had a small Star Trek transporting devise in my car, if the technology was available. By the time I'm done during the day of driving, I would have caused a major traffic jam in Antarctica, because that's where I would have transported the bozos I would have encountered on the roads.

So when it comes to riding my bike, I stick to less traveled roadways that have bike lanes, and also bike trails, which fortunately we have plenty of both.

Stay safe out there.

Yes my brother lives in Michigan and says cycling on the road is a bad idea as you are likely to be mown down by a drunk redneck in a pickup or a texting driver in an SUV. He sticks to mountain biking. Same in South Africa too except that there it's mini bus taxis whose drivers are often stoned.

 

[Rockn Robin]

This would prevent the responsible people on public transport using their phone.

Yes, that is true. The solution, who knows.

 

[Rockn Robin]

Yes my brother lives in Michigan and says cycling on the road is a bad idea as you are likely to be mown down by a drunk redneck in a pickup or a texting driver in an SUV. He sticks to mountain biking. Same in South Africa too except that there it's mini bus taxis whose drivers are often stoned.

The city I was mentioning in my comment was Phoenix. Me, I live in one of those satellite cities of Mesa, which, by the way, was voted number 1 redneck city in the US. I can sure pickem. We do indeed have our fare share of rednecks in pickup trucks. You can spot many of them because they hang a rifle on the back window. If you go to some of their homes and cut their grass, you might be surprised at what you find. HAHAHAHA!!!

Most of the texting drivers in SUVs here are what we refer to as "Soccer Mom's."

 

[User66445]

I was cycling through Paris today. Hotter than expected, and a black shirt under my high visibility jacket when removed seemed to be asking for trouble. I dropped into Decathlon and bought a nice, bright yellow, high visibility T shirt. Crossed the busy points of Paris - Concorde, Malesherbes, République, Bastille rue de Rivoli etc with the confidence borne of the knowledge people could see me.

OK, you could argue that the effect was purely psychological, but, given I'm used to Parisian traffic, where weaving in and out of traffic is almost obligatory; knowing I could be seen made a tremendous difference. I even had taxis and a bus give way to me going round Bastille, where you have to cut across several lanes to get on the road leading to Gare de Lyon.

 

[raleighnut]

I was cycling through Paris today. Hotter than expected, and a black shirt under my high visibility jacket when removed seemed to be asking for trouble. I dropped into Decathlon and bought a nice, bright yellow, high visibility T shirt. Crossed the busy points of Paris - Concorde, Malesherbes, République, Bastille rue de Rivoli etc with the confidence borne of the knowledge people could see me.

OK, you could argue that the effect was purely psychological, but, given I'm used to Parisian traffic, where weaving in and out of traffic is almost obligatory; knowing I could be seen made a tremendous difference. I even had taxis and a bus give way to me going round Bastille, where you have to cut across several lanes to get on the road leading to Gare de Lyon.

Had they run out of stripy T-shirts

 

[Edwardoka]

Had they run out of stripy T-shirts

View attachment 430486

Once I'd have said "that's just a lazy stereotype" but that was before I saw someone wearing a stripey top and a beret smoking gauloises in Cerbère and the hotelier at another place I stayed kept saying "ooh la la" when I talked about my travels