Idiots on bikes

[GrumpyGregry]

Its relevance.

That some nobbers think camouflage and other ninja games render people invisible. Whereas only Jedi mind tricks do that.

 

[flake99please]

Slippery slope though.

Agreed, perhaps it is a slippery slope... I prefer to look at it as 'So, now what is your excuse for not seeing me?' as it was back in October with my incident. The driver held his hands up and admitted liability straight away. I wouldnt want to give anyone any excuse other than their negligence for failing to see me. Dont get me wrong, there are some very poor road users out there (bicycles & vehicles alike), and fortunately theyre in the minority.

I agree that we should certainly have more stringent testing done for vehicle drivers of all categories (even mandatory retests after certain periods of time). Perhaps a period spent on a road bike as part of the driving lesson standard could be incorporated?

 

[oldstrath]

No that's not what I think, as is pretty clear from this thread, every other driver that morning had lights on, they all did their bit.
What are you going to do about all these "poor drivers"?

So they weren't poor drivers 'because they had their lights on'? If that's your decision criterion, why bother with all this driving test lark?

Look, just put your lights on (go to rosebikes if you want to buy a set that will make mjr happy), wear whatever helmets, hivis, gloves you fancy, ride your bike, and leave other people ride theirs. Whatever you think of them, they almost certainly won't hurt you. If you want to spread meaningful enlightenment, go and pester the motons, who actually cause the dangers.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

. Perhaps a period spent on a road bike as part of the driving lesson standard could be incorporated?

Been mooted before many times, you cut out an awful lot of mobility impaired people who are capable of adapted driving but maybe not cycling, @mickle can no doubt give a far better answer on this and if it would be quite such a problem.

Also why a road bike as opposed to any other sort of bike that people ride?

 

[ufkacbln]

Always reminds me of the attitude in the 1930's when the then Transport Minister stated in the House of Commons debate on whether there should be a driving test

He described the idea of such legislation as reactionary and unneccessary

7,000 people a year were being killed on the roads, ‘but it is not always going to be like that. People are getting used to new conditions.

‘Older members of the House will recollect the number of chickens we killed in the early days of motoring. We used to come back with the radiator stuffed with feathers.

‘It was the same with dogs. Dogs get out of the way of motor cars nowadays and you never kill one. There is education even in the lower animals. These things will right themselves.’

Good to see that some 80 years later it is still the responsibility of us lower animals to get out of the way of the motorist

 

[Justinslow]

However your post (to which this was a reply did



... or did you mean we should be worrying about drivers when they are not in the vehicles?

I'm assuming you do have lights or "brighter than dark" gear on your low rider, otherwise if it were me I'd be worried id get run over as I would be even lower on the road and even less visible.
If I went out out in dark gear with no lights in gloomy/dark conditions on national speed limit roads then yes I would be rather worried about what's going on around me.

As a driver of (often of large slow) agricultural machinery, cars, vans, motorcycles and cycles, to not make yourself seen seems utterly utterly stupid, but hey maybe that's just me..........

 

[ufkacbln]

Missing the point

I am simply not worried about other drivers

I am aware, but that is entirely different a distinction that seems to be also missed.... Your earlier quote about always looking over my shoulder is standard practice for any road user (or should be) to gain the awareness of what is around you




What also worries me is that there is no "brighter than dark" gear, most fluorescent clothing functions on a light wavelength that is absent at night and therefore no use!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

The two accidents I have refered to in the helmet thread didn't involve vehicles.

Would they therefore fit your thread title better than a ninja that nobody ran into and who as far as all of us can tell didn't fall off of their own accord

I refer you to all manner of posts all over the site on propelling machinery (whether by internal combustion engine or human power) in an attentive manner and within the limits of personal competence.

 

[Justinslow]

Slippery slope though.

To what - compulsory hi vis?
Just like the paranoia about compulsory helmet wearing?

So it goes something like this- shoot we mustn't do it because then it will be seen as normal, then it will be made law?

 

[MontyVeda]

...
What also worries me is that there is no "brighter than dark" gear, most fluorescent clothing functions on a light wavelength that is absent at night and therefore no use!

Pretty much (probably all) fluorescent cycling gear I've seen also has reflectives too, so that point is moot.

 

[ufkacbln]

Pretty much (probably all) fluorescent cycling gear I've seen also has reflectives too, so that point is moot.

The question was about bright clothing

Not all bright cycling gear combines with reflectives

 

[ufkacbln]

There is also the moot point that on a recumbent most reflective clothing is masked by the seat and panniers do again useless

 

[Justinslow]

How many more times? No one has said people must not use lights on their bikes. This is very poor trolling from you yet again.

And I didn't mention lights in that post, I was questioning what the "slippery slope" was? And as the post being referred to concerned hi viz............

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

I wear black on the outside, because black is how I feel on the inside.

It's official,Steven Morrissey is a mad keen cyclist,under the guise of Bollo

 

[OskarTennisChampion]

It's ok, @mjray is criticising me for running "insufficient" lights even though I have two USB bright lights pointed not too high so I can see where I'm going and a strobing LED to make me more visible and two strobing LEDs on the rear!
Apparently I'm not allowed to comment on other cyclists for dumb attire and lighting (lack of) because I have these "insufficient" lights, go figure.

I hate these flashing lights,they are more of a distraction than good.
They almost have a magnetic pull to your eyes,thus not concentrating on anything else.