Idiots on bikes

[Markymark]

Oh and what's not being smashed into by an unlit cyclit when crossing the road got to do with giving wsy to them?

 

[Dan B]

You are making the assumption the only issue with not having lights is cars not seeing them. It does not account for other road user (cyclists, pedestrains) particularly the elderly who cannot see as well.

You are fast moving, you are traffic, you need to-be-seen lights for yours and everyone else's safety.

The onus is on me as a cyclist to be able to stop within the distance I can see to be clear, not on elderly pedestrians to get out of my way. To-be-seen lights are just a way of shifting the responsibility from me onto them

 

[mjr]

Oh and what's not being smashed into by an unlit cyclit when crossing the road got to do with giving wsy to them?

What difference does it make whether the cyclist is lit or not? The cyclist should avoid the pedestrian by riding so they can stop within what they can see to be clear, lit or not - if they're not using a good headlight, that's probably going to be pretty slow outside of bright street lighting.

I thought that usually many people are far more extreme about pedestrian priority than me (for example, I think a bell and passing above walking speed is OK if there's more than five feet clearance and nothing to suggest they're unstable) but maybe I'm confused and @0-markymark-0 isn't one of them.

 

[Dan B]

Oh and what's not being smashed into by an unlit cyclit when crossing the road got to do with giving wsy to them?

What would you have done differently if they'd had lights?

 

[Markymark]

What would you have done differently if they'd had lights?

Not crossed in front of them as they couldn't be seen?

 

[Dan B]

Not crossed in front of them as they couldn't be seen?

You've answered your own question then: there is a direct link between whether they have lights and whether you give way to them

 

[Markymark]

You've answered your own question then: there is a direct link between whether they have lights and whether you give way to them

But a oedestrian does not have a right to walk in front of traffic to make them stop. When on the road they have priority and everyone shoukd stop. But I can't just walk across the road in front of traffic.

 

[totallyfixed]

I took this picture the other night when we were commuting home, we travel almost exclusively on lanes that have no street lighting except the villages we pass through. Some of the roads are so narrow there is only just room for a car and a bike to pass each other. We do not use high viz, on the contrary most of our clothing is black. Our lights are good, they need to be, they have settings that enable dip and main beam. When a chelsea tractor is coming towards you on main beam it is useful to have the capacity to make them dip.
The quality isn't great as it was taken on a phone, oh and btw the yellow pannier on dr_pink's bike is not high viz. One of her rear lights has actually been turned off because it is too bright to ride in company, of the 2 you can see one is a mudguard reflector. Note that our front lights illuminate the road and verge and not low flying aircraft.

If there was more respect for each other non of these discussions would be necessary, as things stand there plainly is not, the next step is to educate the hard way, currently the penalties for hitting a cyclist are derisory, the same goes for using a mobile phone while driving. When these are addressed the road becomes a safer place, until then motorists will continue to drive too quickly with impunity.

 

[mjr]

But a oedestrian does not have a right to walk in front of traffic to make them stop.

Not to make them stop, but how can a cyclist tell why a pedestrian is walking out? Slow down. Don't like that? My response is tough, it's their space that you've been allowed on and should do so with their rules.

 

[theclaud]

But a oedestrian does not have a right to walk in front of traffic to make them stop. When on the road they have priority and everyone shoukd stop. But I can't just walk across the road in front of traffic.

I do it a lot. You have to pick your battles and be prepared to move quickly if it doesn't work, but I practice it as an antidote to the prevailing power relationship. Holding your hand up like a traffic cop helps.

 

[glenn forger]

This killer driver had seven seconds to notice the hi vis:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/news/20151207-curfew-seven-second-cyclists-death-careless-driving-case

He's not spending a single day in prison.

This driver had fourteen seconds to notice the cyclist but he was chatting on the phone:

https://rosslydall.wordpress.com/20...-nearly-killed-by-skip-lorry-forgives-driver/

The rider lost her leg, the driver was fined less than the cost of her bike.

Neither driver went to prison, neither driver answered to a charge more serious than driving carelessly, not dangerously.

 

[glenn forger]

So it's dangerous not to wear hi vis, but when a driver fails to even notice the hi vis it's just careless, not dangerous.

 

[Markymark]

I do it a lot. You have to pick your battles and be prepared to move quickly if it doesn't work, but I practice it as an antidote to the prevailing power relationship. Holding your hand up like a traffic cop helps.

Just need to be extra sure you're not walking in front of an idiot without lights you couldn't see.

 

[subaqua]

All sounds to me like a lot of excuses to do something stupid and illegal.

or gets hooked on a segregated section and gets the lights on the bike broken by the nobwit driver. ( wire came loose but couldn't see in the dark to fix it !) luckily on my red night vision evo jacket ( not hi viz but has retro reflective shapes on it ) I have a back up red LED light built in

 

[mjr]

luckily on my red night vision evo jacket ( not hi viz but has retro reflective shapes on it ) I have a back up red LED light built in

I usually carry a pair of minimal tiny lithium battery (long shelf life) emergency lights in my bag with bottle tops taped over the on-off switches to avoid random switch-ons. Failing that, I've an app called "Mr White" on my phone which can be set to red or white as a last resort. It's a long walk home...