Discussion
@cpm asks about "Wear Bright Clothes!"
Around here, there have been two severe cyclist:driver collisions after dark along a particularly noxious reach of stroad recently.
Lots of soc media chatter, and >90% heavily in the victim blame camp.
Q7. How is this possible when "bright" winter garments don't really exist?
(And how do we change the framing and conversation?)
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@bikenite @ascentale @cpm #BikeNite A7
Not knowing specifics of these incidents, in general:
(1) Cyclists *must* use lights (tail & front) when cycling in low-light. Reflective clothing is a *must*. Can find reflective vests to fit over any winter garments.
(2) Framing: do adequate, separated bike lanes exist? Are they plowed in winter? Demand walk/bike/wheelchair accessibility for all, year-round. Enforce car speed limits. See (1).
@ascentale @cpm @bikenite A7 in my town I cannot help but see our Sunday morning social riders as they have a rule in their group that they all wear flourescent yellow. Just like road-workers and tradies wear. Not cool or funky but definitely visible.
Personally I hate that squashed cyclists get blamed because of their clothing choices. It's a bit like rapists blaming their victims because of their wardrobe choices.
@tregeagle @bikenite @ascentale @cpm
Conditionally agree:
“Personally I hate that squashed cyclists get blamed because of their clothing choices.” As long as the cyclist was responsible & used appropriate bike lighting and hi-vis/reflective kit for low-light conditions.
As both a cyclist and motorist, I’ve come across some very difficult-to-see cyclists. Ya gotta be visible out there.
Safer infrastructure & speed limits too!
@ascentale @cpm @bikenite maybe A7: "shoulda had a brighter car."
_Life After Cars_ talks about this a little too, though honestly I was a little disappointed by it in some ways. Still, it has some decent ideas.
@ascentale @cpm @bikenite A7. I live in a rural area. I will not ride after dark, except for #24HoursOfBooty which is a protected route with no cars and police protection. There's just no way to do it safely here.
@ascentale @cpm @bikenite A7. If your bike has solid lights, the drivers have no excuses. Flashing lights are hard to locate spatially, and one study found that drunk drivers steered TOWARD them. Flashing lights are illegal in many European countries for analogous reasons: they are not safe. #BikeNite
@spacehobo @ascentale @cpm @bikenite I didn't realize that for some reason I figured flashing would cause drivers to notice them better - but maybe that's my pinball mentality where flashing lights are the ones you wanna shoot (but uh now that I typed that it would mean I would wanna run over the flashing lights!) so I will switch mine to solid vs flashing! thx!
@genex @ascentale @cpm @bikenite Flashing was the only way to go back when we used C cells to power incandescent bulbs, but these days we have LEDs and LiPo batteries that can just run forever! I have my lights powered by a dynamo in the front hub, so I never even think about them: if I'm moving, they're on!
@ascentale @cpm @bikenite
#bikenite A7.
My wife found a bright orange winter cycling jacket for me.
Before that I would throw a cycling windbreaker over several layers, or a construction safety vest over a winter coat.
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