that driver’s on to something, personally I like my obnoxiously bright neon yellow-green cycling jacket. when some ahole hits me with his car I don’t want him to be able to use “I didn’t see him” as an excuse and wearing loud colors makes damn sure of that.
actually, I believe that the driver depicted would have been well-received by anybody riding a bike that also drives a car. however, for a rider like thistle with a bakfietsen a reflective strip on 3 sides of the box and a light on the front/back of the bike would be more than sufficient. wearing day-glo colors has never appealed to me, but lights and reflective strips (on clothing as well) does.
I really like the Dutch laws that require car drivers to not hit cyclists. And if one does, he’s’ responsible. Period. And the punishment is particularly heavy if the cyclist is a child or elderly.
Its like everyone on a bicycle is riding around with a large sign that says “hit me and you are going to jail for a long time.”
The result, no surprise, is that cycling is over five times safer in The Netherlands than in the USA.
1. When car drivers lecture you, they are treating you as a child. You aren’t a child and they are revealing that they don’t accept you as legitimate road transport. Which is their problem.
2. Orange is a hopeless colour in some light conditions. Fluoro yellow is the best, followed by canary yellow.
What about the poor driver who hits a cyclist who cruises through a red light at 25mph?
The problem with our legal system is not the laws per se, but the fact that >judges< always seem to acquit drivers of charges on the existing laws. Assigning default fault is just ridiculous, in my opinion.
I appreciate the pro-bike slant, and I ride a bike when I can but I am repeatedly amazed by how utopian some people can be in their ideals. The roads are a warzone, and I don’t trust anyone in a car more than I trust the next pedestrian who isn’t paying attention and listening to music while walking across the street in front of me.
However, I always wave to people who are kind and yield to me when I have the right of way. I believe that’s the only way. As far as coddling people who get annoyed when cyclists don’t act perfectly; tough. I’ve been hit by 2 cars, hit a drunk girl who tried to run in front of me to get to a bar and ended up in the hospital not knowing where I was another time.
The best weapon is to know your route, avoid high-traffic areas and keep your damn wits about you! Gaudy clothing and lights won’t save you, but will make you more visible. The rest is up to you.
@Kevin and @degnaw
Dutch law is not that strong for cyclists. In a motorised-cyclist collision, the motorist is liable to 50% of the damage at least, unless gross neglicence of the cyclist (burden of proof on the motorist side).
No cyclist will use this “protection” by increasing his/her risk of getting injured or worse.
It also has only minimal influence on the overall savety. The biggest influence is on the numbers. In The Netherlands, the *average* milage is just over 500 miles per person per year. With many people never cycling, this means the average cyclist does 700-900 miles p.a.
Finally, the savest option is not to rely on cloths, lights and reflection, but take responsibility yourself: consider everybody mad and blind and look for yourself.
The latter is applicable irrespective of your means of transport
@ Kim West – You dutifully noted his concerns, thanked him for pointing out the error of you ways, and told him to enjoy the rest of his drive?
I had a guy pull up next to me in a no passing zone and yell at me because he didn’t consider my 1 second track stand at a 4 way stop as “stopping”. He wasn’t pleased when I told him he was illegally straddling a double yellow. I’m still not sure how I didn’t end up in the ditch after that one.
If Fizz isn’t up after her bedtime, then what her mum is wearing is relatively unimportant. You can be lit up like a christmas tree in blazing sunlight and some drivers will just not see you becuase you are the wrong shape and size; they are looking for a car, not a bike.
After dark, any cyclist not lit or wearing reflective clothing doesn’t get any sympathy from me, in the same way as a drunk driver or someone whose brakes fail down to lack of maintenance doesn’t.
Kevin Love: I love the way you phrased that…
“I really like the Dutch laws that require car drivers to not hit cyclists.”
Like in other countries there are laws specifically allowing cars to hit cyclists.
Thistle and Fizz don’t really seem bothered or offended…should anyone else? Take a deep breath folks, relax and enjoy the ride. Keep up the great work Rick!
@MJ, I’m assuming it’s morning, not night. The gray background is lighter than yesterday’s strip.
White is the most visible at night, not orange. I favor bright colors (anytime) when in traffic. Sky blue, greens, grays, tend to blend in too much. I assume that drivers won’t see me rather than expect them too.
Wear whatever colour clothes you want and get a reflective sash. That’s the easiest solution; when it’s light out, you can toss it in a bag since it crumples to a very small size.
I take my after-dark cues from the RUSA reg’s: sash/vest, anklebands, and at least 1 steady light (white up front, red in back).
No, Fizz, you don’t have to wear orange. Your mother is showing you the excellent life skill of gentle sarcasm.
For the next few years your parents will determine your clothing. You will then go through a period in which you must show your individuality by wearing exactly what your friends wear. After that, you can gradually begin making your own choices.
Man, have none of you ever been to the Great Lakes region? Cleveland (like my hometown, less than 2 hours away on Lake Erie) gets almost as many dreary, gray overcast days as it does sunny! Just because the sun has risen doesn’t mean you can see any ove it if you live that close to a big ol’ weather-changing lake, especially at this time of year. Still, I think Thistle should at least invest in fore and aft blinkers.
Man, have none of you ever been to the Great Lakes region? Cleveland (like my hometown, less than 2 hours away on Lake Erie) gets almost as many dreary, gray overcast days as it does sunny! Just because the sun has risen doesn’t mean you can see any of it if you live that close to a big ol’ weather-changing lake, especially at this time of year. Still, I think Thistle should at least invest in fore and aft blinkers.
I use a color-corrected display, which made a HUGE difference when I finally was able to do that. Even if that car looks purple on your screen, you can sample the RGB value of the car and find that it’s #999999 – definitively a shade of gray.
black bike, black jacket, black ski pants in winter, when it’s black, and brightass lights and lots of reflection. zero problems. wear what you got/want. it’s not the clothing that matters. Lights, reflectors, and proper road position and behaviour does it. I ride center/left of the lane, directly in front of the driver. it forces them to change lanes ALL the way to get around me. none of this squeezing over between two cars, or even running three abreast, no. slow, change, go. the only way to do it. Not only are you more visible, but doesn’t tempt close passing.
I recently bought a big orange hockey jersey at the “Jersey Rockhoppers”, a local minor league hockey team’s end of season sale. I’ve heard that orange is not ideal in low light and for color blind viewers. Additionally, the baggy jersey flaps mercilessly at high speeds. On the other hand, very few people seem to miss the big baggy orange jersey flapping, and many others seem reluctant to tick off a hockey player. This shirt has some traffic presence.
It’s Thistle’s husband driving the SUV and he is expressing concern for the safety of his family. Go back to http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=20081211 and you’ll see it is the same vehicle.
I got hit on a wide open country road last fall riding in a bright yellow jacket and sporting 3 flashers. The responding officer commented that there was no way the driver couldn’t have seen me. I don’t know what the driver’s excuse was . . . he drove off after he hit me. Guess you can’t even count on bright colors and flashing lights.
front and back lights are great, but I really think people should also consider side lighting also. I got some 12v LED strips for my bicycle frame and they are really groovy. Most people use them to make their cars/motorcycles glow.
If thistle was so invisible, how is it the driver saw her in the first place? Said vehicle stopped to speak to her, ergo she’s visible. When you drive something as outstandingly unusual as the bakfiets you don’t need to wear bright colors. It’s not about whether they see you, but whether they notice you. A clown nose and wig would do as well as a traffic safety vest.
Wearing Hi-Vis jackets with reflective strips and very good quality lights, at night. when I’m riding to work, seems to mark me as more of a target on the road from bogans in their beat up bombs. When riding the same roads, at the same times in, almost ninja mode, dark clothes and barely adequate lights I don’t seem to get harassed as much.
I had a friend who came up with an elegant solution to offensive drivers. He had little tiny chop bars, without plugs, and he had a machienist friend put a little disc of steel right in the middle. Then he drilled a hole about 3 inches to the left of the disc, on the top of the bars. After this it was simple. He dropped a very small CO2 tank into the bars, and then put a very small flathead screwdriver through the hole onto the cap of the CO2 tak. Then he dropped in a paintball. If a car drove too close to him, cut him off, or was disrespectful in any other way, he would just hit the screwdriver with the palm of his hand, and the full force of the CO2 cartridge would blow the paintball out the handlebar, making a very loud sound and large mark when it hit the vehicle. When in a confined vessel at apx. 70 deg. f., CO2 it around 850 p.s.i, if I recall. That increases dramatically with temp. It’s been a while since physics, but I’d be surprised if that did not equate to around 6, 700 f.p.s. handlebar velocity, especially given that the first few discharges from a CO2 canister expell liquid which expands in the barrell (or handlebar) and exponentially increase velocity while being fired. I’m probably rambling… but it worked marvelously, and had total plausable deniablility. If the driver stopped, which was frequent, he could just shrug and say “I don’t know, it looks like somebody shot you with a paintball gun.” Since he did not have a paintball gun (as such), he was never suspect. The perfect retaliation.
“What about the poor driver who hits a cyclist who cruises through a red light at 25mph?”
If the cyclist is a child or elderly, then the motorist is legally responsible in this situation. To quote from one of my heroes, John Pucher:
“Motorists are legally responsible for collisions with children and elderly cyclists, even if they are jaywalking, cycling in the wrong direction, ignoring traffic signals, or otherwise behaving contrary to traffic regulations.”
He later goes on to write that for adults, “… motorists are generally assumed to be legally responsible for most collisions with cyclists unless it can be proven that the cyclist deliberately caused the crash. Having the right of way by law does not excuse motorists from hitting cyclists, especially children and elderly cyclists.”
John Pucher asserts that this is the law in Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.
If the driver just wanted Thistle to be safe, s/he would would drive safely and accept bicyclists and pedestrians as having equal rights to the road. Bicycling, by itself, is a very safe activity; it’s the drivers, who are invariably angry or in a hurry or whatever, who create the danger. As for “retaliation” or “answering back”, given how many road-raging psychos there are behind the wheel, it’s just not worth the risk of injury or death to get the “last word” in.
I have grown tired of “sharing the road”.
It’s a complete falsehood. The roads we have today were designed for automobiles. If I have to dress like a Christmas tree on acid in order to feel some measure of false safety, then the road’s not really being “shared”, is it? Thirty-plus years of tilting at this impossible windmill is wearing me out.
beth wrote:
“I have grown tired of ‘sharing the road’”
Kevin’s comment:
Me too. Which is why, here in Toronto, after our success with the bike lane network, the next step is car-free zones. We’ve already got two: Toronto Islands and (occasionally) Kensington Market.
That’s the next stage of the battle: fight for new car-free zones and to expand the existing ones.
It is easier for me to see the cars on grey, rainy, foggy days if they are some color other than silver, grey, white… Perhaps all cars should be orange so they are more clearly visible.
Yes, I hate being safe too! Heaven forbid that if I wear a bright colour I might have a lesser chance of being hit by a tank.
- We cyclists sure are good at thinking we are right and everybody else is wrong.
I have been observing the human condition for some time now, and your people I do not understand. It would seem the highest purpose of your civilisation is to make cars happy. Please correct me if I am misinformed, as I would like my final report to be as accurate as possible.
“… motorists are generally assumed to be legally responsible for most collisions with cyclists unless it can be proven that the cyclist deliberately caused the crash. Having the right of way by law does not excuse motorists from hitting cyclists, especially children and elderly cyclists.”
‘deliberately’ is a strong word, implying the pedestrian/cyclist *intended* to get hit, but I would hope that at 25mph (giving the driver practically no time to react) the cyclist would be at fault.
The legal obligation appears to be for motorists to drive defensively so as to avoid hitting pedestrians and cyclists.
Young children, in particular, can be impulsive – that’s just what being a child is about. So when driving a car, the motorists has to ask himself questions like “if a child is behind that bush and about to run out into the road, can I stop the car in time?” If the answer is “no,” then the motorist is legally required to slow the car down until he can stop in time.
The same is true with your example at an intersection and a cyclist going 40 km/hr. This is rather fast for a bicycle – perhaps the intersection is at the bottom of a hill.
Then the motorist has to ask himself “if there is a cyclist coming down that hill at 40 km/hr, can I stop in time?” If the answer is “no,” then there is once again a legal obligation to slow down.
I presume that this becomes second nature after a while. Motorists get used to assuming a “worst case” scenario and driving so as to be able to safely stop the car if that happens.
I can think of nearly 40,000 reason$ on why I want to be well lit, and u$e highly vi$ible clothe$.
You might not know when how much your vi$ibility might play a role in your attempt$ to collect re$titution through the Court $ystem if you are are involved in a cra$h.
@Kevin Love
This makes me think of all the times when I’m crossing an intersection, or about to pass a car that’s pulling out. They almost always underestimate my speed, thinking bicycles are going slow as molasses, so they make their *fast* left turn/shoot out in front of me (with me narrowly avoiding, and them looking surprised). Ugh! Where’s the fire?!
I am a proud weare of an Ugly Orange Vest, with Fierce Yellow bands. I velcro it on when I get on the bike, and rip it off when I lock up. It folds small, so I can stuff it in a pocket, or I can just loop my cable lock through it and leave it on the bike. No biggee.
If I leave it on when I enter a shop, someone might ask me when my crew is going to finish fixing the potholes on the next block.
… sais someone in an all grey car. If (s)he realy wants cyclists to be save, the best option is to join in!
You should drive with windows rolled down and slowly. It’s the easiest way to recognize the humans around you.
I’m very upset about this autocentic views. Put themselfs in boxes and complain that they can’t see or hear ‘riders’.
that driver’s on to something, personally I like my obnoxiously bright neon yellow-green cycling jacket. when some ahole hits me with his car I don’t want him to be able to use “I didn’t see him” as an excuse and wearing loud colors makes damn sure of that.
actually, I believe that the driver depicted would have been well-received by anybody riding a bike that also drives a car. however, for a rider like thistle with a bakfietsen a reflective strip on 3 sides of the box and a light on the front/back of the bike would be more than sufficient. wearing day-glo colors has never appealed to me, but lights and reflective strips (on clothing as well) does.
Green + Orange in fall = a great way to blend in with green shrubbery and orange leaves.
I like day-glo yellow plus lights plus reflective strips.
I just turn on my bike lights when visibility gets a bit low.
I really like the Dutch laws that require car drivers to not hit cyclists. And if one does, he’s’ responsible. Period. And the punishment is particularly heavy if the cyclist is a child or elderly.
Its like everyone on a bicycle is riding around with a large sign that says “hit me and you are going to jail for a long time.”
The result, no surprise, is that cycling is over five times safer in The Netherlands than in the USA.
Source:
http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Cycling%20for%20Everyone%20TRB.pdf
My cycling top:
http://www.foska.com/training-jackets/mens-1/bones-hi-vis.html
The natural progression of the hi-vis war:
http://newsbiscuit.com/2007/12/03/cyclists-furious-as-council-paint-everything-else-luminous-green/
To use reflective colors is a mixed blessing. Today it makes a rider stand out, but if all riders and walkers used it?
Also, it’s yet another obstacle for new riders to overcome – to dress like a nerd.
I keep riding in nice clothing, unless dark.
Two things:
1. When car drivers lecture you, they are treating you as a child. You aren’t a child and they are revealing that they don’t accept you as legitimate road transport. Which is their problem.
2. Orange is a hopeless colour in some light conditions. Fluoro yellow is the best, followed by canary yellow.
@Kevin
What about the poor driver who hits a cyclist who cruises through a red light at 25mph?
The problem with our legal system is not the laws per se, but the fact that >judges< always seem to acquit drivers of charges on the existing laws. Assigning default fault is just ridiculous, in my opinion.
“oh, poor me. i’m driving my 6000 pound steel lazy-boy recliner and some jerk on a bike is bothering me.”
i ACTUALLY had a motorist pull up along side me and tell me to get out of his way, as i was making it difficult for him to enjoy driving his car.
no shit, it did happen.
guess what i said?
I appreciate the pro-bike slant, and I ride a bike when I can but I am repeatedly amazed by how utopian some people can be in their ideals. The roads are a warzone, and I don’t trust anyone in a car more than I trust the next pedestrian who isn’t paying attention and listening to music while walking across the street in front of me.
However, I always wave to people who are kind and yield to me when I have the right of way. I believe that’s the only way. As far as coddling people who get annoyed when cyclists don’t act perfectly; tough. I’ve been hit by 2 cars, hit a drunk girl who tried to run in front of me to get to a bar and ended up in the hospital not knowing where I was another time.
The best weapon is to know your route, avoid high-traffic areas and keep your damn wits about you! Gaudy clothing and lights won’t save you, but will make you more visible. The rest is up to you.
@Kevin and @degnaw
Dutch law is not that strong for cyclists. In a motorised-cyclist collision, the motorist is liable to 50% of the damage at least, unless gross neglicence of the cyclist (burden of proof on the motorist side).
No cyclist will use this “protection” by increasing his/her risk of getting injured or worse.
It also has only minimal influence on the overall savety. The biggest influence is on the numbers. In The Netherlands, the *average* milage is just over 500 miles per person per year. With many people never cycling, this means the average cyclist does 700-900 miles p.a.
Finally, the savest option is not to rely on cloths, lights and reflection, but take responsibility yourself: consider everybody mad and blind and look for yourself.
The latter is applicable irrespective of your means of transport
@ Kim West – You dutifully noted his concerns, thanked him for pointing out the error of you ways, and told him to enjoy the rest of his drive?
I had a guy pull up next to me in a no passing zone and yell at me because he didn’t consider my 1 second track stand at a 4 way stop as “stopping”. He wasn’t pleased when I told him he was illegally straddling a double yellow. I’m still not sure how I didn’t end up in the ditch after that one.
If Fizz isn’t up after her bedtime, then what her mum is wearing is relatively unimportant. You can be lit up like a christmas tree in blazing sunlight and some drivers will just not see you becuase you are the wrong shape and size; they are looking for a car, not a bike.
After dark, any cyclist not lit or wearing reflective clothing doesn’t get any sympathy from me, in the same way as a drunk driver or someone whose brakes fail down to lack of maintenance doesn’t.
Kevin Love: I love the way you phrased that…
“I really like the Dutch laws that require car drivers to not hit cyclists.”
Like in other countries there are laws specifically allowing cars to hit cyclists.
@Kees +1
The higher the number of cyclists, the lower the collision rates. Motorists learn there are cyclists out and about and adjust their behavior.
Also strongly agree with taking responsibility for your own vehicle operating behavior; you can learn how to avoid dangerous situations.
sfuller–
)
you weren’t trying that 1 second track stand on that old redundant of yours, were you? perhaps he was just offended because of THAT!
Orange isn’t much help around a driver who is colorblind. Screaming lime-yellow at least looks bright white to them.
Thistle and Fizz don’t really seem bothered or offended…should anyone else? Take a deep breath folks, relax and enjoy the ride. Keep up the great work Rick!
@MJ, I’m assuming it’s morning, not night. The gray background is lighter than yesterday’s strip.
White is the most visible at night, not orange. I favor bright colors (anytime) when in traffic. Sky blue, greens, grays, tend to blend in too much. I assume that drivers won’t see me rather than expect them too.
Wear whatever colour clothes you want and get a reflective sash. That’s the easiest solution; when it’s light out, you can toss it in a bag since it crumples to a very small size.
I take my after-dark cues from the RUSA reg’s: sash/vest, anklebands, and at least 1 steady light (white up front, red in back).
I THINK THAT CAR IS BLUE NOT GREY. JUST LOOKS THAT WAY IN THE EARLY MORNING HALF LIGHT. COULD THIS BE THE ONE THAT GOT FRED???!!!
I THINK THAT CAR IS BLUE NOT GREY. JUST LOOKS THAT WAY IN THE EARLY MORNING HALF LIGHT. COULD THIS BE THE ONE THAT GOT FRED???!!!
No, Fizz, you don’t have to wear orange. Your mother is showing you the excellent life skill of gentle sarcasm.
For the next few years your parents will determine your clothing. You will then go through a period in which you must show your individuality by wearing exactly what your friends wear. After that, you can gradually begin making your own choices.
@MJ, Fizz isn’t up after bedtime, it’s morning. The gray background is lighter than yesterday’s Ninja incident at night.
do you think Rick just sits back and chuckles at all the comments he generates? I would!
Kim West you said “Whimp you need a car to get around?”
Then held up your pointer finger up 4 cm from your thumb. and rode off
Man, have none of you ever been to the Great Lakes region? Cleveland (like my hometown, less than 2 hours away on Lake Erie) gets almost as many dreary, gray overcast days as it does sunny! Just because the sun has risen doesn’t mean you can see any ove it if you live that close to a big ol’ weather-changing lake, especially at this time of year. Still, I think Thistle should at least invest in fore and aft blinkers.
Man, have none of you ever been to the Great Lakes region? Cleveland (like my hometown, less than 2 hours away on Lake Erie) gets almost as many dreary, gray overcast days as it does sunny! Just because the sun has risen doesn’t mean you can see any of it if you live that close to a big ol’ weather-changing lake, especially at this time of year. Still, I think Thistle should at least invest in fore and aft blinkers.
@ride rage aka grunt peterson…
I use a color-corrected display, which made a HUGE difference when I finally was able to do that. Even if that car looks purple on your screen, you can sample the RGB value of the car and find that it’s #999999 – definitively a shade of gray.
black bike, black jacket, black ski pants in winter, when it’s black, and brightass lights and lots of reflection. zero problems. wear what you got/want. it’s not the clothing that matters. Lights, reflectors, and proper road position and behaviour does it. I ride center/left of the lane, directly in front of the driver. it forces them to change lanes ALL the way to get around me. none of this squeezing over between two cars, or even running three abreast, no. slow, change, go. the only way to do it. Not only are you more visible, but doesn’t tempt close passing.
Fans of Thistle’s Bakfiets, may want to take a look at this Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/sets/72157603273698845/
I recently bought a big orange hockey jersey at the “Jersey Rockhoppers”, a local minor league hockey team’s end of season sale. I’ve heard that orange is not ideal in low light and for color blind viewers. Additionally, the baggy jersey flaps mercilessly at high speeds. On the other hand, very few people seem to miss the big baggy orange jersey flapping, and many others seem reluctant to tick off a hockey player. This shirt has some traffic presence.
“I didn’t see the cyclist” is a confession, not an excuse.
It’s Thistle’s husband driving the SUV and he is expressing concern for the safety of his family. Go back to http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=20081211 and you’ll see it is the same vehicle.
I got hit on a wide open country road last fall riding in a bright yellow jacket and sporting 3 flashers. The responding officer commented that there was no way the driver couldn’t have seen me. I don’t know what the driver’s excuse was . . . he drove off after he hit me. Guess you can’t even count on bright colors and flashing lights.
BTW my bike and I both walked away from the incident relatively unscathed. Biggest adrenaline rush I’ve had in a long time.
front and back lights are great, but I really think people should also consider side lighting also. I got some 12v LED strips for my bicycle frame and they are really groovy. Most people use them to make their cars/motorcycles glow.
If thistle was so invisible, how is it the driver saw her in the first place? Said vehicle stopped to speak to her, ergo she’s visible. When you drive something as outstandingly unusual as the bakfiets you don’t need to wear bright colors. It’s not about whether they see you, but whether they notice you. A clown nose and wig would do as well as a traffic safety vest.
It’s not what you think. It may be that NOT wearing orange makes you safer. Counterintuitive article on traffic congestion and safety from Scientific ‘Mercan: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=removing-roads-and-traffic-lights
Wearing Hi-Vis jackets with reflective strips and very good quality lights, at night. when I’m riding to work, seems to mark me as more of a target on the road from bogans in their beat up bombs. When riding the same roads, at the same times in, almost ninja mode, dark clothes and barely adequate lights I don’t seem to get harassed as much.
Why is This So??
So much hate for auto drivers in these comments.
Can’t anyone appreciate that the driver just wanted Thistle to be safe?
I had a friend who came up with an elegant solution to offensive drivers. He had little tiny chop bars, without plugs, and he had a machienist friend put a little disc of steel right in the middle. Then he drilled a hole about 3 inches to the left of the disc, on the top of the bars. After this it was simple. He dropped a very small CO2 tank into the bars, and then put a very small flathead screwdriver through the hole onto the cap of the CO2 tak. Then he dropped in a paintball. If a car drove too close to him, cut him off, or was disrespectful in any other way, he would just hit the screwdriver with the palm of his hand, and the full force of the CO2 cartridge would blow the paintball out the handlebar, making a very loud sound and large mark when it hit the vehicle. When in a confined vessel at apx. 70 deg. f., CO2 it around 850 p.s.i, if I recall. That increases dramatically with temp. It’s been a while since physics, but I’d be surprised if that did not equate to around 6, 700 f.p.s. handlebar velocity, especially given that the first few discharges from a CO2 canister expell liquid which expands in the barrell (or handlebar) and exponentially increase velocity while being fired. I’m probably rambling… but it worked marvelously, and had total plausable deniablility. If the driver stopped, which was frequent, he could just shrug and say “I don’t know, it looks like somebody shot you with a paintball gun.” Since he did not have a paintball gun (as such), he was never suspect. The perfect retaliation.
@Pamela
Can’t anyone appreciate that the driver just wanted Thistle to be safe?”
“So much hate for auto drivers in these comments.
I think it
@Touche:
Part of the escalation problem is cars with headlights on in daytime. It should be illegal to have headlights on in the daytime.
degnaw asked:
“What about the poor driver who hits a cyclist who cruises through a red light at 25mph?”
If the cyclist is a child or elderly, then the motorist is legally responsible in this situation. To quote from one of my heroes, John Pucher:
“Motorists are legally responsible for collisions with children and elderly cyclists, even if they are jaywalking, cycling in the wrong direction, ignoring traffic signals, or otherwise behaving contrary to traffic regulations.”
He later goes on to write that for adults, “… motorists are generally assumed to be legally responsible for most collisions with cyclists unless it can be proven that the cyclist deliberately caused the crash. Having the right of way by law does not excuse motorists from hitting cyclists, especially children and elderly cyclists.”
John Pucher asserts that this is the law in Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.
Source:
http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Irresistible.pdf
The quotes I took are from p. 520. As this was published in a peer-reviewed journal, I place a high degree of confidence in it.
If the driver just wanted Thistle to be safe, s/he would would drive safely and accept bicyclists and pedestrians as having equal rights to the road. Bicycling, by itself, is a very safe activity; it’s the drivers, who are invariably angry or in a hurry or whatever, who create the danger. As for “retaliation” or “answering back”, given how many road-raging psychos there are behind the wheel, it’s just not worth the risk of injury or death to get the “last word” in.
I have grown tired of “sharing the road”.
It’s a complete falsehood. The roads we have today were designed for automobiles. If I have to dress like a Christmas tree on acid in order to feel some measure of false safety, then the road’s not really being “shared”, is it? Thirty-plus years of tilting at this impossible windmill is wearing me out.
More and more I feel like I want to go ninja…
beth wrote:
“I have grown tired of ‘sharing the road’”
Kevin’s comment:
Me too. Which is why, here in Toronto, after our success with the bike lane network, the next step is car-free zones. We’ve already got two: Toronto Islands and (occasionally) Kensington Market.
That’s the next stage of the battle: fight for new car-free zones and to expand the existing ones.
Nothing is as cool as a dyno hub, especially on the box bike. How hoopty would THAT be!?
That was actually unusually polite.
It is easier for me to see the cars on grey, rainy, foggy days if they are some color other than silver, grey, white… Perhaps all cars should be orange so they are more clearly visible.
Yes, I hate being safe too! Heaven forbid that if I wear a bright colour I might have a lesser chance of being hit by a tank.
- We cyclists sure are good at thinking we are right and everybody else is wrong.
let’s be serious a minute here- a christmas tree cannot take hallucinogenic drugs or ride a bicycle
I have been observing the human condition for some time now, and your people I do not understand. It would seem the highest purpose of your civilisation is to make cars happy. Please correct me if I am misinformed, as I would like my final report to be as accurate as possible.
@beth
“More and more I feel like I want to go ninja…”
Don’t go over to the dark side!
@Kevin
“… motorists are generally assumed to be legally responsible for most collisions with cyclists unless it can be proven that the cyclist deliberately caused the crash. Having the right of way by law does not excuse motorists from hitting cyclists, especially children and elderly cyclists.”
‘deliberately’ is a strong word, implying the pedestrian/cyclist *intended* to get hit, but I would hope that at 25mph (giving the driver practically no time to react) the cyclist would be at fault.
@degnaw
The legal obligation appears to be for motorists to drive defensively so as to avoid hitting pedestrians and cyclists.
Young children, in particular, can be impulsive – that’s just what being a child is about. So when driving a car, the motorists has to ask himself questions like “if a child is behind that bush and about to run out into the road, can I stop the car in time?” If the answer is “no,” then the motorist is legally required to slow the car down until he can stop in time.
The same is true with your example at an intersection and a cyclist going 40 km/hr. This is rather fast for a bicycle – perhaps the intersection is at the bottom of a hill.
Then the motorist has to ask himself “if there is a cyclist coming down that hill at 40 km/hr, can I stop in time?” If the answer is “no,” then there is once again a legal obligation to slow down.
I presume that this becomes second nature after a while. Motorists get used to assuming a “worst case” scenario and driving so as to be able to safely stop the car if that happens.
I can think of nearly 40,000 reason$ on why I want to be well lit, and u$e highly vi$ible clothe$.
You might not know when how much your vi$ibility might play a role in your attempt$ to collect re$titution through the Court $ystem if you are are involved in a cra$h.
@Kevin Love
This makes me think of all the times when I’m crossing an intersection, or about to pass a car that’s pulling out. They almost always underestimate my speed, thinking bicycles are going slow as molasses, so they make their *fast* left turn/shoot out in front of me (with me narrowly avoiding, and them looking surprised). Ugh! Where’s the fire?!
I am a proud weare of an Ugly Orange Vest, with Fierce Yellow bands. I velcro it on when I get on the bike, and rip it off when I lock up. It folds small, so I can stuff it in a pocket, or I can just loop my cable lock through it and leave it on the bike. No biggee.
If I leave it on when I enter a shop, someone might ask me when my crew is going to finish fixing the potholes on the next block.