many drivers seem to be unhappy with their steering wheels. constantly i can see them punching the thing like they were fighting a boxing championships finals.. also they seem to shout at it a lot but i can hardly hear them since the trigger for the cars horn is located exactly at the point they try to envisage their imaginary contrahents face.
Too true. If they want us to recognise them then they’ll need to light the inside more brightly. I glance at a car and mostly get the reflections of the surroundings on the windows during daylight.
Tinted windows, glare, fast-moving 1/2 the time in the same direction, which puts the driver on the far side providing a very small “window” of visibility IF you happen to be looking to the side when they go by.
People some times tell me “didn’t you see me yesterday on XY-road?”
I got better things to to than peering who’s in this or that car when I’m riding my bike.
I suppose that car-owners imagine that we are are all like them and keep a ‘file’ of what cars everybody has and keep it up to date with their latest modifications etc. Just as we do the bikes of friends?
Where I live, you gotta keep an eye peeled for car occupants who may open a door on you as well as bike ninjas. Acknowledgement of good road sense from all road users is rare but welcome.
Have a safe trip home y’all
@#$%^& extra-dark, after-market window tint! I wish the constabularies in Ohio would enforce the laws regarding light transmission through the front driver and passenger side windows. Some of the aftermarket tints (don’t even mention the mirrored stuff) are so dark that I can’t see inside the car and tell which way the driver is looking when I come to an intersection or driveway.
This one ought to be as easy to enforce as mandatory safety-belt laws (a primary offense). Come to think of it, if the window tint is too dark, then officers can’t see if safety belts are being worn. Hmmm…
Just a thought (as a rant). There, now I feel better!
In Czech republic, there is a law regarding this. The front windshield must let through no less than 75% of the ambient light, the front side windows 70%. The police has instruments for measuring this directly on the road…
As far as I know, the law is similar in most countries throughout Europe.
In Czech republic, there is a law regarding this. The front windshield must let through no less than 75% of the ambient light, the front side windows 70%. The police has instruments for measuring this directly on the road…
As far as I know, the law is similar in most countries throughout Europe.
About sunglasses – a memory just ‘popped’ and I am not sure if iis real or not…
Just like the tinted windows laws, I think I remember a law about tinted glasses/sunnys that reduce visibility at night?
For sure that law is true for motorcyclists wearing tinted visors at night!
I am discovering that it is essentially impossible to purchase a minivan without the so-called “privacy glass”. While the tint is less on the driver’s window, it still interferes with seeing the driver. To get a reliable bike hauler (our bikes are way too big to fit inside anything smaller without MAJOR disassembly) we will probably have to accept that dark glass, but I feel really badly about it. If the stuff is not violating laws, it should be.
The auto dealers really are not interested in talking to us about this subject. Another example of belonging to a very small minority, I guess.
For bike hauling we got a 4-door truck. With a couple of 2x8s and 5 fork clamps, we can carry 5 people and their bikes in great comfort and security. There’s still room for lots of gear between the bikes.
I’ve seen the mini-vans you’ve described. To my eye, the driver was adequately visible. Without tinted windows aft of the front doors, a mini-van is a rolling greenhouse. So the tint reduces the load on the A/C and helps with the gas mileage. That said, my old 1979 Chevy Malibu, a retired police cruiser, had no tinted glass, except for replacement windshields. (Yes, plural. Lots of wind damage in Boulder, Colorado.)
The most interaction I get with autos is when I cross where the bike path intersects the MUT; generally it’s in the form of brakes slammed on suddenly as they look up from phone or texting to see me standing there waiting to cross. My other encounters on strets seem mostly positive but for once or twice when I have to answer the question “why don’t you ride on the sidewalk/shoulder?”
Hard to see what a driver is doing inside a car.
That’s probably a good thing?
many drivers seem to be unhappy with their steering wheels. constantly i can see them punching the thing like they were fighting a boxing championships finals.. also they seem to shout at it a lot but i can hardly hear them since the trigger for the cars horn is located exactly at the point they try to envisage their imaginary contrahents face.
Too true. If they want us to recognise them then they’ll need to light the inside more brightly. I glance at a car and mostly get the reflections of the surroundings on the windows during daylight.
Tinted windows, glare, fast-moving 1/2 the time in the same direction, which puts the driver on the far side providing a very small “window” of visibility IF you happen to be looking to the side when they go by.
People some times tell me “didn’t you see me yesterday on XY-road?”
I got better things to to than peering who’s in this or that car when I’m riding my bike.
I suppose that car-owners imagine that we are are all like them and keep a ‘file’ of what cars everybody has and keep it up to date with their latest modifications etc. Just as we do the bikes of friends?
Like watching where you’re going?
Where I live, you gotta keep an eye peeled for car occupants who may open a door on you as well as bike ninjas. Acknowledgement of good road sense from all road users is rare but welcome.
Have a safe trip home y’all
always assume the worst, unless you’ve got direct eye-to-eye contact … and even then you’ve got to drive as if you were invisible to them.
@#$%^& extra-dark, after-market window tint! I wish the constabularies in Ohio would enforce the laws regarding light transmission through the front driver and passenger side windows. Some of the aftermarket tints (don’t even mention the mirrored stuff) are so dark that I can’t see inside the car and tell which way the driver is looking when I come to an intersection or driveway.
This one ought to be as easy to enforce as mandatory safety-belt laws (a primary offense). Come to think of it, if the window tint is too dark, then officers can’t see if safety belts are being worn. Hmmm…
Just a thought (as a rant). There, now I feel better!
In Czech republic, there is a law regarding this. The front windshield must let through no less than 75% of the ambient light, the front side windows 70%. The police has instruments for measuring this directly on the road…
As far as I know, the law is similar in most countries throughout Europe.
In Czech republic, there is a law regarding this. The front windshield must let through no less than 75% of the ambient light, the front side windows 70%. The police has instruments for measuring this directly on the road…
As far as I know, the law is similar in most countries throughout Europe.
I wear extra dark tinted sunglasses when I ride… hope they don’t pull me over!!!
(no Avatar today)
My avatar went away a couple of weeks ago. I just re-set it today.
About sunglasses – a memory just ‘popped’ and I am not sure if iis real or not…
Just like the tinted windows laws, I think I remember a law about tinted glasses/sunnys that reduce visibility at night?
For sure that law is true for motorcyclists wearing tinted visors at night!
I have ‘fans’ that tap the horn lightky and wave after they pass me. People who know the hill I have to ride to get back gone
I am discovering that it is essentially impossible to purchase a minivan without the so-called “privacy glass”. While the tint is less on the driver’s window, it still interferes with seeing the driver. To get a reliable bike hauler (our bikes are way too big to fit inside anything smaller without MAJOR disassembly) we will probably have to accept that dark glass, but I feel really badly about it. If the stuff is not violating laws, it should be.
The auto dealers really are not interested in talking to us about this subject. Another example of belonging to a very small minority, I guess.
For bike hauling we got a 4-door truck. With a couple of 2x8s and 5 fork clamps, we can carry 5 people and their bikes in great comfort and security. There’s still room for lots of gear between the bikes.
I’ve seen the mini-vans you’ve described. To my eye, the driver was adequately visible. Without tinted windows aft of the front doors, a mini-van is a rolling greenhouse. So the tint reduces the load on the A/C and helps with the gas mileage. That said, my old 1979 Chevy Malibu, a retired police cruiser, had no tinted glass, except for replacement windshields. (Yes, plural. Lots of wind damage in Boulder, Colorado.)
Ah! I can finally break out the spring avatar!
The most interaction I get with autos is when I cross where the bike path intersects the MUT; generally it’s in the form of brakes slammed on suddenly as they look up from phone or texting to see me standing there waiting to cross. My other encounters on strets seem mostly positive but for once or twice when I have to answer the question “why don’t you ride on the sidewalk/shoulder?”
Because I’m not a pedestrian?
i hear this more often from other cyclist or pedestrians that i know but didnt recognise coz i was too deep into pedalling.
So far, the only time I’ve been talked to as a cyclist was when someone wanted directions. I gave them the correct directions.