BB You took the words right out of my mouth- shared responsibility. NEBike I do not absolve Motorist of blame, people (myself included) do need to slow down when its dark put down the cell phone and pay attention. But IMHO riding a bike in the dark with no lights and dark clothing greatly increases your chances of being hit because you are invisible to others. If a black car was driving in the dark with no lights on and got hit by another motorist would you say the driver of the black car was blameless? The other driver should have paid more attention?
As a Motorist when I drive at night and see another motorist driving sans lights I think - that is dangerous, and I feel the same way about cyclists who cycle at night on roads with no lights and dark clothing. I realize that some folks are out there riding because its their only option not a choice, and money is a factor, however I don't think lights/reflective tape/etc are so cost prohibitive that it creates a barrier for the majority of folks. We are lucky in our city that the local bicycle club is even giving away free lights. And if you can't get free then a Hawk 2 way safety flasher is available in white or red for $3 each, reflective tape and or reflective stickers can be had for less than 2 bucks. Heck a royce union bottle dynamo with front and rear lights is about 5 bucks. I don't want laws or mandates I would just hope that riders can be safe and responsible On Dec 10, 12:38 pm, Montclair BobbyB <montclairbob...@gmail.com> wrote: > It's a shared responsibility, period... AND a matter of common sense. > We debate this topic ad nauseum within the cycling community in my > home state of NJ, in terms of who has what rights, and who has > accountability... Although I'd much rather be cycling than driving, I > spend far more time as a motorist than as a cyclist, so my take on > this issue: > > AS A CYCLIST I try to maintain the mindset that I'm merely one bad > situation away from being mowed down, so I try to stack the odds in my > favor by any and all means necessary. That includes riding where > there are fewest cars. One of the great things about riding a Riv, I > can take sidewalks, paths, alleyways with rough surface... I don't > have to stick to the car routes. But when that's impractical and I'm > forced to ride with traffic I make sure I can be clearly seen and that > I stay out of the way of motorists, regardless of what I perceive my > rights as a cyclist to be. I don't care about whether I'm right; I > just care about not getting hit. I say ride defensively in every way > possible.... > > AS A MOTORIST I try to maintain the mindset that I'm merely one bad > situation away from hitting another motorist, a cyclist, pedestrian, > deer, etc., so again, it's a matter of stacking the odds in my favor, > like slowing down, and maybe being aware of the stretches of road > where people, deer, and ninja-clad-stealth-night-riders all lurk. It > comes down to this: If you allow yourself to fall into a situation > where someone else's misjudgment, compounded with your own misjudgment > creates conditions that are ripe for an accident, it's time to rethink > your role in that equation. I say drive defensively in every way > possible. > > Tonight I'll be driving home from the office and then riding my bike > to my favorite pub... First, (thanks to this enlightening > conversation) I'll take my time driving home. Then before I hop on my > Riv, I'll trade my jacket with the reflectorized bands for my wife's > blazing DOT vest (she's an EMT)... No such thing as overkill... just > gotta stack those odds... > > Peace, > BB > > On Dec 10, 2:42 pm, newenglandbike <matthiasbe...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > "Drivers.. they're you and me." > > > They're not me... i don't drive. nor do many others. Most who don't, > > can't afford to own a car. That's the real world. > > > On Dec 10, 2:36 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > > > > On Fri, 2010-12-10 at 11:20 -0800, newenglandbike wrote: > > > > I'm all for riding with lights and reflective gear, and do it myself, > > > > but take umbrage to the blame-the-victim attitude that puts the > > > > responsibility for not getting hit by a car on all on the cyclist. > > > > What about pedestrians, should they be all ablaze too? What about > > > > people who can't afford to keep CatEye in business trying to make > > > > themselves look like a bipedal quasar? > > > > Nice rant. Now back in the real world, if you are virtually invisible > > > in the dark you certainly have yourself to blame if someone fails to see > > > you and runs into you. Responsibility is shared, and if you're wearing > > > nighttime camouflage -- dark clothing, no lighting, no reflectors, dark > > > gloves, black balaclava pulled down over the face -- as so many cyclists > > > and pedestrians seem to do, blame yourself if you aren't seen. Drivers > > > are neither demigods nor demons. They're you and me.- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
