A catch-em-all post rather than to get all complicated with lots of
quotes and replies....
My assertions weren't assumptions, they were -my opinion-. I'm not
doing a study or publishing a paper. So I don't need to have
statistics. And yes, using skills I developed doing masters and
phd-level research and reading and critiquing thousands of technical
journal articles, I did read the article. Since the article quotes Dr.
Walker as saying:
"Either way, this study suggests wearing a helmet might make a
collision more likely in the first place"
I figured it was reasonable to think that the -researcher -was making
the connection. What do you think, Ian?
I do have a long lifetime of safe road riding, driving, and distance
walking. I delivered papers on a bike when I was in junior high and
have ridden ever since, including a 650 mile tour of New England. Last
summer (2005) as a unicyclist, bicyclist, and uni-manufacturer-guy with
the express purpose of finding the best taillights, I played around
with taillights while riding about 1000 miles in rain, shine, dusk, and
dawn. This is the experience on which I base my -opinions-.
On (3) drivers seeing helmets: I'm sure, though I couldn't prove it at
the moment, that the additional risks people take are non-roadie things
like stunts, off-roading, skate park stuff, and the like. I can't
imagine anyone taunting a car or weaving all over the road just because
they have a helmet on and feel invincible. I have seen lots of kids do
this, and I can't recall seeing a helmet on most of them. So I hold to
this opinion.
On (5a) road selection: choosing your road and time is important. When
people are going to and from work, their judgment is impaired. You can
feel the frantic nature of their driving as if it were spraying you as
they drive by. "Congested" means crowded, it does not imply slow.
Crowded means: no room to maneuver. This is a bad thing for road
things that don't have exoskeletons. Choose roads and conditions that
are more likely to be forgiving of cycling in general, and unicycling
in particular.
On (5b) navigation: I intended that to include road positioning; I
should have called that out specifically. However, this overall point
is not obvious and certainly not spurious. One should ride with the
specific intent to "talk" to drivers - "this is what to expect from
me." Many cyclists do not do this, especially if they are part of a
pack.
On (5c) taillights. The latest ones are very bright. Daylight is not
uniform. Rain is a complicating factor. Drivers can be distracted.
Drivers are used to flashing lights being "official". Ride all the
time with a flashing taillight if you are in traffic, and I guarantee
drivers will consistently give you a wider berth. I proved this to
myself all during the summer of 2005 while riding my 29er in all
conditions.
On (5d) rear-view mirror. If you take time to really learn your mirror
well, you can see a heck of a lot with it. Then when the pothole that
covers your road's shoulder pops up, you'll be able to tell whether to
go around it or get off the uni, because you'll be able to tell how
close that tractor-trailer truck is. Just because many riders don't do
this, doesn't mean that they wouldn't be better off with a mirror -
they would be. Imagine driving your car without rear view mirrors.
-It's the same thing.-
On (6) UPDs: It's true that a driver should try to drive as safely as
possible. However, we do have to share the road with cars. Is it
reasonable to say to a driver: "I'll be riding here, and I may fall
off at any time without notice, even when the road seems smooth, and my
cycle may go skittering across traffic uncontrollably, and I may fall
flat on my face. It's your job to avoid me." This has happened to me,
and it has happened to David Stone (three lanes of traffic, the wrong
way up a one-way street), and probably every competent distance
unicyclist. All it takes is one invisible dip in the road, and...
you're off! This is just not true for bicyclists. I am all for
unicycle road riding, by competent, mature riders of all ages.
However, I do find it instructive and cautionary to try to see this
activity from the driver's point of view.
On (7) taillights: This opinion is NOT an assumption, this is an
observation by me. I have seen drivers give me more room during dry,
bright daylight hours, because I was using a flashing taillight on my
unicycle. And I'm not talking centimeters, I'm talking meters - at
least half a lane more room.
One thing the research didn't appear to control is whether or not the
opposite/adjoining lane was in use when a given car's separation was
measured. This too, would have a far more significant effect on
car-cycle separation than whether the cyclist is male or female or
wearing a helmet.
Finally, the article says
-Dr Walker thinks the reason drivers give less room to cyclists wearing
helmets is because they see them as "Lycra-clad street warriors" and
believe they are more predictable than those without. -
Well, yes an obviously serious rider in full Lycra and helmet would be
more skilled, more in control, and less likely to take unexpected
action in most or all situations. It's reasonable for a driver to give
him/her less room than a bare-headed kid on a bmx bike who is talking
to his buddies and swerving around or doing wheelies.
Just to be sure that it's clear: I love kids and bikes and unicycles,
even the ones who do stupid things on roads, in traffic.
--
U-Turn
Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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