"Wilson" <
[email protected]> wrote
> "Jon" <[email protected]> wrote
>>"Wilson" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> If you are on a bicycle and a bus is about to run over you
> it seems to me that wouldn't be the proper time to dwell
> on who is wrong or what led up to the situation, or officials you might
> discuss the problem with later. I should
> think you would spend that moment coming up with a new
> Plan A for getting your butt out of the way.
I have agreed that *not being run over* is preferable to being
run over. I have *not* suggested that at the moment of
pending impact any internal or external dialog about fault or
statistics is useful.
Rather, to reduce the likelihood of someone being between
that bus and a hard place in the future, I *have* suggested
1) educating public bus drivers about driving around cyclists
2) escalating complaints concerning such drivers' behavior as
appropriate
3) riding in a manner that improves visibility and promotes
safer interaction with motor vehicles
>>> spandex racing bike outfit,
On some physiques, I might appreciate such attire,
but not my own. My cycling clothes are inexpensive
and functional.
>>> leather gloves,
> [...] Leather gloves are good.
Ok, but I haven't found a need for them. In a decade
of recumbent riding, I've never used gloves of any sort.
In the times I've gone "rubber side up" on my recumbents,
my hands have never left the handlebar grips.
People who ride low racers and may use hands
to support them at stops might find gloves useful.
The pavement can be dirty, hot, wet, etc...
>>> and a really cool styrofoam helmet?
> [...]
> I've ridden with helmets of so long I feel uneasy with out one.
I don't have a "cool" h*lm*t, but a rather utilitarian one.
Best feature is the visor. I wear one, but I don't attribute
great protective qualities to bicycle h*lm*ts.
> What do you say?
I say the h*lm*t flame wars are predictable and uninteresting.
> So what am I to think? I get the feeling you choose
> not to address the issue.
I have, and also attempted to broaden the discussion.
See my comments and suggestions, repeated above.
> Here's how you handled it the first time:
>
> [ bike vs bus ]
How about Mini Cooper vs. Tractor-trailer rig? %^)
>>>> [staticistics for fatality risk per hour of exposure]
Two stories:
1) My family likes to camp and backpack in the Rocky
Mountains. My mother-in-law collects newspaper
clippings about bears and campers and sends them
to us, often just before we leave for a trip. She is
projecting based on what seems common sense to
her that camping and hiking such places where there
are bears, it not camping and hiking in general, is
inherently unsafe. I point out we're at much greater
risk of serious injury or death driving to the trailhead
than once we get there.
She doesn't get it. People are generally pretty poor
judges of relative risk.
2) Often when non-cyclists hear that I ride to some
nearby city for exercise or lunch, they say, "Don't you
feel unsafe out there on the highway or farm to market
roads?" My answer is no. They are projecting based
on what seems to them common sense that cycling such
roads, if not cycling in general, is inherently unsafe. They
don't think driving or riding in a passenger car is unsafe,
yet the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents
is much larger, both in absolute terms and by hour of
exposure.
They don't get it. People are generally pretty poor
judges of relative risk.
*That doesn't mean I ignore the bears or the buses.*
I take prudent precautions while camping and
hiking, not just for bears, but for other potential
risks.
I take prudent precautions while cycling, not just for
buses, but for other potential risks.
Jon