Comparisons...

[DLB]

out for a ride tonight after dark and couldn't help comparing myself with another cyclist...

ME...

Altura yellow jersey
Bell helmet
Hi Viz 'over shoulder and around waist' strap
Hi viz band round ankle
1/2 watt smart rear light (flashing)
Blackburn mars 3.0 rear light (constant)
cateye E135 front light
travelling on a cycle path/footpath (off road)

OTHER CYCLIST...

black clothes and hat
Black coloured bike
No helmet
No lights front
No lights rear
travelling at about 20mph on the road
He didn't even have a reflector (as far as i could see)

And some cyclists wonder why they get hit!

(sorry, just wanted to get that off my chest- great ride tho')

 

[gregster]

out for a ride tonight after dark and couldn't help comparing myself with another cyclist...

ME...

Altura yellow jersey
Bell helmet
Hi Viz 'over shoulder and around waist' strap
Hi viz band round ankle
1/2 watt smart rear light (flashing)
Blackburn mars 3.0 rear light (constant)
cateye E135 front light
travelling on a cycle path/footpath (off road)

OTHER CYCLIST...

black clothes and hat
Black coloured bike
No helmet
No lights front
No lights rear
travelling at about 20mph on the road
He didn't even have a reflector (as far as i could see)

And some cyclists wonder why they get hit!

(sorry, just wanted to get that off my chest- great ride tho')

Exactly!!!!

 

[Smudgley]

I know, I have noticed that too.
I might be new to it all & I am very slow plodding along, but the very first thing I did was get high vis jacket/bright shirt/good lights and a helmet to make myself safe.


Another observation about safety, we were on the canal today & met a big group of young cyclists with 2 adults. The adults were kitted out with some right posh gear & looked the part, but half of the kids (who were really young) didn't even have helmets on. I don't think it was a club as such, but there must have been 15 kids on the canal with these 2 guys. they certainly looked like they knew their stuff, so surely they should insist on everyone wearing a helmet.

SAFETY FIRST I SAY.

 

[GrasB]

Then there's me.

No helmet (personal choice based on very painful experiences which I have no want to discuss here)
High-vis gloves with reflective wrist straps
All gear has at least retro active detailing & also some is high-vis
Old Cateye E530 equivalent (currently using a Hope 1 LED in its place)
Front & rear Knog Gekkos
CatEye TL-LD1100
Black/silver Retroactive tape suck to various parts of my frame.
Traveling on the road at 20-25mph.

It's interesting, you see a lot of cyclists that have great visibility on their body & bike however they end up with arms that have virtually no visibility aids on them. Just how am I supposed to see your signal if I can't really see your arm/hand? Also I've never had an accident in the dark which involved another vehicle or ped (medium sized mammals are a different story) only in the middle of summer within a 6h window around mid-day.

 

[yenrod]

out for a ride tonight after dark and couldn't help comparing myself with another cyclist...

ME...

Altura yellow jersey
Bell helmet
Hi Viz 'over shoulder and around waist' strap
Hi viz band round ankle
1/2 watt smart rear light (flashing)
Blackburn mars 3.0 rear light (constant)
cateye E135 front light
travelling on a cycle path/footpath (off road)

OTHER CYCLIST...

black clothes and hat
Black coloured bike
No helmet
No lights front
No lights rear
travelling at about 20mph on the road
He didn't even have a reflector (as far as i could see)

And some cyclists wonder why they get hit!

(sorry, just wanted to get that off my chest- great ride tho')

And someone pulled out on you didn't they !

 

[snorri]

Altura yellow jersey
Bell helmet
Hi Viz 'over shoulder and around waist' strap
Hi viz band round ankle
1/2 watt smart rear light (flashing)
Blackburn mars 3.0 rear light (constant)
cateye E135 front light
travelling on a cycle path/footpath (off road)

With all that gear, you obviously are aware of the increased danger of off road compared with on road cycling.

 

[SimonC]

I know, I have noticed that too.
I might be new to it all & I am very slow plodding along, but the very first thing I did was get high vis jacket/bright shirt/good lights and a helmet to make myself safe.


Another observation about safety, we were on the canal today & met a big group of young cyclists with 2 adults. The adults were kitted out with some right posh gear & looked the part, but half of the kids (who were really young) didn't even have helmets on. I don't think it was a club as such, but there must have been 15 kids on the canal with these 2 guys. they certainly looked like they knew their stuff, so surely they should insist on everyone wearing a helmet.

SAFETY FIRST I SAY.

Why? If their parents send them without, then so be it. Got thru my childhood without a helmet, sure you did too, my kids dont wear em.

 

[HJ]

+1 to many people confuses marketing and safety, cycle helmets don't make you safer, you may as well argue that because they were riding by a canal they should all have been wearing life jackets, safety first after all...

 

[Smudgley]

Why? If their parents send them without, then so be it. Got thru my childhood without a helmet, sure you did too, my kids dont wear em.

Well my kids do.

I just think it sends out the wrong message.

 

[Smudgley]

+1 to many people confuses marketing and safety, cycle helmets don't make you safer, you may as well argue that because they were riding by a canal they should all have been wearing life jackets, safety first after all...

But surely if they have a fall, they are better protected with a helmet on?

Some of these kids were very young.

 

[scook94]

I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this one....

 

[swee'pea99]

The no lights thing used to drive me nuts. Now I just ignore the idiots. Anyone so dumb as to risk their life for want of a fiver's worth of flasher is probably better off out of the gene pool.

 

[DLB]

agreed!

 

[HJ]

But surely if they have a fall, they are better protected with a helmet on?

Some of these kids were very young.

No, it is not a good idea.

Rather than go over all the arguments here I suggest that you use the search function above and look for threads on "cycle helmets" or you could just read cyclehelmets.org and get the facts...

 

[Virtual DBP]

my oldest point blank refuses to wear a helmet and the more i go on about it, the more he refuses and ignores me.

it's at the point where i've given up moaning about it as to carry on as before means either a) it pretty much ruins every run we have out as a family or it means we can't go if i say he's not coming without one.