A Call to Arms
So I haven't continued my cycling series yet because I've actually had to drive to work the last couple of days. I don't feel so bad about it since there were five in the car for most of it, but still. Anyway, as I've been thinking of ways in which motorists annoy cyclists, it seems to have made me a bit more aware of a few things that cyclists do that might endanger themselves. In the interests of balance I'm going to randomly insert a few of these in the mix here.
Postscript (2013-12-05): I appeared to have opened up a can of worms with this one. My brother pointed me in the direction of the CTC's collection of evidence relating to wearing helmets. It's not going to stop me wearing one, but in the interests of balance I'm adding this here. Make up your own mind, but remember that it might be harder to do this if your head gets squished.
Postscript (2013-12-05): I appeared to have opened up a can of worms with this one. My brother pointed me in the direction of the CTC's collection of evidence relating to wearing helmets. It's not going to stop me wearing one, but in the interests of balance I'm adding this here. Make up your own mind, but remember that it might be harder to do this if your head gets squished.
The first one is pretty simple. I have noticed an awful lot this week that a huge bunch of cyclists don't wear appropriate armour. I'm not talking about full BMX body armour, or even full cycling lycra. Seriously, just put a helmet on, and if it's dark, or even if it's not, a bit of high-vis.
There's a bit of a debate at the moment as to whether wearing helmets is safe or not, but I know of at least one chap whose helmet was completely wrecked in a head-on collision with a car. If he had not been wearing said helmet, then that would have been his skull. The photo of the wrecked safety gear made me strap my helmet to my head even more resolutely than usual.
Look at it this way: If you come off your bike and hit your head against something, chances are that it's going to be something pretty hard; a car, the pavement, a wall etc. Hard things mean force passed to your head is pretty serious (I'm simplifying it somewhat). Head trauma is bad for you and bad for people you care about, because they'll end up having to care for you.
Seriously. Put a flippin' helmet on.
(On a side note, if you're planning to rent a Boris Bike in London, I'd also carry a helmet, especially if you're not used to cycling in London. It seems aggression is key when motoring in London, and if you're a tourist not used to where you're going, you'll end up at the hospital.)
As for high-vis, it's about making yourself visible. If you dress from head to toe in black and wonder why drivers don't see you, then you've missed something yourself.
All-in-all, do yourself a favour and dress appropriately. It doesn't need to be expensive or hard, and it could massively save your life. Because as we all know, motorists are pretty stupid.
2 comments:
I'm with you on high vis and although I chose to wear a helmet most of the time wearing one isn't going to make you less likely to get hit. In fact there's little scientific proof that wearing one is much benefit (unless you're doing extreme stuff like bmx, mtb or hurtling down the alps in the tour). It's a major gripe that most motorists moan when passing cyclists "but he wasn't even wearing a helmet" as if it's an excuse to be reckless
I'm with you on high vis and although I chose to wear a helmet most of the time wearing one isn't going to make you less likely to get hit. In fact there's little scientific proof that wearing one is much benefit (unless you're doing extreme stuff like bmx, mtb or hurtling down the alps in the tour). It's a major gripe that most motorists moan when passing cyclists "but he wasn't even wearing a helmet" as if it's an excuse to be reckless
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