Safety

I mentioned a few posts ago I would post an entry about bike safety and ask for opinions. I was reminded today when John posted in his entry today about averting a collision with another cyclist. Which made me remember about making my post on safety. So here are some observations of mine that you are all welcome to comment on. 

First, and I am sure it makes me look quite dorky, I have noticed I am the only cyclist I have seen in town wearing an ANSI safety vest. It's a class III mesh vest I picked up from Occulux. Made for high visibility in faster moving traffic. To me, not being seen is the #1 reason I believe cyclists are hit. That's not happening to me. I am lit up like a christmas tree with this vest. Safety Orange, 3M reflective tape stitched in, I am very visible. If you hit me, you are either blind, or staring at your floorboard looking for your dropped cellphone. In which case I am dead anyway. I realize it looks uncool zipping down the road with a bright orange safety vest on. But I am often puzzled when I see cyclist after cyclist pass me, or zip by my work wearing nothing but cycling jerseys and helmets. No one appears to be wearing safety vests. To me this seems like such a no brainer. If you don't want to get hit, BE VISIBLE. How many of you cycling have a safety vest you wear out on the road? How many of you have even thought about it? Why is something as simple and easy as wearing a lightweight mesh safety vest so unpopular? Because in my opinion it is so important to be visible and hence safer when riding.

The second thought that occurs to me is the issue of wearing earphones when biking. I admit I am guilty of jamming to my iPod when out on rides. Some have said it's ok some say it's dumb to do. My reasoning is this, if I am going to be hit by a car moving at 20 mph+ there is nothing I am going to be able to do about it. They wont honk, they will just hit me. If they saw me in time to honk they would just avoid me in the first place. If I get hit it's because they didn't see me. Which being lit up with my safety vest there are only a few cases I can see of that being the case. So I think if I am hit there will be no warning, no sound I could hear like screeching tires, I will just be plowed over. Then the driver might slam on the brakes. What say you?

Everyone have a fantastic weekend and I hope you get a chance to get out and ride!