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Bike Safety: Common Sense? Or Tyranny?

I vote common sense. Surprisingly, some don't agree.

By Chris HearnPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Photo by Tomi Vadász/Unsplash

Now, I've had a lot of weird interactions on social media over the years. I often stick my nose in where I shouldn't and interject myself into conversations unnecessarily. I did it again the other day and have been left baffled by what happened.

Here is the story. I saw a guy on Twitter post about how someone asked him why he wears dark clothes while cycling, and he says that it's because it is what he owns, so that is what he wears. Okay, fine. Then someone chimed in and said that the person who asked why they wear black when riding was "victim blaming". The thought being that if he is wearing dark clothes and gets hit by a car, and someone says, "Why weren't you wearing brighter clothes??" that it would be victim blaming. Basically, the argument seemed to be that it's not up the rider to wear bright colours. It's up to the drivers of cars to make sure they see them and not hit them.

That's where I should have stopped, thought about NOT posting, and carried on. I didn't. Because I'm an idiot. So, I popped in and said that it makes sense to make yourself as visible as possible when riding a bike.

Bad move. Baddddd move. I got quite a few very angry responses from hardcore bike riders and bike advocates, one of which got almost three hundred "likes". Several people decided to berate me, telling me that it isn't up to them to make themselves visible, it's up to drivers to watch out for them. They should wear whatever they want.

Well, okay, if that's the way you feel, sure. It's your body, your choice. But, common sense dictates that if you are on a bike, especially on a busy road, you might want to do everything possible to make it easier for drivers to see you so that they can avoid you. To me, this shouldn't be a controversial thing to say. This should just be logic and common sense. Apparently, however, to some, just the fact that I would suggest such a thing was a personal affront to cyclists, and commenters fought me hard on why they SHOULDN'T feel the need wear some kind of bright clothing when they ride their bike.

Here's what I think. If you often find yourself riding your bike on busy city streets, you might want to consider investing the 15 bucks or whatever it is to buy one of those bright, neon, high visibility vests. It just seems like a smart thing to do. It's light weight, just slips over your shirt or jacket, and people can really see you. Constructions workers wear them. Traffic cops wear them. Crossing guards wear them. Truck drivers have them in their cabs at all times for if they have to do any work near a road. You can see them everywhere. So, it just seems like a reasonable idea to wear one over dark clothes. Right?

Apparently not. Apparently suggesting to these hardcore cyclists that they might be safer wearing one of these things really makes them mad. Apparently, based on what some of these folks were saying, high visibility garments don't stop accidents. Well, granted, even if you do wear a bright vest, it doesn't guarantee absolute safety. People do make mistakes. They do screw up. And sometimes, those people are cyclists themselves. But that didn't seem to occur to any of those who were upset about my safety suggestion. To them, high viz stuff is crap and doesn't work. The issues on the road are all the fault of drivers and city design, and they don't see why they should be the ones having to wear high viz clothing. The onus isn't on them.

They were so angry and resistant to the idea that, you know, making yourself as visible as possible for drivers is good! Heck, one person even threw in the word "tyranny". And this was a guy who advertises himself as a CAN-bike urban cycling instructor. It blew my mind.

I think they need to be reminded of some basic safety rules which can easily be found with an internet search. The Canadian Safety Council, for example, says:

Bright clothing catches people’s attention in the daytime – the brighter the better. If you must ride at night, go beyond the required reflectors and front light. Wear clothing made with retro-reflective material, or retro-reflective tape on your clothing, to ensure you can be seen.

That's right. A whole council dedicated to safety agrees that wearing bright clothes is a pretty darn good idea. The Province of Manitoba Health and Safety website says the following:

Wear bright coloured clothing in the daylight (consider fluorescent colours) and wear reflective clothing at night. Use a white light on the front and a red or amber light or reflector on the back of your bicycle. A reflective strip around your ankle will make you even more visible as a cyclist.

So, why do these hardcore cyclists and bike activists get so defensive and angry when this is pointed out to them? Absolutely baffling. It reminds me of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. Similar rhetoric. Even though vaccines and masks can really help in the battle against Covid, some absolutely deny this and refuse both. Same thing with this debate. Although bright clothing can really help keep a bike rider safer, they denied it and seem to absolutely refuse to accept that fact.

But hey, you know what, it's their body and their choice. If they don't want wear bright clothing, think it's tyranny, believe that it doesn't actually help, that's totally up to them. I wish them luck!

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About the Creator

Chris Hearn

I'm a 47 year old writer, amateur photographer and amateur dad living in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

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