In Defense of Jaywalking

http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/

On 6 Nov, 20:01, Jobst Brandt wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:

*http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/

That sounds like those roads on which I ride of which I am warned that
they are too dangerous. *Maybe the writer should consider the number
of bicycle messengers in big cities that don't die daily as is implied
in that article.

It seems that too many folks rely on the law to make their lives safe.

I think of this when I meet bicyclists at midday in fair weather
wearing day-glo jackets and pants, have a flashing HID headlight aimed
in my face, while wearing a rear view mirror mounted on incognito dark
sun glasses along with an day-glo orange flag mounted on a white
fiberglass pole.

What is happening to bicycling?


LOL, there's a bit of that over here as well. It seems to be more of
a magic foam hat and a dayglo vest means the rider does not look back
when changing road position. Perhaps they are easy sales items with
high markup that the shop employee can always budge to the newbie.

Jobst Brandt wrote:

I think of this when I meet bicyclists at midday in fair weather
wearing day-glo jackets and pants, have a flashing HID headlight

I'm pretty sure that there is no such thing as an flashing HID bicycle
headlight.

Jobst Brandt wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:

http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/

That sounds like those roads on which I ride of which I am warned that
they are too dangerous. Maybe the writer should consider the number
of bicycle messengers in big cities that don't die daily as is implied
in that article.

It seems that too many folks rely on the law to make their lives safe.

I think of this when I meet bicyclists at midday in fair weather
wearing day-glo jackets and pants, have a flashing HID headlight aimed
in my face, while wearing a rear view mirror mounted on incognito dark
sun glasses along with an day-glo orange flag mounted on a white
fiberglass pole.

It seems like the opposite--they are not relying on the law at all,
they're taking it upon themselves to become more visible.

On Nov 6, 5:19 pm, Jobst Brandt wrote:
Steven Scharf wrote:
I think of this when I meet bicyclists at midday in fair weather
wearing day-glo jackets and pants, have a flashing HID headlight
I'm pretty sure that there is no such thing as an flashing HID
bicycle headlight.

Just the intensity of these lights and how they are aimed makes them
"High Intensity Lights"... insultingly blinding. "Hey, look at me.
I have the brightest glare on the road", is what they are stating.

This does not make them safe, especially car and truck drivers that
are out to "teach these bicyclists a lesson."


On my way home just the other night - almost there - in the dark and
wind and rain - riding on the paved shoulder, this very large pickup
truck goes by me on the left, then sweeps way back to the right, clear
over the fog line and onto the paved shoulder. He stays all the way
right at the stop sign ahead - even though he intends to turn left -
presumably to block me from going by on the shoulder. I duck my head
under his side mirror and pass him anyway, assess the situation at the
intersection, and roll on through the stop (essentially jaywalking on
a bicycle). Now he's really ****ed off, and instead of turning left
he drives straight through after me. I turn left into a parking lot
to cut across the block, frustrating his pursuit, so he uses his last
ditch assault - a long blast of his horn.

Seeing as where I live there is no law or rules regarding jaywalking
it all seems very odd.


That said when I'm cycling I do find lots of people walk out in front
of me as they are walking with their headphones in and not paying the
slightest bit of attention to what is going on around them.

On Nov 8, 6:44 am, Jobst Brandt wrote:
Lee Fiebings wrote:
Seeing as where I live there is no law or rules regarding jaywalking
it all seems very odd.
That said when I'm cycling I do find lots of people walk out in
front of me as they are walking with their headphones in and not
paying the slightest bit of attention to what is going on around
them.

I think this thread is running on a misconception. "Jay Walking" is a
pedestrian crossing a street marked with crosswalks at places where
there is no marked crosswalk, a term that arose in the days when
cities first painted crosswalks at intersections. Crossing elsewhere
was termed "Jay Walking" and has nothing to do with bicycling.
Therefore the term "walking".


Sure, that is "jaywalking". I associated my rolling a stop sign as
"essentially jaywalking on a bicycle" - not because it's the same act,
but because this offense can be categorized as presenting about the
same risk to myself, other individuals, and society at large.

(I introduced my anecdote re; "On my way home just the other night...
" as an immediately fresh supporting example of routine and ubiquitous
"car and truck drivers that are out to "teach these bicyclists a
lesson.""

Jobst Brandt wrote:
Lee Fiebings wrote:

Seeing as where I live there is no law or rules regarding jaywalking
it all seems very odd.

That said when I'm cycling I do find lots of people walk out in
front of me as they are walking with their headphones in and not
paying the slightest bit of attention to what is going on around
them.

I think this thread is running on a misconception. "Jay Walking" is a
pedestrian crossing a street marked with crosswalks at places where
there is no marked crosswalk, a term that arose in the days when
cities first painted crosswalks at intersections. Crossing elsewhere
was termed "Jay Walking" and has nothing to do with bicycling.
Therefore the term "walking".

Jobst Brandt

Intersections are a very dangerous place to walk across the street. You
have vehicles coming from four different directions to contend with. In
the middle of the block you have vehicles coming from only two different
directions.

In article ,
Jobst Brandt writes:
Peter Cole wrote:

http://www.slate.com/id/2234011/

That sounds like those roads on which I ride of which I am warned that
they are too dangerous. Maybe the writer should consider the number
of bicycle messengers in big cities that don't die daily as is implied
in that article.

It seems that too many folks rely on the law to make their lives safe.

I think of this when I meet bicyclists at midday in fair weather
wearing day-glo jackets and pants, have a flashing HID headlight aimed
in my face, while wearing a rear view mirror mounted on incognito dark
sun glasses along with an day-glo orange flag mounted on a white
fiberglass pole.

What is happening to bicycling?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Erstwhile car drivers who want to be seen to be "green" so
they turn to cycling, but they don't want to be typefied as
the typical, devil-may-care bike rider.

I guess there are people who ride bicycles to ride bicycles,
and people who ride bicycles to not drive cars.


cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Tom Keats wrote:
I guess there are people who ride bicycles to ride bicycles,
and people who ride bicycles to not drive cars.

Indeed. I went to a meeting of my local cycling club recently - there
were about 35 of us there and I think only three of us cycled to get
there. Granted it was evening & therefore dark, but even so I felt that
put most of them pretty firmly in the former category!