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it's funny because as kids the first thing they teach us is to look around before crossing the streets and make sure that vehicles on the streets saw us and sto
by pedanticlawyer 7y ago
it's funny because as kids the first thing they teach us is to look around before crossing the streets and make sure that vehicles on the streets saw us and stopped.
Adults are so pendatic about it that we develop muscle memory for it.
The reason is simple: don't assume other people won't make mistakes just because they were supposed to be careful and protect the weakest.
The safer option is to actually be proactive about safety, at the point that we would never think about crossing streets without looking first.
It is considered a severe distraction.
I noticed that bikers (not only them, but especially them) reasoning is kinda reversed.
I'm not a biker myself, I used to ride when I was younger, but I prefer to walk now.
As a walker I've had arguments with biker friends about the unsafety that their behaviour sometimes poses on pedestrians like going at high speed where there are other people around, arriving from behind when in a noisy city it's almost impossible to hear them and making simply suddenly dodging a puddle a life threatening hazard, riding on sidewalks, disobeying traffic laws etc. etc.
There is of course a majority of responsible bikers who are very careful, but what really baffles me is that talking about their own safety is a kind of taboo for a majority of them. Most of our arguments end up with them justifying with "cars are more dangerous, they should be more careful" and when I take them seriously and reply "so if cars are dangerous, why you never wear an helmet or other kind of protections except maybe a flashing light when on the streets?", the answer I get is usually "because it's their responsibility to not kill us".
It's really nonsense to me. I really don't understand the position.
- scatters 7y agoSo do you wear body armor and a helmet when out walking? If not, why not?
- leetcrew 7y agoI might if I walked in the street. I don't encounter a lot of cars driving on the sidewalk, and in theory I shouldn't encounter cyclists there either.
- randcraw 7y agoMore appropriately (since armor won't protect you from a two ton SUV), do you wear bright colors, reflective tape, and night-time illumination when walking? The answer from any smart pedestrian certainly should be yes, but it's surprisingly hard to buy neon yellow jackets or hats. They're rare for bclists and almost nonexistent for mcyclists, of which I'm both. Apparently most mcyclists would rather be cool than visible.
- asjw 7y agoIf I walked at 30km/h on the streets I would definitely wear one The poster in another comment says he wears helmet and body protections when skying, I think it's just common sense and not wanting to suffer sever consequences for no real reason. I used to wear an helmet when skating. Why bikers think they are the only immortal beings on this planet?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]