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>Because pedestrians have the intrinsic motivation of not wanting to die. Do they? Where I live, at night, no one ever wears reflectors, save a few cyclists. I
by dqv 5y ago
>Because pedestrians have the intrinsic motivation of not wanting to die.
Do they? Where I live, at night, no one ever wears reflectors, save a few cyclists. It seems like people don’t think about this at all. You’re walking around at night and someone driving a car doesn’t see you until it’s too late. I think there is some merit to asking the question about how pedestrians can be safer. I’m happy to practice what I preach and wear reflectors at night but it seems that pedestrians are ignorant about their visibility. You can only be so safe driving a car, it’s not feasible to drive 5mph everywhere you go.
- dncornholio 5y agoWhere are you walking around where a car might hit you though? Are there no sidewalks? Infrastructure needs to be build around pedestrians and cyclists. The youtube channel "Not Just Bikes" shows how it can be done.
- ghaff 5y agoWhen I drive in Cambridge, I find people dressed in dark clothes constantly darting out to cross streets at random locations at night. As a driver am I alert and keep my speed down? Absolutely. But many pedestrians and cyclists absolutely behave recklessly.
- dqv 5y agoPlenty of sidewalks. Not everyone wants to use them for some reason. There is also the issue of crossing the street where there aren’t crosswalks. I am aware of Not Just Bikes, but that doesn’t remove the need for pedestrians to have awareness of their visibility in car-centric areas.
- _dain_ 5y agoWhy on earth should the responsibility be on pedestrians to wear reflectors? That is _preposterous_. What's next, they should wear license plates and helmets? Something is deeply wrong about the built environment that such an indignity is even considered. If pedestrians cannot get around at night without wearing ridiculous fluorescent outfits because of the danger of cars, then the problem is with the cars, not the pedestrians' fashion choices. See also: all of these bright yellow illuminated retroreflective bollards that should have made themselves more visible: https://waronthemotorist.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/new-road-safety-campaign-calls-for-greater-visibility-on-the-roads/ https://waronthemotorist.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/new-road-s...
- dqv 5y ago>If pedestrians cannot get around at night without wearing ridiculous fluorescent outfits because of the danger of cars They can get around just fine, they just don't want to walk further to get to the crosswalks, which is fine, but I think it's reasonable to ask people to wear reflectors as a trade off. I also can't exactly expect drivers new to the area to intuitively know where someone might decide to cross at night. Thus reflectors. When I see someone walking on the sidewalk, I slow down (even though it's not necessary given the amount of space between the road and the sidewalk). If I can't see that anyone is on the sidewalk at night, how am I going to know to do that? I want people to wear reflectors so I can give them a lot of space to feel safe not because I think it's their fault if they get hit. >If pedestrians cannot get around at night without wearing ridiculous fluorescent outfits because of the danger of cars, then the problem is with the cars, not the pedestrians' fashion choices. Yes, but saying this doesn't just magically make the problem go away. I also think people should wear reflectors at night regardless. When I'm walking around at night, in low-visibility areas, people seem to appear out of nowhere and I'd prefer to keep my distance.
- _dain_ 5y agoI'll wear reflectors while walking as soon as drivers wear helmets while driving.