| Re: drivers speeding away
On Jan 25, 4:04 pm, frkry...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Talk about putting the ball
> > in the wrong hoop! Instead of be 'visible and predictable,'
> > it should be 'keep your head up and your eyes open,
> > and think ahead.' Instead of visibility, Vision. Visibility
> > is a by-product of responsible riding anyway, and
> > shouldn't be a prime directive; 'predictable' means
> > different things to different people.
> Can you imagine if we taught people to drive using the same logic?
We do. It's called defensive driving ideology.
Can you imagine if we taught people to drive, or ride
motorcycles, using your logic? "Just be visible and
predictable for all the other drivers out there, and
everything will work out swimmingly!! We'll teach
you how to turn the steering wheel sharply in
chapter 32, but you'll probably never need to!!"
> "It doesn't matter what side of the freeway you use. Forget those
> 'Wrong Way' signs. Just keep your eyes open."
What a ridiculous straw man. Nobody said anything about
ignoring traffic law being part of safe riding.
One who has faith that simply following the main pillars
of 'vehicular cycling' ('be visible and predictable') will keep
them safe in traffic has put all their eggs in the wrong basket.
Any twelve year-old jack donkey can ride down the
road as part of the traffic system. The question is, what
happens when the system breaks down. Will you be
surprised, or will you be ready. That's really all that
matters. Everything else is distraction.
Those heavily invested in 'vehicular cycling' ideology
seem to have trouble even admitting that the traffic system
is prone to breakdowns. Dangerous.
First thing's first: jettison idealized notions of the
traffic system.
Robert
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