The view from a car

[baiskeli]

Last night I had to pick up my car and drive the last few miles home from work in the dark – first time driving in rush hour in a long time. I drove down Fairfax Drive and saw a few bikes in the bike lanes.

It was alot harder to see them than I remember, even the ones with lights and yellow jackets.

You always feel so visible with your big lights and bright colors, but it’s easy to forget that drivers have other lights in their eyes and more distractions and are looking in front of them so they don’t hit the car ahead and the windshields cause glare and the radio is on and….

Be careful out there.

Topic

[Dirt]

That’s what I told people this morning. Reflective gear helps, but you gotta remember that it is still hard to see us.

[Jsnyd]

I passed a jogger last night while driving and the only reason I really saw him was because i think I’m just conditioned to constantly scan for cyclists or runners. Even motorcycles at still out. He was wearing a hi vis vest but he didn’t stand out much from the crowd.

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.845453,-76.949794

[jabberwocky]

*Hugs his 400L taillight*

[Terpfan]

I saw what I was convinced would be a collision this morning over by Dupont Circle. I never ride that way and was waiting at a light when a car turning almost clipped a guy racing the end of a crosswalk. I don’t think the cyclist even noticed and the car only realized it at that exact moment. Definitely a lot going on for drivers even in good weather.

On a more cheery note, I was over that way because Bethesda Bagels finally opened up the store down there. It’s a good reason for me to bike an extra mile each way out of the way. Yum.

[Greenbelt]

I’ve been seeing some fabulous over-the-top bike lighting lately. It’s really encouraging, but it’s also making me envious. Saw a guy in Greenbelt with double front and rear lights and double spoke lights the other night — awesome. Last night on Capitol Hill I followed a lady with triple rear lights and an excellent reflective shoulder band thing, and another with a reflective vest that was festooned with blinky red Christmas lights. It was a truly awesome display.

[Riley Casey]

Double down. I had to drive to and from work the other day when it was raining in the evening. I encountered a rider accoutered in the manner of a real commuter ( sans any reflective clothing however ) at about 7 pm near the south end of Silver Spring. Even with a set of ‘normal’ front and rear lights he was essentially lost in the multiple reflections of car lights, street lights, store lights that flickered on the wet pavement. I felt compelled to drive rear shotgun on him until he was at least over the narrow EW Hiway bridge over the metro and thru the Georgia Ave intersection to where EW Hiway had a shoulder of sorts. Just the sort of thing that gets me on the brighter and more obnoxious the lights the better bandwagon – and the sort of thing that keeps me on side streets and sidewalks when it’s raining.

[Author]

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