Lots of drivers fail to put their lights on at dusk. I'm not talking sun-still-up-in-the-sky dusk, I'm talking it's-getting-hard-to-pick-out objects in the roadway dusk. The kind of dusk that made you call off your kickball game as a kid, cause you couldn't follow the trajectory of the ball, or find the bases anymore dusk. The, I didn't see that car in front of me until I was up on it dusk.
As a cyclist, when the light starts to fail, or when it's rainy or foggy, I think I look like a manic Christmas tree...three rear blinky lights strategically placed and blinking, and a front white light that is in strobe mode. The idea: to be seen. I'm very squeamish and would get really, really grossed out by being squished like a bug. And I'm no different in the car---I've seen people plow into cars ahead of them, and covered enough crashes to have it make me a little twitchy when a car comes up too close, too fast on my bumper, so I just wonder.
What's with the failing to turn lights on at dusk? Does it seem wasteful? Does it seem premature? I'm just curious about that...
Excellent question, and I wonder the same thing myself, both when behind the wheel, or, more often, pedalling my way home at that time of day, especially come fall and winter...
ReplyDeleteAnd I just asked our WTOP Traffic Meister Bob Marbourg if he's seen a surge in the lightless.. He tells me it's not a 'new' problem, but a perennial one, and Eric, I think he'd agree with you that there is a seasonal adjustment. Listen to him and to Lisa Baden and you'll often hear them reminding you to turn the lights on. Yes, reminders seem to be in order.
ReplyDeleteOn the lighting issue: I was passed by one cyclist last night who was invisible to me, as well as the motorists on the roadway. Dark clothing, no lights, no nuthin'. Had he not blown through the red light ahead, I would have offered him one of my blinky's.
In an age when those painfully bright neon jerseys, vests, jackets are available to us...why not add them to your mix? One night out for a workout on foot, I was actually thanked by a driver who pulled over to tell me she appreciated how easy it was to see me courtesy of the neon yellow shell I had on. More on niceness on the roadways in my next blog entry...