What to wear in urban traffic

Along with the increased interest for cycling world wide, comes injuries and accidents. One could argue that many people who commute on a daily basis don't pay enough attention to traffic, that be the cyclists' ffail to give the proper attention needed, or others in traffic makes errors. Either way, cycling is a social interaction with others and who if not we should follow the traffic rules and assume no one else does?

Being a cyclist I pay interest to other cyclists, what bike they have, what gear they have. What struck me today was the extreme difference in clothing and from a safety perspective; how little visible some are in traffic. Some commute wearing the same outfit they do on work, others change into their cycling kit. Much can easily be done to be more visible in traffic. I can almost hear some saying: "why should I have to wear bright yellow or orange jacket, or wear a helmet on the short way to job?" 

Well, the same answer applies when it comes to wearing seat belts in cars; There are others out there. It doesn't matter how good you are to ride a bike or drive your car, your safety depends on others. Don't know about you but I've seen some drivers in desperate need of getting their sugar level up on their way home for dinner.

Here are some pictures I took today, sorry for the lack of quality, they were taken with my iPhone. My point should be clear though. See the difference between those cyclists who wear colorful clothing and not. And no, this doesn't mean you should stop wearing your black/grey Rapha kit, you could buy the pink one too. There are cool kit in colors out there.

Stay safe.

See the cyclist in the middle of the picture long way back, wearing bright yellow compared to the person crossing the road.

This guy will have no problems getting spotted in crossroads.

Cycling as a social interaction with others

Earlier this week there were two tragic accidents involving cyclists and cars that had fatal consequences. There's a probability there were many more but at least these two got attention on the news. I will be careful taking any advantage of these terrible accidents and I emphasize that I don't know any cause of these accidents.

The cause of accidents involving bikes and cars varies and I think it's natural under these circumstances to focus on solutions. Being out on the road mean we are part of a large social system. One thing is the different parts of this system, objects like cyclists, big cars and small cars, truckers, tractors, motorcycles, those who make their living on the road and those who use it for other purposes.

What all these elements have in common and why am I naming it a social system?

It doesn't come as a surprise that all of these objects are controlled by humans therefore social. It becomes a system when we follow rules and/or anticipates that a certain behaviour is expected.

Cyclists have to be aware what mindset we have when we are out riding on the roads. No matter how relaxed we feel or how joyful the ride, we have to be alert and pay attention the others (or ourselves for that matter) on the road, simply because we cannot expect someone one else to do it. We cannot free ourselves from some individuals who might would be jerks any day, but we can do what we can to take care of ourselves. In practise this will mean that whenever we have to do something different from a pattern, from a person driving a car's perspective that is, caution have to be made.

Many may feel that this post blame the cyclists for accidents, I don't. The matters mentioned in the post works well for those driving as well. Being aware and present while on the road is something everybody learned back when we took a driving licence. The social system actually demand that we take certain considerations to one another.

To me it is a matter of minimising the possibilities for accidents to happen.

Ride safely, take care out there and we can ride another day.