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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that lots of cyclists in London don't realise how invisible they are?

66 replies

CruCru · 03/11/2015 21:43

I wonder whether lots of them don't drive and so don't realise how difficult they are to see at night? Driving along the Euston Road, I keep seeing cyclists wearing black coats, dark trousers, no helmet, tiny light.

Clearly as a driver it's my responsibility to see other road users (cyclists, pedestrians, horses, other cars) but I really wish cyclists would at least wear a yellow strip at night.

OP posts:
Original poster
CruCru · 05/11/2015 20:16

Re helmets - a black one won't make you more visible but a light one might. I wear a white one because the man in the shop said it would be easier to spot.

Re the jacket - I'll ask him whether he knows where it's from.

OP posts:
trixymalixy · 05/11/2015 20:18

I was driving along a country road the other night. I saw one cyclist in high vis with lights and overtook him safely, but got a shock when I realised there was another cyclist in front of him, all in black with a teeny red light that I barely could see. It's so dangerous.

Original poster
CruCru · 05/11/2015 20:18

He's not answering. However, I have found this.

OP posts:
catfordbetty · 05/11/2015 20:21

It's the ones cycling along with headphones in completely oblivious, that I despair at.

Car drivers with the radio on and windows up can hear less traffic noise. You need to despair of them too.

megletthesecond · 05/11/2015 20:23

Yanbu. Cyclists in black with those silly flashing lights drive me mad. Hi-vis and proper (constant) lights are so much more visible. I saw a cyclist with no lights whizz past me in a traffic jam earlier. Utter idiot.

I only cycle through parks and on cycle path pavements though, you couldn't pay me to ride on the road.

MotherOfFlagons · 05/11/2015 20:29

I'm not a cyclist but very pro cycling IYSWIM and every single time I drive in London, seeing how some of them ride gives me the fear. Swerving across lanes on roundabouts without looking, wearing headphones, dark clothing at night, no lights, no signalling, riding across busy junctions against traffic signals. I just want to shake them and try to impress upon them how dangerous what they're doing is.

Just to emphasise - I am in no way anti-cyclist and think it would be great for more people to cycle. There are lots of terrible motorists too, so I'm categorically not blaming cyclists.

I believe a lot of the problem is that the majority of people cycling in London have never driven and don't necessarily understand or know the same road rules that motorists have had drummed into them over the years. Perhaps more free cycle safety training would help, amongst other measures. Another problem in London is the sheer amount of signage, road markings and enforcement measures that road users have to deal with along with the heavy traffic.

ReadtheSmallPrint · 05/11/2015 20:29

I totally agree with you.

I have a degenerative eye condition which means I cannot drive. However, I could legally drive for a long time after I realised that I was actually unsafe to. My night and dusk vision was the first thing to 'go', and I found it increasingly difficult to see in low light - even at a time when I was still registering as 20:20 on the Snellen scale.

My eyesight condition is rare in younger people, but is not uncommon in older people. It sometimes scares me to think how many people are out there, driving, on the road with eyesight - especially in low light - which is poor.

My sister went to a support session at her local macular disease society gorup. The secretary announced at the session that she was having to step down as her eyesight was too poor to use the computer any more. When my sister went to call for a taxi, the same woman said to her 'don't bother, I'll drive you home'. Funnily enough, my sister opted for the taxi...

Original poster
CruCru · 05/11/2015 20:32

This is my son's helmet - it's a really nice, bright colour.

OP posts:
Narp · 05/11/2015 20:45

catfordbetty

It would be great, ideal, if everyone who uses the road looked out for the safety of everyone else.

But if you are a cyclist and you don't look out for your own safety by doing whatever you can to make yourself visible and alert, (you being the more vulnerable) then that makes you a fool. IMO

catfordbetty · 05/11/2015 20:51

But if you are a cyclist and you don't look out for your own safety by doing whatever you can to make yourself visible and alert, (you being the more vulnerable) then that makes you a fool. IMO

I am a cyclist. I also think that all cyclists should have a set of good lights and wear reflective clothing at night. However, the arguments about headphones and helmets are much less clear cut and I have tried to point that out on this thread.

Narp · 05/11/2015 20:56

Ok

Glad you agree

redstrawberry10 · 05/11/2015 20:58

I once had a near miss with a black man dressed in black jeans and a black hoody, with his hoody up, in the dark, in the rain. No lights. No reflexive bits.

I must have seen the same guy. he was almost invisible.

catfordbetty · 05/11/2015 22:26

Glad you agree

I agree up to a point. At the risk of repeating myself, I do not agree with the arguments about headphones and helmets.

gobbin · 05/11/2015 23:32

Oh, for the resurrection of the Tufty Club....

IVolunteer · 06/11/2015 00:35

Cat ford you're probably one of those cyclists that just does as they please, cuts in front of perfectly safely driven cars and then whines about 'the eeeviilll drivers! I'm so morally superior!'

catfordbetty · 06/11/2015 07:57

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

chrome100 · 06/11/2015 08:53

Maybe they should cycle in the middle of the road. Oh no, wait....

HorseyCool · 06/11/2015 09:25

Pedestrians in dark clothing? what!

I am heading into London shortly, planning on wearing a black and white dress with black jacket, is that going to cause an issue TinyMonkey?

Drew64 · 06/11/2015 09:59

Some cyclists don't have the foggiest!
Do lorries really have to have that little sign on the back telling cyclists not to pass on the left! It's common sense for a cyclist not to surely.
Why do a lot of cyclists think that it's ok to flout the road traffic laws and ignore signage when every other road user has to abide by them. (running red lights, mounting pavements....)

I rode a motorbike on a 60 mile commute each day for years, I would assume that I was invisible and rode appropriately.
I swear this attitude kept me alive.

Micah · 06/11/2015 10:08

Car drivers with the radio on and windows up can hear less traffic noise. You need to despair of them too

In a car you have rear view mirrors, side mirrors, no wind/rain/mud splattering in your face. Compared to a car driver a cyclist has a very limited field of vision.

In a car I'd check my rear view mirror to see what's behind. As a cyclist I need the added sense of hearing traffic behind me to get a clear idea of where other road users might be.

I so think some cyclists don't realise that quality high visibility clothing is more effective than lights. It's relatively easy to see a cyclist in high cis who lights up like a christmas tree in headlights. It's much harder to see a tiny flashing light, and then you have to work out what it's attached to if the cyclist is dressed in dark clothing.

Drew64 · 06/11/2015 10:34

Compared to a car driver a cyclist has a very limited field of vision.

What a stupid comment!
You obviously don't ride or drive or if you do you have VERY poor observation!

A driver has many many blind spots to deal with;
A Pillar
B Pillar
Rear Pillar
That's at least 6
Just think what a lorry driver has to put up with

A cyclists field of vision is only limited to how far they turn their head!

Original poster
CruCru · 06/11/2015 12:17

Thing is, cyclists in the daytime don't necessarily need to wear fluorescent stuff to stand out (might help at night). This lady's red coat and white helmet make her stand out.

OP posts:
Want2bSupermum · 06/11/2015 12:25

So here in NYC and over the Hudson River in NJ it is awful. The citibikes have terrible lights on them and people cycle all over the place, sailing through traffic lights and going the wrong way down a one way street. Last Sunday I nearly had an accident on the way to the supermarket as there were two cyclists riding next to me with no lights on. the car parked on the other side of the street opened their door, clearly not seeing the cyclists. I was only going 15 thank goodness so was able to stop in time. If I had been going 20 I would have killed someone. I've written to our mayor, police chief and local paper. Cycling needs to be regulated in the same way that driving is. I've had my kids knocked over by cyclists on the sidewalk and they went flying due to their tiny size.

hefzi · 06/11/2015 14:05

It's the same here in Liverpool, but the fuckers ride on the pavement: I am actually waiting for an operation at the moment, for an injury sustained earlier in the year whilst being mown down by a cyclist - at least if they had lights on, they could see the pedestrians in front of them, and we could see them and realise we need to jump into the road for our safety...

hefzi · 06/11/2015 14:06

(I realise I am twitchy about this: but two of my great-grandfathers were killed by injuries sustained from being knocked down by cyclists - I am just trying to dodge the odds :-D)