Pictures Have we lost safety/common sense?

[J&S]

I have actually stopped my car to mention to walkers/dog walkers in our local country lane that they should have some hi viz on. I don't get any thanks for my comments! I have come to the conclusion that many people think they are immortal, this can include some drivers as well!!

 

[Flame_]

I was waiting to turn right at a crossroads in my car and watched, on the road going across, a car swerve at the very last second around a cyclist. I then followed and passed said cyclist and had I not seen him from side on, I might have hit him too. This is in total darkness, pouring with rain and, no word of a lie, he had one little excuse for a reflector on the back of his bike - no lights, no high viz and not even a dot of reflective clothing, riding a bike down a pretty major road. He's far from the first either. Some people are absolutely effing stupid.

 

[Flame_]

I notice a difference between older and younger people. Neither group seems alert to the possibility of a car on a country lane, but young people don't take so long to notice when I am creeping along at 3 mph behind them.
I suspect a lot of older people don't realise that their hearing and general awareness have declined.
.

Cars have also got faster, quieter and more numerous, younger people have grown up with it, older people have had to adapt their behavior as a response (or not! But they should have)

 

[Ratface]

I notice a difference between older and younger people. Neither group seems alert to the possibility of a car on a country lane, but young people don't take so long to notice when I am creeping along at 3 mph behind them.
I suspect a lot of older people don't realise that their hearing and general awareness have declined.
Country lanes now seem to be the go-to place to wander about and meditate with headphones on. May be a legacy of lockdown, but that ended long ago.

@jack Frost, As an "older person" I take offence about your generalisation about

 

[Flame_]

TBF, the plank on the bike who would have been lucky to get home alive was about 30, so he should hardly have still felt the (deluded) immortality of youth, or be suffering the cognitive impairment of real old age. He was just a massive tit (and there was a very lightly used pavement he could have ridden along if, being generous, he was caught out by being delayed until dark/ his lights had just blown/ etc).

Motorists need to respect vulnerable road users more, but as a driver, I can't respect them if I can't even see they're there.

 

[ycbm]

I notice a difference between older and younger people. Neither group seems alert to the possibility of a car on a country lane, but young people don't take so long to notice when I am creeping along at 3 mph behind them.
I suspect a lot of older people don't realise that their hearing and general awareness have declined.
Country lanes now seem to be the go-to place to wander about and meditate with headphones on. May be a legacy of lockdown, but that ended long ago.

You might be right (I don't think so) but the young are the ones with earbuds in and/or their noses buried in a mobile phone, so at worst it's equal.
.

 

[southerncomfort]

Now this post isn’t about rights or what a person can and cannot do, it’s more a question about what a person should or shouldn’t do.

Right now we have a proper pea soup we where I am. Cannot seen clearly much more than 10-15ft in front. I am driving to and from the stables and so far I have been close to possibly hitting 12 pedestrians. I am driving slow so I am seeing them in time. I’m going about 30 on a 60 (just back driving so driving miss Daisy is my speed just now, especially in these conditions) but not one of there walkers have got a stitch of reflective or hi viz clothing on. Over half had ear buds/headphones in and a few weren’t even on the right side of the road. I passed a few drivers going way faster than me (I flashed them to warn) even my dad was clicking his tongue, There is no pavement.

I understand pedestrian have the most rights and I as a horse rider expect more consideration from vehicles but I wouldn’t take my horse out in this even hi viz’d up to the eyeballs with lights it’s that bad.

This is the view

View attachment 103033

now at that tree there is a wonky cross roads access to two farms, one in either side of the road, then just passed the tree is a very steep hill with hedges and no verges.

So rambling on lol my question is are we thinking more about our right to do something more than our safety? Not one of these people I met were below 50. A few had walking sticks but not one has anything that wanted a driver they were there until you were on top of them. I just don’t understand where coming sense has gone. They were all kitted out in walking gesr but nothing was reflective at all ?

I'm always shouting 'HI VIZ' at my husband as he heads out on his bike on a dark gloomy day wearing dark clothing (ear buds in ?).

So I don't know about 'people' but my husband has zero common sense.

I've taken to wearing the Proviz gilet I bought him for Christmas when I'm walking the dog after dark (don't think he's ever used it).

 

[phizz4]

And if something does happen it will always be someone else's fault, not theirs. Blame culture and unwillingness to take any responsibility for their own actions rule!

 

[cindars]

I bike to the yard in all weather's and wear hiviz whatever the conditions. We have many cyclists who use our narrow lane as a race track nearly always in dark clothing and no hiviz. My pet hate is walkers and joggers wearing earphones many times I've waved at them because a car or van is bearing down on them

 

[teapot]

Years spent waiting at bus stops in the dark means I always have a coat with reflective bits on me in winter/dark/murky days, and a torch.

Came across two walkers chatting away walking towards traffic on a 60 road which is very popular with bikers and large exhaust owners over the weekend. They eventually walked onto the very wide grass verge, before walking back on the road after I'd gone past them?! Had it been an hour later, the sun would have been directly behind them too

 

[Nicnac]

Driving home from work last night in pi$$ing rain and high winds, it was a really dark night. On a narrow country lane there was a couple with two small kids all dressed in black. I was going slowly and when I went past in my mirror I saw the male in front had a small head torch. Problem is his wife and kids were behind him. No pavement and I really hope they got home safely.

Same with kids on bikes all in black - it seems it's still not cool to be visible.

 

[melody-maker]

I cross a bike path turning into my RS, and am terrified I will one day hit one of the cyclists who go down it on the dark with no lights, no hi viz etc. They’re basically invisible, and they go at such high speeds, too. Dangerous for them, for other cyclists, and for all the drivers going past them

 

[Ratface]

@jack Frost, As an "older person" I take offence about your generalisation about

As I was saying, when my old phone froze - old things are so, well, old, aren't they - and it certainly doesn't realise how unreliable it can be. Especially when both of us are on the bottom of a low tide. I'm 77. I've had a full licence for 56 years. I've done the Institute of Advanced Motorists training, police driving training, and successfully raced sports cars at various UK circuits.
Tonight, I came back from seeing Old Horse at 1830hrs. Country lanes fine, easy to see lights approaching round bends and to wedge my car into the nearest safe passing place. Streaming traffic on the main road, headlights at full beam, no brake lights, indicators not lit/used, drivers cutting each other up.Tailgating. General mayhem. Aware of my vulnerability as an old person in a low-slung car, wearing specialist glasses to deal with both detiorated sight and blazing headlights, I decided to take a break in the local M&S cafe/shop until the traffic had lessened somewhat. Forty minutes later, I continued my journey and arrived home safely.
I'm perfectly aware of the levels of detioration of my bodily strength, reaction times, sight and hearing. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm stupid.

 

[Birker2020]

I have come to the conclusion that some people just expect other people to keep them safe and it just doesn't occur to them to help themselves. I pulled out of the track down to our field the other day, it was about 16.50 and a very overcast evening so visibility was poor. As I swung to the left my lights picked up something moving which turned out to be 3 largish horses single file against the hedge. Front and back riders had waistcoats with reflective strips which my lights picked up but nothing else on the front of the horses. My sister followed me out on foot and said they had yellow quarter sheets on but these don't show from the front. They were on a busy country road just at the time when traffic builds up and just crossing a junction that has a bad accident record. They no doubt thought they had done enough to keep themselves safe but they hadn't by a long shot.

Exactly the reason I used to wear flashing lights when hacking Errin. They were £1 from Poundland. Its not bloody hard is it?? One at the front, two at the back, flashing horse leg bands too, £5 off ebay for two. People spend more on a takeaway but won't dream of spending it protecting them and the horse they profess to love. Yes I got ridiculed by people for looking like a 'Christmas tree' flashing away but I get ridiculed for bresthing so don't give a damn and Bailey didn't care what peole thought either . My lovely horses' welfare on the road was way more important. It's beyond me why people don't understand and perceive the danger of poor lighting. "My horse is grey" or "I'm wearing a white top" or "it's sunny I don't need high viz" are a few of the things I've heard over the years. The sun in a drivers face renders you invisible in hi viz. I know, I got hit by a car hacking in hi viz up a hill when I was young We were in the drivers blind spot due to the sun, he never saw us, easily done. I never made the same mistake again though and luckily we both made it home that day.

On the way to work I have to drive down a narrow lane and come across a chap walking his dog at more or less the same point in the road every day. He walks with his back against traffic with his poor dog nearest the road constantly on his mobile phone so not concentrating. Given that this is 6.45am in the morning the bloke is practically invisible. Its a busy rat run thst time of the morning in both directions so rarely are you able to put your headlights on full due to oncoming drivers.

On Monday I was a bit later than normal and he'd crossed the lane onto pavement so I took the opportunity to wind down my window and with nothing behind me slowed right down and said I "excuse me mate but do you know you are almost invisible in this light?" to which he replied "you should put your headlights on then!" Like it's my fault he can't be seen.

Let the to#ser get hit, its the poor dog I feel sorry for. I have dashcam on at all times, if I did hit him or his dog I'd not be guilty in court as my dashcam clearly shows he's an idiot in dark coat, jeans, black trainers walking a brown dog in the dark.

And breathe....lol

 

[Bradsmum]

A few years ago I got the fright of my life. It was a dark, wet winters evening and I was driving on a lane used by commuter traffic as a cut through and they generally drive too fast. I came across a young woman, dressed in dark clothing with a baby in a pram! I wasn't driving fast but spotted her at the last minute - I think my headlights caught some chrome on the pram. I had to stop, put on my hazards and asked her if she knew how vulnerable she was. She had no idea and apologised. I gave her an old hi viz I carried in the car which had some reflective strips. I couldn't fit pram in car or I would have offered her a lift. It shook me up no end how close I'd been to hitting her.

 

[AntiPuck]

I actually get horse people making (soft) jibes at how much hi Viz and lighting I put on my horse to ride out. As if it's uncool to want to be safe, or something. They think that a single dirty, and barely-fluorescent-anymore tabard will do the job, apparently, but still complain about the actions of drivers.

I wonder how many of those drivers just don't see them in good time, as with my viz set-up, hat cam, and tabard advertising the hat cam, I get a vast majority of drivers behaving these days. So they are clearly seeing me.

My pet hate are cyclists who have no lights, nothing reflective, and no hi Viz but then cycle in the middle of the road when the sun is low/it's dark. How on earth do they actually expect to be seen. Presumably most of them are also drivers but apparently the cyclist and the driver parts of the brain don't talk to each other...

To me all of this amounts to a lack of personal responsibility. We expect other road users to take responsibility for seeing us, but we skip over the part where we take responsibility for making ourselves seen.

 

[dogatemysalad]

I used to drive past a comprehensive school where the teenagers would walk in large groups spilling onto the road. They all wore black. On dark, rainy mornings, I crawled along nearby roads, gripping the steering wheel with my eyes peeled. If only they had reflective armbands or strips on their backpacks, motorists might have had a less stressful journey.

However, yesterday, a group of us were riding down a quiet narrow lane, all wearing hi viz and reflective clothing. It was a bright sunny afternoon, there was no need for car lights. A car appeared travelling at speed towards us and we had no where to escape. We yelled and waved our arms. Thankfully, the driver was able to pull up. The problem was the bright, low sun which had blinded the driver.
In this case, the blame lies with both parties. In the interests of self preservation, the driver should have driven with more caution, but equally, we should have avoided riding when the sun was so low and bright.

 

[Bernster]

It baffles me why people wouldn’t want to be easily seen in the roads. Being a horse rider it seems natural to have hi vis but I suspect walkers may not realise. But to be sniffy about it when it’s pointed out to you is just inexcusable.

 

[Hackback]

Whilst I completely agree with all the comments about making yourself visible on roads, bird watchers/wildlife spotters etc will want to make themselves as invisible as possible when out doing their thing. Maybe some battery lights that you could carry easily in a pocket or rucksack and pop on when you had to walk on the road would be an idea.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

A tv ad showing the difference would make them more aware of the danger as I’m sure it ignorance not arrogance that is the reason

Years ago there used to be a Safety ad shown on TV. It was two ladies going to something like WI. Think they were Mrs White and Mrs Black. One wore or carried something white the other didn't, was in dark clothing. The one in black never got there. The jingle was 'wear something light at night'. It needs to come back. It was an excellent ad as I still remember it clearly over 60yrs later.

 

[ester]

TBF, the plank on the bike who would have been lucky to get home alive was about 30, so he should hardly have still felt the (deluded) immortality of youth, or be suffering the cognitive impairment of real old age. He was just a massive tit (and there was a very lightly used pavement he could have ridden along if, being generous, he was caught out by being delayed until dark/ his lights had just blown/ etc).

Motorists need to respect vulnerable road users more, but as a driver, I can't respect them if I can't even see they're there.

meanwhile cycling on some of our unlit shared use paths is great fun , pedestrian in dark clothing you need a good light to sell see with, and car drivers stroppy because you are using a good light to see with, or just blinding you with their main beam as they’ve not realised you might need to see too ?.

I do consider people that cycle with headphones absolutely bonkers/have a death wish.

 

[ester]

Then we also have a whole bunch of people who can’t cope with other road users using lights to be seen/see where they are going. I didn’t really see the problem, if I see a light that I’m not sure what it is I usually try and go round it…. ?

 

[Rowreach]

Years ago there used to be a Safety ad shown on TV. It was two ladies going to something like WI. Think they were Mrs White and Mrs Black. One wore or carried something white the other didn't, was in dark clothing. The one in black never got there. The jingle was 'wear something light at night'. It needs to come back. It was an excellent ad as I still remember it clearly over 60yrs later.

In NI there were a series of very hard hitting tv ads about road safety, dating from the mid 90s, which covered all sorts of things (speed, drink driving, motorbikes, pedestrians), and at their height the number of road deaths was at its lowest ever. Then in 2020 the budget for it was cut (went from about £3m at its highest to around £600k I think), and this year we've already got record numbers of road deaths with still a month and a bit to go.

The ads didn't make nice viewing, but they did work.

Same with horses on the roads, the most effective tv ad which showed the aftermath of a horse going through a windscreen, killing the horse and the driver, was shown in some European countries, but not the UK or Ireland iirc, because it was considered too graphic, and it had a big effect on drivers, reportedly not because they didn't want to kill horses, but because they didn't want to damage their cars But whatever, it worked.

 

[Floofball]

Driving to the yard last night in the dark and torrential rain. Car in front wasn’t going fast and due to conditions I was happy to pootle behind - it’s a National speed limit quite wide road with no pavements which comes to a quite sharp left hand bend. The car in front swerved right out on the apex so I slowed right down, much to the annoyance of the impatient driver behind me! Bloke dressed in black walking on the inside ? it was so fortunate nothing was speeding up the other way - could’ve been an horrific accident - also glad I wasn’t the car in front, they must’ve got such a fright. I personally always like to see what’s coming so will cross over to the outside of blind bends when walking - even in daylight!

 

[Pippity]

I was driving home from the yard in the dark last winter and only spotted a group of pedestrians because my headlights glinted off the buckle on the dog's collar. Two adults, two children, all dressed in black, with a black dog, walking on a 60mph road with no verge or pavement. A lot of pedestrians also don't seem to realise that, when walking on the road, they should be facing oncoming traffic, so they're often completely oblivious to approaching cars.

I wear hi-viz for crossing Sainsbury's car park!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

It’s honestly such a small thing to wear! Even a reflective armband on the outside arm helps massively!!

 

[Peglo]

About 15 years ago, two school children walking home from the bus in the village were hit and killed by a local driver. They were in dark uniforms, on their phones, walking in the middle of the unlit narrow country lane.

Following this tragedy, the secondary schools in town were of a mind to add some reflective strips to their uniforms. It would have cost an extra £5 per new blazer, or a little more to retrofit the binding. In all but one of the schools, this move was vetoed, by the parents ??

You have to wonder what it takes to convince vulnerable road users to take basic steps to safeguard themselves.

when I was in primary school a decision was made that all pupils had to wear a hi viz vests. It was safety pinned to our jackets so it was too much effort to take on and off (as kids might want to do) and as most of us stood outside waiting for the school bus it must’ve been so much safer for us and other road users. Your story of the parents deciding not to vote for reflectors is very sad.

 

[Caol Ila]

Ninja cyclists are par for the course in the city at night.

 

[ameeyal]

I’m going against the grain here, I was expecting total blackout of fog, I don’t think that is at all bad, in fact it’s like that a lot where I live and I ride out in it.

 

[Birker2020]

Whilst I completely agree with all the comments about making yourself visible on roads, bird watchers/wildlife spotters etc will want to make themselves as invisible as possible when out doing their thing. Maybe some battery lights that you could carry easily in a pocket or rucksack and pop on when you had to walk on the road would be an idea.

I've seen dog walkers carry a torch which they switch on and off continuously when a car is heard.