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Hippie Hybrids Harass Hikers
For another entry in the, "why should I have to pay attention in life, isn't that something the government should do for me?" category, we have this article on an "unintended consequence" of the growing popularity of hybrids:
As hybrid sales skyrocket, there's a growing concern that the battery-gas powered vehicles pose a risk [to pedestrians] because they aren't as noisy as gas-powered engines. When idling, hybrids run on the quiet electric battery. Most, with the exception of GM and Honda hybrids, can also operate on the battery until the car reaches higher speeds, when the gas engine kicks in.
Yeah, that colorful ton-and-a-half of metal moving toward them just isn't enough to grab everyone's attention. And of course drivers shouldn't be expected to, you know, look around and be aware of nearby pedestrians. Can't you see they're on the damned phone?
I ride a bike on city streets all the time, and my assumption that essentially everyone else on the road with me has no idea I'm there has saved me from many a crash. Look around, make eye contact with cross traffic drivers, and "check six" when you need to switch lanes or pull to the center and you will go far indeed.
Karma being what it is, be sure to watch the papers tomorrow morning for news of an inattentive cyclist in Northern VA getting creamed by a hybrid he didn't hear coming.
"And of course drivers shouldn't be expected to, you know, look around and be aware of nearby pedestrians."
It's well known and accepted in case law that vehicle drivers' vision is always going to be subject to some degree of obstruction, if only because they are (supposed to be) strapped into a seat that prevents them from turning their bodies so they can get a full 360 degree view. Blind spots are always an issue for drivers, which is why pedistrans are expected to exercise some degree of care themselves, such as looking both ways before crossing the road.
Unfortunately, most pedistrans have become used to using their ears as much as their eyes to detect oncoming traffic. It works just well enough, as a shortcut to actually turning your head to look, to be extremely dangerous, even when all the cars on the road have noisy engines.
I'm reminded of Neal Stephenson's "Zodiac". His main character is asked why he doesn't have a bike light, or wear reflective tape when he rides the bike. He replies that if you're depending on someone else to see you for you to be safe--to see you, and to give a fuck--then you've already lost. He just assumes that there's a ten thousand dollar reward for running him over, and rides his bike accordingly.
Also...maybe if bicyclists didn't ignore traffic laws, they would have less trouble with traffic. "Share the Road" doesn't translate to "Ignore Red Lights".
Posted by: DensityDuck on February 8, 2006 10:41 AMStephenson tends to be pretty hard-core libertarian about such things IMO. I'm quite the opposite when it comes to lights... I have a GIGANTIC tail light that flashes in two different patterns, and the biggest LED headlight I could lay hands on. I still want more... I want helicopters to mistake me for a landing field, that sort of thing.
You'd be amazed how many people don't hear your hybrid coming and step right out in front of you without looking. Of course if they'd look first it wouldn't be an issue. I've also noticed if you come up from behind them they are stunned when you pass them.
Posted by: Dianne on February 8, 2006 11:32 AMStephenson sure sounds paranoid enough to be libertarian, at least. Putting lights on your bike should be done for the same reason you should never assume people see those lights... it adds another layer of safety, which must also be penetrated for an accident to occur. Combining a lighted bike with defensive biking means that both you have to not notice the car, and the car not notice you, before an accident happens.
Only fictional characters can permenantly maintain the level of alertness needed to always see every car on the road before it's too late, so believe me when I say what works for him ain't alwalys going to work for you.
Of course, that only applies to accidents. If "they" are actually out to get you, then by all means, keep your bike dark, and preferably hidden in the camoflauged shed you haven't left in the last twenty years.
Posted by: Tatterdemalian on February 8, 2006 04:39 PMAll it will take is a few multi-million dollar lawsuits, and the hybrid manufacturers will start adding outside speakers (or something comparable) that will alert pedestrians.
That's why trucks have back-up beeps. That's why "natural" gas (which in its pure state is odorless) now has a smell.
Just a matter of time before a lawyer gets their hands on this one.
Posted by: Rob on February 8, 2006 05:53 PMWell, as one who owns a gas stove, I can't sez I'm not glad the stuff stinks when it leaks. Comes in handy on occasion.
Yeah, there would certainly be a large dollop of irony to ladel out if hybrids ended up saddled with some sort of warning device. Those who live by the sword, sort of thing...
Posted by: scott on February 8, 2006 07:20 PMDude... do you have any idea how valuable a silent hybrid will be once the government begins mandating that these suckers start making noise?
Yeah, I think I'll get one. Painted flat black. Perfect for getting things done... quietly.
Posted by: Tatterdemalian on February 8, 2006 08:02 PMI just have to:
Even the smallest canine is a masterpiece.
hehehehehehehehehehehehehe
busted!
Posted by: ronaprhys on February 8, 2006 11:58 PMIt’s horrible to think that a car, or any vehicle for that matter, could be good for the environment. Pooh on that. Pooh on that a lot…
Posted by: roth on February 11, 2006 01:40 AMThey're better than horses. Do you have any idea how much methane, carbon dioxide, and even biohazardous waste a horse produces in a day? At least the greenhouse gases cars produce aren't rife with flesh-eating E. Coli.