View Full Version : The dangers of bright yellow gear
This evening (a rather dull grey one) I was was returning
home from work, kids in the trailer, when a bee mistook me
for a prize daffodil. It was at one of the more dangerous
points on my commute. A right hand turn on a left hand bend,
cars always going too fast, single lanes with not enough
room for a car to pass safely inside a bike with trailer.
Just as I was braking on the bend to wait for a gap so I
could make the right turn...bam. Something hit me in the lip
and went down inside the zip of my jacket. I then heard it
buzzing somewhere around my armpit. I had to stop safely
then wait in the middle of the road for my gap so I could
make the turn and then carry on about 40 metres past some
parked cars before I could pull in. All the while panic
rising. Thankfully the wee beast didn't sting me and was no
doubt as happy as I was that he was free of my armpit.
tony R.
tony R wrote:
> This evening (a rather dull grey one) I was was returning
> home from work, kids in the trailer, when a bee mistook me
> for a prize daffodil. It was at one of the more dangerous
> points on my commute. A right hand turn on a left hand
> bend, cars always going too fast, single lanes with not
> enough room for a car to pass safely inside a bike with
> trailer. Just as I was braking on the bend to wait for a
> gap so I could make the right turn...bam. Something hit me
> in the lip and went down inside the zip of my jacket. I
> then heard it buzzing somewhere around my armpit. I had to
> stop safely then wait in the middle of the road for my gap
> so I could make the turn and then carry on about 40 metres
> past some parked cars before I could pull in. All the
> while panic rising. Thankfully the wee beast didn't sting
> me and was no doubt as happy as I was that he was free of
> my armpit.
That explains all those stealth cyclists who wear black and
only cycle at night. Without lights.
They've been stung before!
I have seen a few cases where drivers have sucessfully
argued in court that a cyclist they have run down and killed
was to blame for their own demise...because they were
wearing a bright yellow 'high visibility' cycling top which
made them 'invisible' because it was a sunny day, and the
sun is also yellow...
Howard wrote:
> I have seen a few cases where drivers have sucessfully
> argued in court that a cyclist they have run down and
> killed was to blame for their own demise...because they
> were wearing a bright yellow 'high visibility' cycling top
> which made them 'invisible' because it was a sunny day,
> and the sun is also yellow...
That is in fact total b******s. All cyclists know that if
you look at something you want to avoid you are guaranteed
to hit it. Motorists cannot avoid looking at cyclists in
bright yellow garb and therefore are guaranteed to hit them.
Stealth clothing is what you need to stay alive. Don't be
seen, be safe. ;-^)
Tony
> That is in fact total b******s. All cyclists know that if
> you look at something you want to avoid you are guaranteed
> to hit it. Motorists
cannot
> avoid looking at cyclists in bright yellow garb and
> therefore are
guaranteed
> to hit them. Stealth clothing is what you need to stay
> alive. Don't be
seen,
> be safe. ;-^)
>
> Tony
>
I'm glad you explained that to me Tony, as I've always worn
high-visliblity stuff, which explains why I've been killed
so often in the last 20 years.
Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee wrote:
>
> I'm glad you explained that to me Tony, as I've always
> worn high-visliblity stuff, which explains why I've been
> killed so often in the last 20 years.
You should have worn a helmet - would have saved your life
every time ;-)
Tony
> This evening (a rather dull grey one) I was was returning
> home from work, kids in the trailer, when a bee mistook me
> for a prize daffodil.
<snip>
> Thankfully the wee beast didn't sting me and was no doubt
> as happy as I was that he was free of my armpit.
You were lucky, a very sneaky bee managed to fly through the
gap on the top of my glasses on Thursday and preceded to get
very angry as he then couldn't get out. I had to slow to a
stop before I could take glasses off and set bee free but
this was too late for him to bother taking his sting with
him :o( Ouch.
>You were lucky, a very sneaky bee managed to fly through the gap on the top
>of my glasses on Thursday and preceded to get very angry as he then couldn't
>get out. I had to slow to a stop before I could take glasses off and set
>bee free but this was too late for him to bother taking his sting with him
>:o( Ouch.
>
Owie indeed, that could have been seriously nasty.
Cheers, helen s
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>You were lucky, a very sneaky bee managed to fly through the gap on the top
>of my glasses on Thursday and preceded to get very angry as he then couldn't
>get out. I had to slow to a stop before I could take glasses off and set
>bee free but this was too late for him to bother taking his sting with him
>:o( Ouch.
>
Owie indeed, that could have been seriously nasty.
Cheers, helen s
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correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$
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is switched off--
> That is in fact total b******s.
>
Yes it IS bollocks, but the lengths motorists and their
defence briefs are willing to go to in an attempt to excuse
the drivers behaviour when someone has been killed or
injured knows no bounds!
Reminds me of the story I heard about a rather sensitive
girl who was arguing with a lawyer saying that she didn't
understand how he could go to such lengths to defend someone
he knew was guilty. He managed to reduce her to tears by
answering, Actually I quite enjoy it, but not as much as
prosecuting someone I know is innocent!'
> That is in fact total b******s.
>
P.s. The claim itself might be bollocks but the cases I
refer to where this claim was made were quite real. The
one that sticks in the mind most was reported in The
Yorkshire Post around 1995. I recall the guy who died
was an ardent campaigner known for railing against the
way so many drivers fail to drive with consideration
for cyclists. He was run down from behind by 2 cars on,
as I recall, part of the Dales cycle route. The drivers
argued they could not see what was ahead of them
because the sun was in their eyes and that anyone in a
yellow top would have been 'impossible' to see. Of
course no one even mentioned that one is supposed to
drive at a speed that enables you to stop in the
distance that can actually SEE to be clear...
"David Brown :o)" <kitemap@fake.com> wrote in message
news:c8a9ns$d11$1@sparta.btinternet.com...
> > This evening (a rather dull grey one) I was was
> > returning home from
work,
> > kids in the trailer, when a bee mistook me for a prize
> > daffodil.
> <snip>
> > Thankfully the wee beast didn't sting me and was no
> > doubt as happy as I was that he was free of my armpit.
>
> You were lucky, a very sneaky bee managed to fly through
> the gap on the
top
> of my glasses on Thursday and preceded to get very angry
> as he then
couldn't
> get out. I had to slow to a stop before I could take
> glasses off and set bee free but this was too late for him
> to bother taking his sting with him :o( Ouch.
Oooh. Understatement is obviously a speciality of your's.
"Ouch" doesn't even come close, I assume. I thought I was
fortunate before - now I know I was. With sympathy, tony R.
"Howard" <findaddress@thebikezone.org.uk> wrote in message
news:8985d795.0405171103.1f119cc5@posting.google.com...
>
> Reminds me of the story I heard about a rather sensitive
> girl who was arguing with a lawyer saying that she didn't
> understand how he could go to such lengths to defend
> someone he knew was guilty. He managed to reduce her to
> tears by answering, Actually I quite enjoy it, but not as
> much as prosecuting someone I know is innocent!'
Well I guess if the lawyers knew who was innocent and who
was guilty we could dispense with the Courts and leave it to
the lawyers to decide people's fate. I prefer the view that
the lawyers start from the presumption that they are
innocent until the Court finds them guilty and their job is
to present their client's case to the best of their ability
Tony
On Mon, 17 May 2004 12:04:12 +0000 (UTC), "David Brown :o\)"
<kitemap@fake.com> wrote (more or less):
>> This evening (a rather dull grey one) I was was returning
>> home from work, kids in the trailer, when a bee mistook
>> me for a prize daffodil.
><snip>
>> Thankfully the wee beast didn't sting me and was no doubt
>> as happy as I was that he was free of my armpit.
>
>You were lucky, a very sneaky bee managed to fly through
>the gap on the top of my glasses on Thursday and preceded
>to get very angry as he then couldn't get out. I had to
>slow to a stop before I could take glasses off and set bee
>free but this was too late for him to bother taking his
>sting with him :o( Ouch.
I did some outdoor go-karting once and a bee flew down my
collar to my back (I didn't realise)
I kept feeling hot pains on my back, and thought there were
sparks flyingfrom the engine or something.
Eventually I pulled in and went to the first aid van, and
they found the bee.
(This was when I learnt that bees can sting multiple
times - they don't always sting deep enough for it to
'harpoon' itself.)
--
Cheers, Euan Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr (http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr/)
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