Helmet saved me

[Peter Clinch]

Rob Morley wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>
> David Hansen <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Celeste? Isn't that what persons of the male persuasion call blue?

> It might be that sort of blue-green sometimes known as duck egg or pale
> aqua, depending on who you ask. Some people seem to think powder blue
> is duck egg, and and royal blue is aqua - there's no hope for them ...

Don't blame me, that's what the Bianchi Corporate Colour /is/, and what
they call it.

http://www.bianchi.com/uk/home/home.aspx

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>
Peter Clinch <[email protected]> wrote:
> Rob Morley wrote:
> > In article <[email protected]>
> > David Hansen <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >> Celeste? Isn't that what persons of the male persuasion call blue?
>
> > It might be that sort of blue-green sometimes known as duck egg or pale
> > aqua, depending on who you ask. Some people seem to think powder blue
> > is duck egg, and and royal blue is aqua - there's no hope for them ...
>
> Don't blame me, that's what the Bianchi Corporate Colour /is/, and what
> they call it.
>
I know - I quite like it. I once mixed something approximating that
colour for a custom paint job (it was two-tone, can't remember what the
other colour was - someone's club colours) and the finished frame looked
rather good. Which was more than could be said for some of the
fluorescent triple-fades that people were so inexplicably keen on a few
years ago.

 

[Tony Raven]

Tim Forcer wrote on 26/09/2006 09:19 +0100:
>
> 10)
<snip ten tales of accidents>

I think you might like to look at your cycling style given the number of
incidents you have had. Cyclecraft, Effective Cycling and the Theory of
Big are all worth reading. I have never had anywhere near the level of
incidents and accidents you seem to be having.


--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

 

[Pyromancer]

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Tony Raven
<[email protected]> gently breathed:
>Tim Forcer wrote on 26/09/2006 09:19 +0100:
>> 10)
><snip ten tales of accidents>
>
>I think you might like to look at your cycling style given the number
>of incidents you have had. Cyclecraft, Effective Cycling and the
>Theory of Big are all worth reading. I have never had anywhere near
>the level of incidents and accidents you seem to be having.

I was thinking pretty much the same thing. Though standards of driving
do seem to vary by region so perhaps Southampton is worse than
elsewhere, but that's a pretty horrific accident history.

Strangely, I've recently found Leeds private-hire taxis to be incredibly
well behaved on the whole - they hang back when I'm crossing a junction,
and only overtake after I've pulled in to the left again. Given that I
ride up hills at little more than walking pace, I keep right over to the
kerb, only moving out into the primary position when I need to for
turning right, etc - I'm guessing that some of the regular drivers have
come to realise I'll not be in their way for long. I do feel that I
don't have any right to hold up motor traffic when my speed is massively
less than the limit - how far out I ride usually depends on how fast I'm
going. At 5mph even the door zone is safe as long as a sharp lookout is
kept for occupied vehicles.

Downhill though is a different story - right out in the centre of the
lane and doing 25mph is fun!

--
- DJ Pyromancer, The Sunday Goth Social, Leeds. <http://www.sheepish.net>

Broadband, Dialup, Domains = <http://www.wytches.net> = The UK's Pagan ISP!
<http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk> <http://www.revival.stormshadow.com>

 

[Tim Forcer]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:58 Tony Raven wrote:
>
> Tim Forcer wrote on 26/09/2006 09:19 +0100:
>>
>> 10)
> <snip ten tales of accidents>
>
> I think you might like to look at your cycling style given the number of
> incidents you have had.

Noted. But I'm not at all sure how cycling style can protect against
situations where I'm stationary! (Subject to being stationary in a
place where having nowhere to go is less likely, see below.)

> Cyclecraft, Effective Cycling and the Theory of
> Big are all worth reading.

I only encountered "Theory of Big" a year or two back, and find it
very persuasive. Certainly the some of the incidents could not have
occured had I been following it, since I would not have been
"squeezable" (a vehicle can't turn left across me if I've "staked my
claim" to the lane so they can't be alongside me in the first place,
for example). It's partly in the context of Theory of Big that I've
wondered about making up a large-area bikelight of the "be seen"
variety. Sometimes I think I may have been cycling in a style not so
much defensive as craven, and/or subconsciously expecting a similar
level of consideration from other road users as I try to offer myself.
Assertiveness is the name of the game.

> I have never had anywhere near the level of
> incidents and accidents you seem to be having.

Things have got better over the years. Until the December smash I'd
had nothing worse than a near-miss for quite a while.

As a matter of interest, and in the Theory of Big context, with LED
lights being both super-bright and low-consumption (relatively
speaking), has anyone looked into having them on in daylight, much
like Swedish-style "running lights"? Particularly if they flashed,
they would show up well in the peripheral vision of motorists who
aren't looking out properly (eg those turning out of side roads who
only glance each way - or, sometimes, only one way - with their vision
system only expecting to register very large lumps of metal which
might affect their intention to pull out).

--
Tim Forcer [email protected]
The University of Southampton, UK

The University is not responsible for my opinions

 

[Peter Clinch]

Tim Forcer wrote:

> As a matter of interest, and in the Theory of Big context, with LED
> lights being both super-bright and low-consumption (relatively
> speaking), has anyone looked into having them on in daylight

No, but all I'd have to do is switch the dynohub feed from light sensing
to "on". Never bothered though: daylight is a bright place and LEDs
aren't /that/ super bright. I think mainly I'd just get frustrated with
people telling me my lights were on, not realising I wasn't draining
batteries.

But if you do want to run lamps all the time, look at a dynohub.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Dave Larrington]

Tim Forcer wrote:

> As a matter of interest, and in the Theory of Big context, with LED
> lights being both super-bright and low-consumption (relatively
> speaking), has anyone looked into having them on in daylight, much
> like Swedish-style "running lights"? Particularly if they flashed,
> they would show up well in the peripheral vision of motorists who
> aren't looking out properly (eg those turning out of side roads who
> only glance each way - or, sometimes, only one way - with their vision
> system only expecting to register very large lumps of metal which
> might affect their intention to pull out).

I quite often run with my rear lights on during the day while audaxing, as a
low slung trike in dingy woodland is not the easiest thing to see...

--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
Electricity comes from other planets.

 

[Tony Raven]

Tim Forcer wrote on 27/09/2006 08:48 +0100:
> On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:58 Tony Raven wrote:
>> Tim Forcer wrote on 26/09/2006 09:19 +0100:
>>> 10)
>> <snip ten tales of accidents>
>>
>> I think you might like to look at your cycling style given the number of
>> incidents you have had.
>
> Noted. But I'm not at all sure how cycling style can protect against
> situations where I'm stationary! (Subject to being stationary in a
> place where having nowhere to go is less likely, see below.)
>

Have a read of Cyclecraft - it really does make a difference which
suprises even long time cyclists. Another on-line resource worth
looking at is John Allen's Street Smarts
http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting Pyromancer <[email protected]>:
><[email protected]> gently breathed:
>>So the only logical conclusions are either it is improbable that the
>>helmet saved their life or head or there is something about the way
>>helmeted cyclists ride that makes them uniquely prone to this sort of
>>accident.
>Or that risk compensation by motorists leads to helmeted cyclists
>suffering more accidents than helmet-free ones.

In any case but Tony Raven's first, though, you'd obviously expect higher
levels of other injuries amongst helmet-wearers. Much higher, if helmet
wearers are regularly being saved from the sort of potentially fatal head
impacts that almost never happen to non-wearers.
--
OPTIONS=name:Kirsty,menustyle:C,female,lit_corridor,standout,time,showexp,hilit
e_pet,catname:Akane,dogname:Ryoga,fruitkonomiyaki,pickup_types:"!$?=/,scores:
5 top/2 around,color,boulder:0,autoquiver,autodig,disclose:yiyayvygyc,pickup_bu
rden:burdened,!cmdassist,msg_window:reversed,!sparkle,horsename:Rumiko,showrace

 

[Pyromancer]

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Simon
Brooke <[email protected]> gently breathed:
>in message <[email protected]>, Pyromancer
>('[email protected]') wrote:

>> I don't wear a helmet.  I've not come off a bike in a long time, but on
>> the few occasions when I did, I've never banged my head on anything.
>> Tends to be sore on hands, knees, shins, etc though.

>Be careful about saying that. This time last year I was saying (honestly)
>that I hadn't fallen off a road bike (except low speed prat falls) in
>thirty years. And then I did...

Point taken.

--
- DJ Pyromancer, The Sunday Goth Social, Leeds. <http://www.sheepish.net>

Broadband, Dialup, Domains = <http://www.wytches.net> = The UK's Pagan ISP!
<http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk> <http://www.revival.stormshadow.com>

 

[Tim Forcer]

On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:56 Tony Raven wrote:
>
> Have a read of Cyclecraft - it really does make a difference which
> suprises even long time cyclists. Another on-line resource worth
> looking at is John Allen's Street Smarts
> http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

Will do.

Advice much appreciated.

--
Tim Forcer [email protected]
The University of Southampton, UK

The University is not responsible for my opinions

 

[Tim Forcer]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:58 Tony Raven wrote:
>
> Tim Forcer wrote on 26/09/2006 09:19 +0100:
> >
> > 10)
> <snip ten tales of accidents>
>
> I think you might like to look at your cycling style given the number of
> incidents you have had. Cyclecraft, Effective Cycling and the Theory of
> Big are all worth reading. I have never had anywhere near the level of
> incidents and accidents you seem to be having.

After some Deep Thought, I've realised where I have been going wrong.
I should return to the habits of childhood, do as Ye Wise Men of Ye
Ministry want, and fit a bell. And go "ting" more often.

On which topic, I wonder whether those wishing to make bells
compulsory have bothered watching how road users respond to emergency
vehicles haring along with blue lights flashing, headlights on and
two-tones wailing? The average driver appears to be completely
oblivious until the thing is within a couple of cars' lengths. With
police cars this is stupid, with ambulances amazingly stupid, and with
tons of fire engine heading towards one at fifty mph suicidally
stupid. But it can be seen regularly on the major routes from fire
and ambulance stations.

Mind you, I keep meaning to invest in an AirZound... Which, I assume,
wouldn't be classed as a "bell"?

--
Tim Forcer [email protected]
The University of Southampton, UK

The University is not responsible for my opinions

 

[Pinky]

"Tim Forcer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

<snip><snip>
>
> On which topic, I wonder whether those wishing to make bells
> compulsory have bothered watching how road users respond to emergency
> vehicles haring along with blue lights flashing, headlights on and
> two-tones wailing? The average driver appears to be completely
> oblivious until the thing is within a couple of cars' lengths. With
> police cars this is stupid, with ambulances amazingly stupid, and with
> tons of fire engine heading towards one at fifty mph suicidally
> stupid. But it can be seen regularly on the major routes from fire
> and ambulance stations.

> Tim Forcer [email protected]
> The University of Southampton, UK
>

>
I think that the real problem, when one hears ambulance/fire engine/ police
car when driving the car. is a lack of perception of where the noise is
coming from. I have certainly peered into my rear view mirror to watch out
for an approaching emergency vehicle to see nothing.
I suspect part of the problem of urban areas is the amount of reflected
sound which destroys any positive sense of direction and the siren could be
streets away! Being fairly well insulated from sound in the padded cage also
adds to the problem

I found a similar confusion years ago when phones stopped having "bells"

In an office with multiple phones it was relatively easy to recognise which
phone was ringing ( bell type) -- perhaps due to minor physical and audio
differences in the bells. But once phones stated tone ringing unless you
were at beside the phone it could be any one of the phones around you --they
were all the same!

I find when I am on my velo on my daily travels, the problem is still there
at first but quickly resolves itself -- long before cars start to react.

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

 

[Tony Raven]

Pinky wrote on 02/10/2006 09:13 +0100:
>
> I think that the real problem, when one hears ambulance/fire engine/ police
> car when driving the car. is a lack of perception of where the noise is
> coming from.

A well known issue and a consequence of the type of sounds used for
sirens. There have been designs of sirens that are easier to locate
aurally.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

 

[Mark]

On Mon, 02 Oct 2006 09:23:56 +0100, Tony Raven <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Pinky wrote on 02/10/2006 09:13 +0100:
>>
>> I think that the real problem, when one hears ambulance/fire engine/ police
>> car when driving the car. is a lack of perception of where the noise is
>> coming from.
>
>A well known issue and a consequence of the type of sounds used for
>sirens. There have been designs of sirens that are easier to locate
>aurally.

For some reason it is harder to locate a single frequency sound (or
small band of frequencies) than sounds made up of a wide range of
frequencies. Hence the "white noise" burst that you get with some
sirens nowadays.

I can't remember the exact reason for this offhand. I'm sure someone
else will post this though ;-)

Mark