I received some flack this morning for my admittedly flippant response to a tweet by @BikePortland.
The Bike Portland tweet in question was, innocently enough, a link to a blog post:
Of course not, that’s stupid was my smart ass response.
For the flippancy, I apologize. For the sentiment, however, I do not.
If you’re on a bicycle on a mixed use path, and you can’t see a pedestrian before you hit them – regardless of what that person is wearing – you’re going too fast for the conditions. It’s as simple as that.
Of course several commenters on the post (Bike Portland actually has thoughtful commenters – I know, crazy!?) are more eloquent on the subject than me, notably q’Tzal:
Requiring specific gear for pedestrians (walkers, joggers and runners are not seen differently by law) to be allowed to use public spaces is antithetical to our basic freedoms here and even in the most restrictive countries world wide.
In other words: don’t hold your breath expecting joggers and runners to be lit or wearing reflective gear. Expand your frame of reference for paranoia: I’ve seen cars driving in pitch black with NO LIGHTS ON; mainly in poor areas.
Better get moving on legal codification of “common sense” and manners.
And Chris I:
If you hit a runner on a MUP, you are riding too fast for your level of visibility. If you want to ride faster, get a brighter light. What if a raccoon is on the path, what if someone places a rock on the path? There are a lot of dark objects that you can hit, so get a brighter light, or slow down.
Read the post, and comments, at Bike Portland, wherein lawyer Mark Ginsberg explains the legal situation succinctly. I suppose it really isn’t a stupid question, but to my mind, it comes from a similar frame of reference as the blame-the-victim tendency of police and newspaper reports on pedestrians wearing “dark clothing” hit by cars.
Related posts:
- Bike no-brainer: bike valet parking at PGE Park
- Stumptown Stories: Civil Defense in 1950s Portland
- Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 3 #3: Civil Defense Part 2 – A Day Called X
- Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 3 #2: Civil Defense Part 1 – Operation Green Light
- In this bicycle friendly city, I’d rather walk
