If you ride salmon, at night, with no lights, no helmet and in the middle of the vehicle lane, it's pretty freaking dangerous. But if you ride in the daytime, with a helmet, obeying laws and wearing a bright yellow shirt the risk is greatly reduced.
What is salmon, other than a fish that migrates?
How does wearing a helmet or not affect or impact safe riding skills? Do you really think wearing a helmet helps in any way with bike handling skills? I know the answer, I just want to see what you have to say.
How is riding in the middle of a vehicle lane dangerous? What is your definition of the middle of the vehicle lane?
Ok, I'll give you the one about not using lights at night being a bad idea.
I don't buy that obeying traffic laws or wearing bright colors keeps cyclists safe from the so called dangers of the road though. Please explain how, especially wearing bright colors.
In my state a cyclists is
LEGALLY allowed to ride in one half of the travel lane on
ANY roadway where bicycles are not specifically excluded. If a bicycle is excluded from riding on a roadway signage has to be posted stating such. What this means is I can ride on the left side of the left half of the left lane of a 4 lane road, near the center painted dividing line on a busy roadway called Riverside Blvd, which is essentially the middle of the vehicle lane. The posted speed limit is 40 mph. I have done this many times, some of those times were at night and I
NEVER felt that I was in any sort of danger!
My helmet has
NEVER done anything to affect my ability to safely control my bike. Has yours?
Wearing bright colors, at night or during the day has not done anything to help motorists see me better. A lot if not most of them are on a cell phone, either talking or texting, doing their makeup, reading the newspaper, messing with the radio or what ever electronic device they have built into their dashboard, eating or doing something else that causes them to take their eyes off of the road.
If anything bright colors make cyclists an easier target for the motorists who really want to do us harm. wearing bright colors is like tagging us with a laser so the guided missile can find us.
How is riding at night with proper lighting any more dangerous than riding during the day? Are you afraid of riding at night, even with proper lighting? I'm not and have done so many times. I don't feel any more or less in danger or that it is any more or less risky or hazardous than riding in the daytime.