Didn’t really expect much from DrivingUk but honestly the amount of downvotes shocked me. God forbid people go out at night dressed normally without full on high vis.
Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/drivingUK/comments/1r8fkfo/comment/o65j18p/
Didn’t really expect much from DrivingUk but honestly the amount of downvotes shocked me. God forbid people go out at night dressed normally without full on high vis.
Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/drivingUK/comments/1r8fkfo/comment/o65j18p/
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t take care when walking, especially crossing roads, I think that goes without saying. My issue is that that just by wearing black the blame seems to fully shift to the pedestrian when it’s also on drivers to take more care when driving at night. Again, don’t take this as me saying it’s fully on the driver, you still don’t want to just set out and expect them to stop, basic safety applies daytime and night.
I had an incident where I was almost hit by a car and was wearing light coloured jeans, white shoes, and a cream coloured jacket. Pretty light clothes, but the driver still said she didn’t see me. Now I could wear full hi vis, reflectors, hell even a helmet, but to me that seems overkill for a simple night out in town.
Yeah, the idea of policing pedestrian outfits irks me. You don’t need a license to walk. You don’t need training, or to pass a test. There are no regulations written about what equipment a person must wear out in public to avoid collisions.
Operating a motor vehicle does come with those rules and responsibilities. Including headlights!
Besides, a lot of winter coats are mostly available in dark colours. They are fashionable, practical, and show stains less. Is someone supposed to buy an expensive second coat for walking around at night in? Stash a high-vis vest in their purse for when night falls at 5pm, and they are still out, on their way home from work?
When I have these discussions in-person, sometimes they say, “Oh but when they dash out across the middle of a highway and they’re wearing all black, even headlights don’t help!” Well, of course if they are suddenly darting across the road, crossing mid-block, of course that’s dangerous! It wouldn’t be okay if they were wearing a suit of glowsticks! There are rules against “jaywalking,” but not against wearing navy blue!