Letters

Seeing cyclists in the dark

Fri Dec 13 2019 - 00:26

Sir, – David Doyle’s suggestion (December 11th) that when cycling in the dark, cyclists should wear gloves with luminous strips, makes sense.

Not only will drivers be able to see the cyclists hand signals and therefore reduce the possibility of a crash happening, but on occasions when they nearly kill the cyclist they will be able to see the cyclist’s “hand signals” as they drive away. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN CULLEN,

Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.

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Sir, – David Doyle was lucky to get a hand-signal from a cyclist in the first place. It is a rarity in itself. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL REDMOND,

Clongriffin, Dublin 13.

Sir, – I think your correspondent Colin McGovern (December 12th) may be missing the point made by the original contributor (David Doyle): signals made in the dark, with a darkly-clad arm, are invisible at anything approaching a safe distance.

I don't cycle during these dark winter evenings without a reflective jacket with sleeves. Common sense and my own survival demand it. – Yours, etc,

ALAN O’BRIEN,

Dalkey, Co Dublin.

Sir, – I can assure Colin McGovern that there was never any danger of me rear-ending the cyclist as I had left ample space to stop as explained in my letter. If there had been a collision it would have been a side impact.

When cycling I see trucks as far more dangerous than cars and I believe the fatality figures confirm this.

I do agree that all road users, truck-drivers, car drivers, cyclists , and pedestrians must remain attentive to hand signals but would be surprised if the keenest- eyed pedestrian, an even more vulnerable road user, observing the near-miss could have seen the black gloved hand in the black sleeve.

My point is that cyclists, as one of the many road users, can either contribute to their own road safety or not. To me a hand signal with black glove and black sleeve is like a pedestrian walking down a country road in the dark without even an armband. It is easy to blame only the motorist, but that will not save lives. We all have a part to play in road safety. – Yours, etc,

DAVID DOYLE,

Goatstown, Dublin 14.