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From: Tim on 8 Dec 2009 11:47 Vicko Zoomba wrote: > ...is this guy. > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8400094.stm > > Play the video and you'll see at least two things; > > 1) It's pitch black at night. Agreed > > 2) His bike light isn't suficient to light the road ahead of him for > the speed that he is travelling at. Impossible to say from the video. The human eye is much much more sensitive to low light levels than most video cameras. To be honest, the street lighting should have been sufficient illumination to enable him to see them. > 3) There are tram lines next to him. If he isn't aware of them in the > road and that they will obviously diverge somewhere then I suggest > that he advertises his bike for sale and takes the bus. Certainly it's hard to understand how any cyclist in Edinburgh could possibly be aware of the presense of the new tram lines. This rather lends weight to his point about the line layout being hard to spot and poorly signposted given that he knew that the lines were there but still fell. Unless you were actually there, I don't think you're in a terribly good position to judge the local conditions. Tim
From: Adrian on 8 Dec 2009 11:52 "Tim" <timdownie2003(a)obvious.yahoo.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: > Certainly it's hard to understand how any cyclist in Edinburgh could > possibly be aware of the presense of the new tram lines. I assume that should read "possibly not be aware of" - I live several hundred miles from Edinburgh, haven't been there for years, and knew that there were trams going in. > This rather lends weight to his point about the line layout being hard > to spot They're metal rails, sunk into the road surface. How can they be "hard to spot"?
From: Tim on 8 Dec 2009 12:05 Adrian wrote: > "Tim" <timdownie2003(a)obvious.yahoo.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding > much like they were saying: > >> Certainly it's hard to understand how any cyclist in Edinburgh could >> possibly be aware of the presense of the new tram lines. > > I assume that should read "possibly not be aware of" - I live several > hundred miles from Edinburgh, haven't been there for years, and knew > that there were trams going in. Indeed, that was what I meant. > >> This rather lends weight to his point about the line layout being >> hard to spot > > They're metal rails, sunk into the road surface. How can they be > "hard to spot"? Imagine you're cycling in a lane next to the rails following traffic and the adjacent lane also contains traffic. Imagine then that the rails veer across your lane as part of a 90 degree bend. In the presense of traffic I think it's entirely possible that your opportunities to have a clear view of the rails could be severely compromised. I dare say after a spate of accidents folk will get used to the rails but to be honest, motorists on the A77 in Ayshire near the "new" Sandyford Toll roundabout displayed a far far greater level of stupidity my crashing into the new roundabout on an almost daily basis for about a month after it opened. That roundabout was much more visible than a couple of wet black iron rails set into the road. Tim
From: Adrian on 8 Dec 2009 12:23 "Tim" <timdownie2003(a)obvious.yahoo.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: >>> This rather lends weight to his point about the line layout being hard >>> to spot >> They're metal rails, sunk into the road surface. How can they be "hard >> to spot"? > Imagine you're cycling in a lane next to the rails following traffic and > the adjacent lane also contains traffic. Imagine then that the rails > veer across your lane as part of a 90 degree bend. In the presense of > traffic I think it's entirely possible that your opportunities to have a > clear view of the rails could be severely compromised. Mmm. Perhaps I ought to point out that the road my father's lived on in Sheffield for the last decade has tram tracks down it. They're very visible. If you bother to look where you're going. I don't know about Edinburgh, but every other tramway I've ever seen has a further clue - rather difficult for traffic to hide - in the form of sodding great big overhead power cables which tend to follow the general line of those sneaky little rails. After all, running sufficient electrickery down road-surface third rails would cause pedestrians and cyclists to have some slightly more valid complaints... > I dare say after a spate of accidents folk will get used to the rails > but to be honest, motorists on the A77 in Ayshire near the "new" > Sandyford Toll roundabout displayed a far far greater level of stupidity > my crashing into the new roundabout on an almost daily basis for about a > month after it opened. That roundabout was much more visible than a > couple of wet black iron rails set into the road. I don't see "not hard to spot" as somehow implying idiot-proofing. As you say, a large number of people manage not to see a lot of very large and visible objects. This does not imply a need for more signage, but a need for those incompetent cretins to open their frigging eyes and look where the hell they're going.
From: Harry Bloomfield on 8 Dec 2009 12:23
Vicko Zoomba wrote on 08/12/2009 : > 1) It's pitch black at night. > > 2) His bike light isn't suficient to light the road ahead of him for > the speed that he is travelling at. His front light is throwing a good pool of light ahead of him, so I cannot agree with that comment. > > 3) There are tram lines next to him. If he isn't aware of them in the > road and that they will obviously diverge somewhere then I suggest > that he advertises his bike for sale and takes the bus. I only did that once and it hurt. Hopefully he and his fellow cyclists will learn that you either stay out of the track or if you must cross it, cross it at a sharp angle. Remind me again - Why do they need lessons? -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk |