Читать книгу Proficient Motorcycling - David L. Hough - Страница 34

If you allow another motorist to knock you down, you’ll probably hear the same lame excuse: I didn’t see you. Sometimes an errant driver has looked down at the poor motorcyclist lying miserably crunched under a bent motorcycle and let slip, “Gosh, I didn’t see you. You were coming so fast, and you were wearing black leather, and besides, you didn’t have your headlight turned on.” Certainly there are occasions when the other driver really couldn’t see the motorcyclist, but many veteran motorcyclists have long had a sneaking suspicion that the excuse is mostly a cop-out. When a driver attempts a sudden left turn in front of a motorcyclist and knocks the bike down, do we expect them to say, “I saw you but I was in a hurry and I figured you’d get out of my way?”

This oft-repeated I-didn’t-see-you excuse has led some safety experts to believe that the problem is simply that motorcycles are inconspicuous in traffic. The solution, theoretically, is to be more conspicuous. The suggestions are to wear brightly colored riding gear, add a modulator that flashes the headlight, and maybe screw on a Yosemite Sam Back Off mud flap.

Most of the high-mileage riding friends I know roll their eyes at the conspicuity stuff. “Friends don’t let friends wear pink vests,” they would sneer. Perhaps the veterans have a more realistic understanding of the I-didn’t-see-you myth. Does the conspicuity stuff really work, or is it more of a magic talisman than a dependable safety device? (Magic talismans are supposed to ward off evil with no effort on the part of the wearer.) Conspicuity devices are based on the assumption that the other guy will get out of your way if he can only see you. The veterans know that avoiding collisions depends on being prepared to get out of the way of the other guy, whether he sees you or not.

Like it or not, there are some situations in which you have no escape path should another driver wander into your lane. It’s helpful to be conspicuous for the benefit of other drivers.