Originally Posted by
Paul Barnard
Marginally engaged drivers are an inescapable threat to cyclists. Joey seems to have a pressing need to point out the obvious at every possible opportunity. Whenever we take to the road we place our lives in the hands of drivers who don't exercise due care. Be it glare, sun, shadows or whatever, from an advocacy standpoint we need to rebuke those who would offer those, or any other distractions, as a reason for not seeing or not reacting to a cyclist quickly enough.
Let's say we all took Joey's position on this. His position seems to be that drivers can't see cyclists when the sun is hanging low. How long before drivers start believing cyclists "Don't belong on" the road during the morning and evening? It appears we have some among us (not implying you are one of those) whose primary advocacy message is cyclists are idiots if they ride in a direct line toward the sun. My primary message is that motorists need to use the tools at their disposal, visors, sunglasses, hats etc. to minimize the effects of glare and NEVER outdrive their line of sight. Many cyclists ride because they have to, and they don't always have the luxury of alternative routes.
Actually, the "advocate"
JoeyBike was quoting was, if anything, worse in this regard, basically telling cyclists to stay off the roads when there's any significant traffic, but I understand where you're coming from. I've been extremely critical of Joey, and actually think he should have been banned from this forum years ago as I think he shaded over into
anti-cycling advocacy, and he actually asked to be banned. In this case, though, I think he has a point--the "advocate" was missing that any time of day will have its own hazards, and I think the trade-off that the "advocate" suggested was really, really bad. As you say, riders often ride because they have to, and don't necessarily have the luxury of picking the times they're going to be riding either. The "advocate" clearly was looking at cycling as being solely a recreational activity, and seems rather clueless that he was advocating a position that would make it impossible for most people to bike commute, for example.
There is, however, a tension between "safety" and "advocacy" advice. When I do bike commute, my direction is north-south, so taking an east-west street at that time would be a recreational choice. I have that luxury to avoid that. As advice, I would never tell someone "never take a westbound road during evening" because, as you say, that may be tantamount to telling them not to ride that time of day. I would say that if you have a choice between two roads where one lines up with the sunset and one that doesn't, you should probably take the latter, all other things being equal. If we're getting to the point where we dare not suggest such a thing lest our opponents use it as a reason for banning cyclists, I say "screw that", because those people will be coming up with whatever reasons they can think of for that without our help.