Karl Lagerfeld Isn't Afraid To Look Dorky
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 06.23.08
In the USA, people called Barack Obama "dorky" for wearing a bicycle helmet. In Canada, readers thought Member of Parliament Olivia Chow was a bit over the top with her safety gear.
In France, where they know something about style, even Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer at Chanel, knows that if you want to be seen and be safe, it pays to be loudly and obnoxiously dressed.
It is part of a new safety awareness campaign; as of July 1, all drivers and cyclists must have a vest and a reflective triangle. According to Bloomberg, "It's yellow, it's ugly, but it can save your life." says the poster, featuring Lagerfeld wearing the vest and his customary deadpan expression accentuated by dark sunglasses. ::Bloomberg
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Two things:
#1: The poster actually says "It's yellow, it's ugly, it goes with nothing, but it can save your life"
#2: Passive reflectors like this are next to useless, especially at night when they're needed the most. Use a bike light instead. Even during the day they have limited usefulness since the real problem is driver inattentiveness. What would normally be a "harmless" fender bender between two cars can seriously injure or kill a cyclist or pedestrian. The problem is that "harmless" fender benders are seen as no big deal by the motoring public and they're less vigilant as a result.
We shouldn't be laying blame on the cyclists and pedestrians for not being visible enough, we should be laying blame on drivers for not using due care and attention when hurtling around at a "paltry" 50Km/h with a 1 tonne battering ram. Instead, society views these catastrophes on wheels as a necessity, and slowing them down or getting in their way are some kind of crimes against humanity.
Personally when I bike, I just avoid cars as much as possible by riding on side streets. It works wonders.
Two things:
#1: The poster actually says "It's yellow, it's ugly, it goes with nothing, but it can save your life"
#2: Passive reflectors like this are next to useless, especially at night when they're needed the most. Use a bike light instead. Even during the day they have limited usefulness since the real problem is driver inattentiveness. What would normally be a "harmless" fender bender between two cars can seriously injure or kill a cyclist or pedestrian. The problem is that "harmless" fender benders are seen as no big deal by the motoring public and they're less vigilant as a result.
We shouldn't be laying blame on the cyclists and pedestrians for not being visible enough, we should be laying blame on drivers for not using due care and attention when hurtling around at a "paltry" 50Km/h with a 1 tonne battering ram. Instead, society views these catastrophes on wheels as a necessity, and slowing them down or getting in their way are some kind of crimes against humanity.
Personally when I bike, I just avoid cars as much as possible by riding on side streets. It works wonders.
We shouldn't be laying blame on the cyclists and pedestrians for not being visible enough, we should be laying blame on drivers for not using due care and attention
Amen! :)
So if the EU is for more Safety in the Traffic why don't we in the USA ?
The VizVest Safety Vest from Warntex USA www.warntex.net is made for more saftey on US Streets. Check it out!