Originally Posted by
Skipjacks
Sometimes a loved one is just worried. Who asked your son this? A beloved family member who cares about him or some random stranger?
I mean people at his place of work. Or maybe random drivers also, he wasn't that specific.
Think of it from the other person's point of view if they don't ride in traffic themselves. It looks terrifying! Without knowing anything about riding in the road it looks super dangerous to a passive observer! And for obvious reasons!
The point I was pressing: that other person doesn't know anything about it, and it's not really their business. (not being a family member or loved one). While I grant that it's human nature to give advice over things they don't know about and have no experience with, my inclination is that you're under no obligation to even pretend that the advice has any value.
You are only comfortable with it because you've done it for years. You know how to stay as safe as possible and you're willing to accept the remaining risk.
Not really. It took about a year as I recall. Regarding explaining safety issues and tactics to them, in my experience that doesn't really have much impact. If you have to give them something, I'd rather give them just one thing to chew on, that tosses their world view a little. Maybe, life expectancy, including all the accidents and injuries, is improved for the cyclist compared to the driver. Or, you're driving in the middle of all those terrible drunk drivers and I'm out on the edge out of their way. Anything, but just a simple digestible comment.