Originally Posted by Helmet Head
The point is that there is no such thing as "paying attention to driving". Driving is too complex for that. There are all kinds of elements to pay attention to, and no one can pay attention to all of them at any given time. At best, everything that's important gets periodic attention. Paying attention to something besides driving simply extends by some fraction the period of how often the various matters of driving are given attention. When engaging in something like a cell phone conversation, studies show that reaction time is also somewhat impaired, but less than the impairment caused by having a legal level of alcohol in one's bloodstream. I suppose you could argue that someone who has had something to drink (but not enough to be legally imparied - say .06) who also engages in cell phone use on top of that, might be as impaired as someone who has more than .08, but to say that cell phone use alone is sufficient to cause all this hand-wringing, is, I believe, a major misfocus on what it takes to be safe out there.
Again, "see everything on the road" exudes an expectation of a fighter pilot's level of attention, even something beyond that! No one is capable of seeing everything on the road.
They may or may not be aware of you. That's something you must accept, and take into account. Be serene with it.
If they're not aware of you, why do you care whether it's because they're on the phone, unwrapping a burger, changing a radio station, looking for the whereabouts of the siren they hear, or because they're looking the other way for potential traffic? Why does the reason for their not paying attention to [tt]you[/tt] matter so much to you? What should matter, it seems to me, is whether they are paying attention to you or not (not why if they're not), for you to be able to discern whether they are paying attention to you, and for you to act accordingly.
A need or expectation for all of them to be paying attention "to everything" (and, thus, to [tt]you[/tt]) is completely unrealistic.
May you have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change...
Looking at your emphasis... it is clear to me that you are not getting it. I don't care what they are doing, just they are doing something other than driving... that is what I care about. When someone gets behind the wheel of a 3000 pound vehicle and pilots it about at or above (typical) the speed limit, I want as much of their attention as they can muster, on the road. Looking for me, for other cars, for children crossing the street, for balls in play, for drunk drivers... etc.
I do NOT want motorists being distracted by cellphones, pizza, makeup, GPSs, CD, DVDs, children, etc. If you as a driver are going to drive, focus your attention on the road and task. Period. Now the reality is that drivers are not going to be jet pilot attenative to their tasks.... and I realize that. But certainly there is NO reason to throw more in their faces to further distract them.
Add to that the very blatent issue that far too many motorists are driving too fast, and that distraction takes their eyes away from more road than they realize... with the result being... "oh the cyclist swerved," or "the cyclist suddenly appeared in front of me," or the classic "I just didn't see them."
Now as far as all this being a major misfocus on what is going on.... bear in mind that I now do as much as I can to avoid accidents... I have extensive experience, I wear bright clothing, I am well trained, I even ride in a center biased position when and where it makes sense.
There is only one aspect of any potential accident I cannot control... the errant motorist. The motorist that is poorly trained, not paying attention, has little experience and is not looking for me, and on top of that is speeding... AND is distracted.
To me, the next part of "make the streets safer for cycling" means that all the users have to at least try to participate... and I am NOT seeing motorists take responsibilty for their role.
So while some may believe in obscure prayers.... I think it is time for motorists to stand up and be counted as having responsibility to operate in a safe manner.
So tell you what HH, you take on the low hanging fruit of the untrained cyclists... meanwhile those of us that are trained, and have lots of experience, such as Sydney and Ken Kifer... et. al.... we want the other factor out there, the motorists, to also be on par with our skills and efforts. I don't think that is too much to ask. And apparently neither do our cousins in Europe and Asia, where more motorist training is the order of the day.