Be safe...be seen - What my community is doing about it

[mcshame]

In St-Lazare, PQ (West of the Island of Montreal) we've had some terrible car accidents involving kids, drunks, etc....

Look at what my city is doing about it.

http://ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca/documen ... antsEN.pdf








Batteries were included for the red flashing tail light







Cost: $7 for the Vest, $1 each for the flashing/reflective arm bands

They will be on me this day forward for my 05:00 runs in the morning.

[Tori]

That is a great initiative!

[trixiee]

Nice!!

[jgore]

Wow! That is excellent. It's nice to see.

[turd ferguson]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

[mcshame]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

Actually, they are very active here since a girl was paralyzed being hit by kids racing (no alcohol). There are signs everywhere saying "slow down for Patricia". Another lady in a wheel chair killed walking her dog by a drunk driver. I agree, the penalties should be higher, and the government should do more.

However, I am very pleased with this initiative of the community doing what they can to help people be seen. It is made for running and I'm sure would cost me alot more. There are no street lights in my area or sidewalks and with snow and snow hills, this stuff could be the difference in being seen. I also wear a head light from MEC.

[jgore]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

It is an attempt to stop accidents regardless of the cause. Even a drunk is less likely to hit you if he can see you.

[turd ferguson]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

It is an attempt to stop accidents regardless of the cause. Even a drunk is less likely to hit you if he can see you.

I think attempts to stop accidents are good but something about this just irks me.

One building I worked in had a problem with thefts from vehicles. A bunch of the companies told the building manager to do something about it. So they put up signs warning people about thefts from vehicles. While technically correct, not really what we were looking for.

[Sir Crashalot]

It's great that the city is helping as much as it can!

[jgore]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

It is an attempt to stop accidents regardless of the cause. Even a drunk is less likely to hit you if he can see you.

I think attempts to stop accidents are good but something about this just irks me.

One building I worked in had a problem with thefts from vehicles. A bunch of the companies told the building manager to do something about it. So they put up signs warning people about thefts from vehicles. While technically correct, not really what we were looking for.

Even if they were to tackle all the known causes of accidents they couldn't be solved overnight. Even one, like drunk driving, is not easy to solve. (I agree that stiffer penalties are in order, but that still would not get rid of all the drunk drivers.) In the meantime, I'd rather do something to avoid becoming a statistic. That's how I take it. No, it's not going to solve all the problems, but it may prevent some injuries and deaths.

You seem to be looking at this as though it's the only solution rather than as a small part of a solution. From Lorne's response, it obviously is not the only thing being done. I don't think your example fits this situation because the building superintendent evidently had no intention of doing anything else.

[Jo-Jo]

Hey...can I order a Vest...that's a great price.
I don't mind pretending I live in St. Lazare.

[turd ferguson]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so down on this, but a big part of me is tired of feelgood solutions that don't solve anything, or make things worse, or do the wrong thing, maybe because my city is more guilty of it than most.

[mcshame]

What really got me moving on this were the snowplows zipping around at ohh-dark-30.

[jgore]

What really got me moving on this were the snowplows zipping around at ohh-dark-30.

They ARE scary. Those guys don't stop for anything, so you better get the hell out of the way. I wound up jumping into a ditch to avoid one on a run outside of Kingston because there was traffic on the other side of the road.

[BJH]

What really got me moving on this were the snowplows zipping around at ohh-dark-30.

They ARE scary. Those guys don't stop for anything, so you better get the hell out of the way. I wound up jumping into a ditch to avoid one on a run outside of Kingston because there was traffic on the other side of the road.

My BIL was hit by one a couple of years ago. He was crossing in a cross walk, with the light. The plow mad a right hand turn without looking.

It was a week after a woman stopped on the highway shoulder was killed by a plow.

They are very, very scary.

[trixiee]

Nothing worse than drunk snow plow operators.

And I'm not being facetious! That did happen around our area...

[Jwolf]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so down on this, but a big part of me is tired of feelgood solutions that don't solve anything, or make things worse, or do the wrong thing, maybe because my city is more guilty of it than most.

Why do you think this doesn't solve anything?

I think it's great. It doesn't mean they aren't doing anything else. I think that it's important that pedestrians/runners take an active part in helping prevent accidents (since a pedestrian is much more likely to be seriously injured than a driver), and this is a great step. I assume cyclists can take advantage, too.

I'm not sure where the downside is.

[turd ferguson]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so down on this, but a big part of me is tired of feelgood solutions that don't solve anything, or make things worse, or do the wrong thing, maybe because my city is more guilty of it than most.

Why do you think this doesn't solve anything?

I think it's great. It doesn't mean they aren't doing anything else. I think that it's important that pedestrians/runners take an active part in helping prevent accidents (since a pedestrian is much more likely to be seriously injured than a driver), and this is a great step. I assume cyclists can take advantage, too.

I'm not sure where the downside is.

The downside is if they consider this to be the solution and don't address the underlying problem. When I made my first comment it read like they considered this to be the solution, which its not.

Like I said above, our municipal gov't like many specializes in highly visible, bandaid solutions rather than actually fixing problems.

Issuing blinky lights to pedestrians isn't the answer to drunk driving any more than putting up a sign that says "Caution - Snow on Road" is the answer to a snowstorm. The sign is fine if you're also intending to plow the road.

[Nicholas]

I wouldn't be on the roads in the dark without my reflective vest. Sounds like a good initiative, as long as it is part of a bigger plan. I don't wear a red blinky even though I did get one at the relay in Vermont last year.

I do like the idea of signs "No Snow Allowed Here"...wonder if it would work?

[mcshame]

Point made. I wanted to show what my community is doing to improve visibility for runners and cyclist. And the real point (I was hoping to make) is that fellow RMers make sure they are well lit and visible in the winter and in the dark. Perhaps next time I'll just let Dave do the public safety message, it seems to go smoother

[ROW]

I just go down roads that aren't to busy or stick to the side walk when I run in the dark. It depends what I wear, if it has reflective stuff on it good, and if it doesn't it doesn't make much of a big deal to me. I know whats around me, if I see a car, I get out its way. Fine with me.

[La]

One of my co-workers (who is not a runner) asked me the other day, "Why do runners always dress all in black at night? I can't see them when I'm backing out of my driveway."

I had to concede that yes, we don't always dress in the most visible way possible (and I am guilty of that, too). Reflective clothing only works if there are lights shining directly on it.

Now, I just have to get my butt over to MEC to get some blinkie lights for running...

Lorne, I think the idea is great. Thanks for posting.

[mcshame]

I wore it this morning. It was a little big, but it didn't move too much. The blinky bike light on the back did bounce, so it's doing to be removed. The reflective material lit up very bright and I noticed a big differance with the approaching cars, they moved over much earlier. Except for one moron that clearly wasn't paying attention, he moved over at the last moment . Always got to run defensively. I didn't use the arm bands as I was plenty reflective

[dgrant]

Kudos to St Lazare for this initiative. I can't imagine this is costing the city more than 10 grand, which is like one extra cop for 10 or 15 extra shifts. Seems like a cost effective move in the right direction, especially if it's part of a bigger program.

Always nice to see a municipal government supporting the idea of getting people out and about on foot, and looking out for the safety of those who are out and about on foot. Can't take that for granted these days... many cities couldn't care less.

[Ironboy]

Wouldn't it be more effective to arrest the drunk drivers than make people dress up like flashing traffic pylons?

If our mayor said "this is our solution to drunk driving" I'd be mighty pissed.

It is an attempt to stop accidents regardless of the cause. Even a drunk is less likely to hit you if he can see you.

"La macchina va dove vanno gli occhi." The car goes where the eyes go.