Safety
Motorcycling is not dangerous.
We're comparing it to cars, right? In that case no one should be allowed to walk and all should be encased within a metal cage as it's more dangerous to walk than drive. Cyclists don't get this shit and a lot of them get squished as well.
Hi vis works. It has been proven to work and simple biology tells you how it works. This is not a point for debate. I find it works and my hivi with sponge in pockets and stupid comedy signs on the back will be a regular feature from now until about Feb. The downside is that you look a little bit of a prat and a lot of people will think you're trying to imitate the filth and be a prat because of it. I do not think anyone should be forced into it.... you might as well force pedestrians to wear it as well. This is the point for debate - you are on about requiring the public to wear a uniform to travel.
As for safety - car drivers a lot of the time take the "it'd be their fault" attitude and that can't be carried over to a bike. You are responsible for your own safety and actions and in that sense it's the ultimate up yours to the government who wants to take responsibility and choice away from the individual, their common sense and direct them to where the rules have been written down by someone supposedly cleverererer than you.
If you go by deaths then it's safer for a young American to be in the army in Iraq than on the streets of Manhattan. If you go by injuries... perhaps not. Presenting a number to me says nothing about the danger of something unless it is presented in context or next to another number so I can compare and therein lies the fallacy of the danger of motorcycling. It's more dangerous than driving a car.
So is walking.
Hi vi arguments are done and done. They do work to make people more visible although I don't know of any studies which show they reduce accidents. The issue is freedom of choice. If there are studies which prove they reduce KSI accidents then the government's only responsibility should be to ensure that information is advertised and available.
I do not believe that a group of people who sit in a room and 'make decisions' for a living can have any intimate knowledge of the subjects to which those decisions relate and therefore it should be left to the true experts - those who practice the activity on a daily basis to decide for themselves.
There ARE situations where hivi increases risk by allowing people to see you and making them panic. I do wonder if accidents caused in this manner have been considered.
