(But we are convinced there is a better way!)
In November of last year, a great deal of buzz was generated by the New York Police Department and their postings, which urged people to take all kinds of precautions when walking on the streets at night, like:
- Hold your hand up or do what ever it takes to make yourself more visible to drivers.
- Avoid walking in the dark and during bad weather such as snow, ice or fog.
- Wear bright-colored clothing, especially if you walk at night.
- Use a flashlight if you walk at night.
The full list can be viewed here: © Safety tips for pedestrians via Ben Fried/Streetsblog
Look at just a few of the reactions this exhortation brought:
– What color clothing should I wear when I’m trying to climb over the cars parked on the sidewalk in front of the 78th Precinct?(http://brooklynspoke.wordpress.com Doug G. )
– They think you should be carrying a bright flashlight, I should think. They don’t like it when victims make it unnecessarily difficult to find their bodies. Hold onto it tight, too. Too many people let those things go when the car hits them. ( http://twitter.com/RKWinvisibleman Robert Wright )
– It’s interesting that nobody suggests that people drive brightly colored cars to be more conspicuous in low-visibility conditions. Why aren’t DLRs mandatory for automobiles? (dr2chase http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/11/13/nypd-pedestrian-safety-tips-use-a-flashlight-if-you-walk-at-night/#)
– They forgot to suggest that pedestrians wear helmets! (qrt145 http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/11/13/nypd-pedestrian-safety-tips-use-a-flashlight-if-you-walk-at-night/#)
While you may indeed wear a helmet, and a bright-colored one equipped with flashlights at that, perhaps like this:
© Tomas Quinones/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
….May we suggest Visibel reflectors instead? Even a single reflector might help, although a few fastened to different locations on the clothing is better. And while you are at it, make sure the reflector looks good enough so you don’t want to rip it off every time you put your coat or jacket on. Make it simple for yourself, be Visibel! Get your reflectors at http://www.visibelreflective.com
