BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Be careful, because sometimes people use those tools inappropriately. For instance, I was coming down from the Hot Metal Bridge/Jail Trail to loop around on Second Avenue to proceed up the Panther Hollow Trail to Oakland. I was slowing/stopped, about to turn left onto Second Avenue when a car approached from the east, and I saw its left turn signal. It appeared to be slowing down, and I thought "Oh great, it's turning left up Swinburne Street, and yielding to me." So I started to go.

WRONG. The turn signal was for the turn a little farther ahead at Greenfield Avenue. I jammed the brakes and everything was fine (it was nowhere near a collision), and made my turn moments later, uneventfully arriving at home.

But seriously, don't always trust a turn signal.

then there's the people who leave the signal on, or don't use one at all....

I've built a few of those message signs at work, there is actually a ton of them on the market.

Another fun fact, car horns aren't powered by compressed air, they make sound using an oscillating diaphragm.

my honda fit has the quietest, nonthreatening horn ever. i think a bicycle bell is lounder.

I had a nice toot-toot from a motorist I waved to pass as I was coasting down the west carson ramp from the west end circle on Friday.

Though if I couldn't bike, I'd choose to commute by Polar Bear over car any day.

The horn on my old civic was so non-threatening that I went to a u-pull-it lot and found a horn out of a '62 chevy truck. Best idea EVER.

like anyone driving a car would ever hit the "oops" button.

I think the world would be a better place if all cars had light nonthreatening horn.

In India using your horn is an integral part of driving. In fact, the back of trucks all say "sound horn please". This means that you should tap your horn to tell the driver ahead of you to pull over, so that you can pass. You have to do this because it's customary to drive in the middle of the road, down the yellow line. For a while I couldn't figure out why people always drove down the middle. Eventually I decided that this was on the whole the safer thing to do: roadsides in India are pretty busy with slower-moving people, cattle, ox-carts, bicycles, etc. You definitely want to drive down the middle, especially at night. [Less true of urbanized areas, though.]

Ask yourself: how likely is it that cars around here would end up having to accommodate other kinds of traffic on the street? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

dude, I would use the "oops" button all the time in my car. Me just being in my car is typically one giant life encompassing "oops".

Breaklights and turnsignals would completely make me happy on my bike. The only two gloves I've managed to find that my husband will let me take out of the house are black and brown (single pair that doesn't match). Thus I feel like I'm hiding my turnsignals at night. I know, those little finger light blinkies for like 2$ on the internets that Stu might post a link to when he reads this, I know.

Ooo! - michael jackson glove (shiny!), with light up rings for the fingers. that would be awesome.

I have also started flashing my headlights/brights on those occasions when I'm driving and need to remind someone that the light has changed. Less noise pollution than honking.

Conspicuity carries gloves with reflective material on them.

@RF - awesome cartoon - that's great! I would totally use my OOPS! button if I had it (and unfortunately, I probably use the other devices plenty as well...)

I wish my bike had an oops button - I'm far too clumsy.