Originally uploaded by Terry McAfee
I just got back from a week long birthday celebration in the wine country of British Columbia, Canada. It’s a wonderful place to celebrate, by the way. While on the way to a lavender farm, this Share the Road sign caught my eye. It’s obviously modeled on the symbol for Yin and Yang, conceptually “two opposing and, at the same time, complementary (completing) aspects of any one phenomenon (object or process)…” according to Wikipedia.
Is that cool or what? You got to hand it to the Canadians to refer to a symbol that, to my mind, accurately captures the relationship between bicycles and autos, two opposing and, at the same time, complementary transportation modes.
One of the most challenging aspects of improving bicyclist safety is getting bicyclists themselves to ride safely. On the back of this Share the Road sign was a little lesson in bicycle safety, the perfect place to give it. Riding against the flow of traffic is a common but very dangerous way to bicycle.
I saw proportionately many more bicyclists in Canada wearing helmets than I see in northern Nevada. Could Canadians be smarter than Nevadans? Perhaps they are just more resolved to living a long life with full mental function. Bicycle helmets may reduce up to 85% of serious head injuries but, alas, they can’t keep you from colliding with a car. For advice in that regard, I recommend this website to you: www.bicyclesafe.com, “How to Not Get Hit By Cars”.