On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:53:51 +0000, Bob Talbot <BobTalbot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote/replied to: >> It's all the white masks and grannies on bicycles that I can't stand >> any more... >That's two aspects of Tokyo life you've never shown us in the PF >gallery. And two aspects I can't wait to forget... >Are the white masks really that prevalent? More than those without masks. >What's wrong with grannies utilising an ecologically friendly form of >transport? Nothing wrong with what they do, it's how they do it. Middle of road, wrong way, not looking, deaf, etc. You would not believe it. I mean if all bicycles used any kind of rules, the system could work well. Or maybe if the riders cared about anything but themselves. Or maybe if any of the riders had a functioning brain. Oh never mind. Picture this: narrow roads, no sidewalks, bicycles going both directions on both sides of the roads, not stopping or even looking at corners, etc etc etc. Then add in many that are half blind, deaf, senile, or stupid. Add in school kids who are even worse, hot rod drivers, pedestrians, scooters, delivery guys, stray cats, cars, trucks, and I'm sure I've forgotten lots of other stuff that uses or crosses the road too. Like I said, you can't begin to imagine the chaos of it all. I heard figures for traffic accidents in Japan, and they were not a surprise to me. Apparently 46% of traffic accidents include pedestrians. And of course pedestrians include bicycles. Compare that to 4-6% in the States. It amazes me that anyone lives long enough here to get old and ride a bicycle. You should check out the mothers with 2, sometimes 3 kids on board a bicycle - riding along with cellphone in hand, right through the above mentioned chaos. You can't legislate common sense. I have often wished I had an onboard video camera to capture all of this. A still camera just can't do justice. -- Jim Davis, Nature Photography, http://easternbeaver.com/ Motorcycle Relay Kits
