According to an urban legend, red cars get more speeding tickets than vehicles of other colors. That's almost true: Red cars came in second to, interestingly, white cars in a recent study. Surprisingly (at least to me), gray and silver came in third and fourth, respectively.
I thought of that study when I came across a report of a Belgian study. According to researchers, bicycles with baby carriers attached to their rears are given a wider berth by motorists, whether or not there's a baby in the carrier. Cyclists with child-towing trailers are also given more room by drivers, according to this study.
Carlton Reid, the excellent transportation reporter for Forbes, makes an intriguing (and, I believe, valid) point: Drivers, whether consciously or unconsciously, might give more room to cyclists they deem more "worthy." Someone riding with a child or baby in tow is seen as doing something that contributes to the welfare and mental health of that child or baby, while the single cyclist--especially if he or she is young--incurs the resentment, and even wrath, of drivers who see us as "privileged."
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| Photo by Constance Bannister, New York State, 1946 |
Hmm...Maybe I should attach a carrier--or trailer--to one of my bikes. Can you see someone weighing down his $12,000 S-Works rig with one?
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