And yet, and yet, it never fails to amaze me that most people here in Germany (I won't say "most Germans", since not everyone here is German, not even the residents), most people here in Germany think that wearing dark clothes, including black anoraks and other winter wear, is a good idea. During the darkest time of the year!!! Why?
As I walk along the pavements, on the alert for any danger, I see vague shadows move in front of me. What are they? Is it a person? More than one person? Are they coming towards me? And so on and so forth.
If only they would wear something in a contrasting colour. If only they wore brighter colours. Then I could see them more easily and - what is much more important - so could other road users such as cyclists (also often on the pavements with NO lights on whatsoever, or reflective clothing) and drivers of cars, buses and trams.
In a bid to make myself more visible in these dark streets, I went onto Amazon and found these little things:
Do you see how much more visible you suddenly become? You can let these things (6 in a pack!) dangle freely or you can make a loop out of them. No batteries required; they come with cables that allow you to recharge them via a USB port, e.g. on your computer.
And you can switch them on and off as you please. When you first click on the strip, you get a strobe light; the second switch makes the light flash on and off steadily; the third click gives you a steady light (no flashing whatsoever). The fourth click turns it off.
Personally, I've got three looped onto my rucksack: one on either side (dangling from the shoulder straps) and one on the handle at the top of the rucksack. When I switch them on in the evening while walking through the gloomy streets, I look like a Christmas tree, all lit up.
Wonderful. I'd rather be visible than caught up in an accident. No matter how uncool I might seem.
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