Heat, Sun and the Road

In a hot climate, light covered clothing often protects better than maximally bare skin.

It reduces exposure to sun, dust and insects. You also need shade, water, a hat and sunscreen for the exposed parts.

Sunscreen does not grant the right to stay in direct sun for as long as you like. It is one layer of protection.

When walking along a road, the main thing is to use the pavement or a dedicated path. If there is none, in most situations it is safer to walk facing the traffic so you can see the cars coming, but you should take local rules, bends in the road and the presence of a shoulder into account.

On a bicycle the direction is usually the opposite: a bicycle moves under the rules for vehicles, not for pedestrians.

Clothing should make a person visible, especially in the dark and in bad weather.

The general rule is simple:

You have to see the danger and also be visible to it.

A pedestrian almost always reads the asymmetry of visibility in their own favour. Headlights are visible a few hundred metres away, and from this follows the conclusion that they can be seen just as far. A dark jacket on an unlit shoulder appears in the headlights within a few dozen metres — roughly when it is already too late to brake, especially if the driver is passing an oncoming car at the same time. A reflective strip on a backpack costs less than any other item of clothing and works better than confidence in your own visibility.

With the sun the same mistake runs the other way: protection is judged by how it feels, and the consequences arrive as fact, usually in the evening. In the heat, the most dangerous thing is feeling fine.