To the editor:

While I am addressing this letter to you, it is intended as a letter to persons using the roads in Little Compton.

By this I mean to include persons walking, riding bicycles and driving automobiles, and I am making suggestions and requests for safety.

To the walkers: I suggest that you should comply with state law and walk on the side of the road facing cars which may be driving toward you. This provides you with an opportunity to get out of the way of cars and bikes which are riding on the right side of the roads. My second suggestion for you is that you wear bright clothing, preferably bright yellow or white so that you can be seen.

To the bike riders: First and perhaps most important — you should wear a helmet!

I speak from experience. Several years ago I was riding with a friend; I had a helmet on. He was ahead of me and I was trying to catch up. My front tire hit a hole and I went down. Fortunately, I was knocked out for only a few seconds. But my friend, a doctor, refused to do anything other than let me ride home carefully, and when we got there he wouldn't leave until I had called my wife down to meet us.

As a doctor, he was aware of the dangers of a concussion and he wanted to be sure I was okay and in good hands before he left me. Fortunately I had a helmet on and I suffered no lasting injuries or problems.

My second suggestion is like my second suggestion for walkers: Wear bright clothing, preferably yellow or white, and if you are riding either in hazy conditions or at dawn or dusk, be sure to have a working headlight and taillight on your bike.

I would also like to suggest that, if you wear glasses, you should consider having a rear view mirror so that you can see any cars coming from behind. Alternatively, you can get a handle-bar mirror or a mirror attached to a helmet which can accomplish the same purposes.

To the automobile drivers: Be aware that headlights are more important to let other drivers know that you are there than to provide light so you can see what's ahead of you. That is particularly true if you drive a dark colored car which may be hard to see when weather conditions are not favorable. Thus, have your headlights on whenever weather conditions are hazy or at dawn or dusk. I do see many very bright drivers with headlights on at all times, whether day or night.

Noel M. Field Jr.

Little Compton