Garmin Varia reviews on youtube

[pakelly99]

I’m sure it’s nothing, but, of people presenting relatively ‘established’ youtube channels, an odd realisation occurs to me that over and above many of the expected consistent comments in praise…
an alarmingly high proportion of the same presenters note an instance where they were hit by someone driving a car regardless!
One of whom sounds like he sustained a concussion, as he referred to “that’s what people told me happened, at least”.
Does anyone here who runs a varia and was struck by a car etc feel that overconfidence, based on a trust in the varia may have figured in how things went down?
many thanks in advance for any input relevant to the parameters described.



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[nickf]

I always run a Varia. I live in a rural area, I pretty much have the roads to myself. The varia is nice because it gives me a heads up when a car does approach me from behind. It gives me a chance to position myself safely on the road, and enough time to do a quick glance to see what's coming. I ALWAYS check behind me with my eyes before moving over into a turn lane or crossing over to make a left turn. You cannot blindly rely on any device. Sounds like the YouTubers just have bad luck. Wrong place wrong time. You have no control over the drivers. Most drive like absolute garbage. Sure the varia can alert you, but with or without the device if the driver is distracted you are screwed either way. It's a risk we all take riding on the road. If you blindly trust the device, that's on you. Personally, I feel it's a great tool, it's definitely better than nothing.

[TobinHatesYou]

I’m sure it’s nothing, but, of people presenting relatively ‘established’ youtube channels, an odd realisation occurs to me that over and above many of the expected consistent comments in praise…
an alarmingly high proportion of the same presenters note an instance where they were hit by someone driving a car regardless!
One of whom sounds like he sustained a concussion, as he referred to “that’s what people told me happened, at least”.
Does anyone here who runs a varia and was struck by a car etc feel that overconfidence, based on a trust in the varia may have figured in how things went down?
many thanks in advance for any input relevant to the parameters described.

A Varia is no guarantee against being hit by a motorist.

This is what a Varia does for me:

1) It allows me to confidently take the lane without constantly glancing over my shoulder when no cars are present instead of riding in gutters or on shoulders where debris is likely present.
2) It alerts me way before I can hear a car approaching on a fast stretch of road so I can glance back, see what type of vehicle it is and exercise caution if the motorist isn't already switching lanes...or if they're driving a raised pickup truck or some other large/wide commercial vehicle.

[PoorCyclist]

My Varia has never false alarmed, I am confident with it but I still check before needing to go across lanes.
If I get hit by a car it's not because I am over confident with the varia but either my fault or the driver's fault.

[kode54]

I use a Varia since drivers forgot how to drive during the pandemic. But like others, if I move into the cars one, I always look back to make sure there are no cars before doing so. Even with the Varia’s alert, I get pickups that buzz me all the time on purpose. For that reason, I still feel safer with it on a ride than without.

[Butcher]

As mentioned above, the best thing for me is looking at my screen or Varia HID and know there is a car there. It keeps me from constantly looking behind to see if I can take a left. The only time it does not work well is when the car is not approaching you. Such as you are going with the speed of trafic. Of course, it's not suppose to 'see' cars that way.

I thought this radar thing was a gimick and after I made my purchase, I'm so glad I did. I did purchase the camera version and I can only hope it does it's job if I am in the hospital or morgue.

Why people like to blame others for their mistakes is beyond me. I could really careless what the rules of the road are. Tonage rules the road and although I may not like what the car is doing, I will certainly allow them to do what they do vs pushing my weight around. A lot like walking across the street. You certainly could take the chance of the car stopping or you could wait till they stop before you cross [or run like hell].