Be.... Visible

I almost wiped a cyclist out about a week ago, I almost pulled out on him, it was night and he did have lights to be fair, but his front light was one of those strobe things, I'm not sure if the strobe was to slow, or if the batteries were past their best, but it wasn't very bright and my brain just didn't register it as a bike/vehicle, it almost blended onto the other ambient night lights from street lamps and peoples livingroom Windows.

I didnt feel too clever about not seeing him, but that wouldn't have helped him if he had ended up under my front wheels. :(
 
mattyfez said:
I almost wiped a cyclist out about a week ago, I almost pulled out on him, it was night and he did have lights to be fair, but his front light was one of those strobe things, I'm not sure if the strobe was to slow, or if the batteries were past their best, but it wasn't very bright and my brain just didn't register it as a bike/vehicle, it almost blended onto the other ambient night lights from street lamps and peoples livingroom Windows.

I didnt feel too clever about not seeing him, but that wouldn't have helped him if he had ended up under my front wheels. :(
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That's a point however, lights are a legal requirement at night and they are technically supposed to be on a continuous beam, but most cyclists i know (including myself) put them on strobe because you tend to find that drivers don't notice lights on normal settings or don't know if it's a push bike or a motorbike or something else, having them flashing is at least something out of the ordinary that drivers are more likely to notice and identify.
 
georges said:
Saw a guy.. well I say saw, I only just saw him.

On the hard shoulder of the A12 (essentially a motorway, it's a dual carriage way from Ipswich to London, pretty big, 3 lanes in a lot of places).

At 9pm, so pitch black,

with no helmet, and wearing all black.

Absolute nutter!
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I'm driving on that road every weekday, the Traffic on it is horrendous most of the time. He must have a death wish or something.
 
I mentioned this to the missus just the other night as we were driving along. Couldn't believe what i only just saw - some cretin was walking in the road, in the same direction as the traffic, dressed all in black, including woolly hat... and there weren't even any streetlights :O Plenty of room up on the curb, although it would have meant he was walking on grass.

Nutter tbh, i almost stopped to give him a piece of my mind, but i was well past him by the time i had a chance to take it all in and think about it - now that's scary!
 
Superewza said:
That's a point however, lights are a legal requirement at night and they are technically supposed to be on a continuous beam, but most cyclists i know (including myself) put them on strobe because you tend to find that drivers don't notice lights on normal settings or don't know if it's a push bike or a motorbike or something else, having them flashing is at least something out of the ordinary that drivers are more likely to notice and identify.
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I must say I notice the red rear flashers very easily, but not so much those bluish white front ones, but this particular guys were pretty dim. I'm not trying to justify not seeing the guy, it wasn't that much of a near miss, as when he caught me up at some traffic lights further down the main road, there were no dirty looks or abuse or anything, bit still, of was close enough to make me think "eek!"

But I think bright quality lamps can be more effective than a flashing lamp, especially if the battery is low, Basically, make sure you have good lamps and the battery is strong, as I don't want to hit a cyclist, any more than a cyclist wants to be hit!
 
Superewza said:
That's a point however, lights are a legal requirement at night and they are technically supposed to be on a continuous beam, but most cyclists i know (including myself) put them on strobe because you tend to find that drivers don't notice lights on normal settings or don't know if it's a push bike or a motorbike or something else, having them flashing is at least something out of the ordinary that drivers are more likely to notice and identify.
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I must say I notice the red rear flashers very easily, but not so much those bluish white front ones, but this particular guys were pretty dim. I'm not trying to justify not seeing the guy, it wasn't that much of a near miss, as when he caught me up at some traffic lights further down the main road, there were no dirty looks or abuse or anything, bit still, of was close enough to make me think "eek!"

But I think bright quality lamps can be more effective than a flashing lamp, especially if the battery is low, Basically, make sure you have good lamps and the battery is strong, as I don't want to hit a cyclist, any more than a cyclist wants to be hit!
 
mattyfez said:
I must say I notice the red rear flashers very easily, but not so much those bluish white front ones, but this particular guys were pretty dim. I'm not trying to justify not seeing the guy, it wasn't that much of a near miss, as when he caught me up at some traffic lights further down the main road, there were no dirty looks or abuse or anything, bit still, of was close enough to make me think "eek!"

But I think bright quality lamps can be more effective than a flashing lamp, especially if the battery is low, Basically, make sure you have good lamps and the battery is strong, as I don't want to hit a cyclist, any more than a cyclist wants to be hit!
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TBH most front lamps are pitifully weak, it's probably not the battery but the light itself. I used to have a front light like these but never had it on constant because it was far less visible than flashing, it didn't help seeing either. The back red one on the other hand was far brighter and much more useful... go figure...
 
We now get a lot of people riding push bikes at night doing training with laden rucksacks on their backs with no lights. They’re a menace to themselves and everyone else.
 
just a question for the drivers.. do you notice a light when it is attached to this part of the bike

bicycle.png


as its quite low and i think drivers wont notice it..
 
Jono I agree fully re the lights/clothing.

I sometimes have to head out at ungodly hours in the morning on unlit (winding) roads, and it's not uncommon to (barely) see someone on a bike with dark clothing, no lights, no helmet and often not even visible reflectors (which takes some doing as iirc they are fitted by law on most/all new bikes).


Grudas as long as it's lit/working then I'd certainly notice it, it's a little low but at the same sort of height as the reflectors on the pedels which I do spot (barely given they are often mucky).
Higher would be better, but any lights are better than 90% of the bikes I see.
 
The other side of the coin is you can be as brightly light / hi vis as possible, but if other road users don't use their eyes and actually observe...

I was nearly taken out today by a red van man who pulled out of a T junction while I was turning into it. Around 11am, I was wearing bright red cycling top, had positioned myself for turning right and signalled clearly.
 
grudas said:
just a question for the drivers.. do you notice a light when it is attached to this part of the bike

bicycle.png


as its quite low and i think drivers wont notice it..
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yes you do because you see a red light in the distance. The only time you wouldnt see it is when your driving over the top of them.

I used to see lots of cyclists at 5:30 in the morning on my way to work, rain, fog and pitch black and they never had lights on them.

Yet if i ran one down on a foggy rainy dark morning, i bet they would blame me.
 
greengiant said:
The other side of the coin is you can be as brightly light / hi vis as possible, but if other road users don't use their eyes and actually observe...

I was nearly taken out today by a red van man who pulled out of a T junction while I was turning into it. Around 11am, I was wearing bright red cycling top, had positioned myself for turning right and signalled clearly.
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Aye but at least if you're wearing/using something that is light/reflective you will be seen much more easily both by those who are looking hard (but don't have x-ray or infra vision), and those who are looking normally.

It won't help with numpties, but makes it much easier with non numpties.
 
I have some reflective clothing and use a decent set of lights.
My issue is jaywalkers who simply step into the road in front of me without looking. I experienced several near misses riding in the City today.

The peds seem to assume that a road is safe to cross if the cars are standing. It's not!
 
Nah, **** 'em, they are with out doubt the most useless, thoughtless, selfish and arrogant pieces of excrement to grace our pavements and occasionally our roads!

Follow the rules and apply some common sense to fit in with the rest of us or die: simples!
 
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uvarvu said:
The peds seem to assume that a road is safe to cross if the cars are standing. It's not!
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This, always check.. common sense.

The 'dangerous cyclist' mentality in this thread isn't true, there are lots in London on the way to work I see daily and the majority of them are visible and have lights or yellow jackets. The odd one goes through a red light (often Boris bikes) but the majority are well behaved.

There are idiots on the train who don't hold on properly and bump into you and people who dig handbags into you, idiots on the street who don't watch where they're going or walk slowly in tandem next to with someone they don't know (blocking the ****** street, walk behind!? pet peeve...).

There are idiots everywhere it's not fair to just bash cyclists.
 
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