A bright light may save your life

[Caph]

I was riding back tonight down a side street replete with wall to wall parked cars. As I came up to a side junction I saw headlights from a joining side street but it was far enough away for it not to be of concern. A mini pulled out ahead of me. As he was straightening up, I realised that another pair of headlights were shining in his wake. I was doing about 20mph so started to slow expecting to see a slowing car on my left as I approached. No such luck, he was going full pelt and careered out of the junction. As I was slowing anyway and had my hands covering the brakes I was able to skid to a halt almost as quickly as he hit his brakes and it left an almost comfortable metre between me and his bonnet. His car almost entirely covered my lane when he came to stop and I had to cross to the other side of the road to get around his stationary vehicle.

I am convinced that he took the lack of headlight shine on the road as his clearance to not slow down at a junction and pull out at speed.

My Cree T6 headlight is currently fixed to my other bike. I will be buying another post haste to fix to my commuter. At least I will look like a car to other car users. Maybe, just maybe it will save my life. My current wide spread front flasher, narrow beam high intesity front flasher, rear flasher, rear steady, and flashing front/rear/side pedals just don't seem up to the job.

 

[morphix]

Phew sounds like you had a narrow escape there. I think we should give more thought to our lighting and visibility now its dark nights.. yesterday I went out for the first time in 11 months and forgot to check my batteries in my lights, they looked ok when I set off but by the time I was heading back they were very dim.. luckily I had my hi vis jacket on.

 

[OldBob1]

Hi I do think today that the more flashing or high power lights we use tend to cause confusion with other users, like Morphix said his Hi-Viz jacket or any other reflex type wear gives other road user a better indication you as a cycles are there.

Bob

 

[103Alex1]

Hi I do think today that the more flashing or high power lights we use tend to cause confusion with other users, like Morphix said his Hi-Viz jacket or any other reflex type wear gives other road user a better indication you as a cycles are there.

Bob

Agree, but not on the high-powered lights if they have a diffuser and are on the right setting. They look nothing like the blinding flashing torches which cause all the problems.

I'm a fan of blue LED though. Very effective at night. Proviz - High Visibility Cycling | High Visibility Running | High Visibility Motorcycling | High Visibility Horse Riding Clothing & Equipment ... not keen on the cut of their jackets tho' ... can't find anything which remotely fits. Helmets and arm band things look nice though .. coupled with reflective details should be very effective.

You do need very good lights especially if you cycle busy / narrow roads as opposed to paths. Preferably a mix of hi-viz / reflective stuff if you can too. Despite the undeniable safety element, I'm not a fan of luminous yellow / orange (prefer red !) .. but have finally weakened and ordered some stuff to try from the loads of clearance sales on right now. Might weaken and don a yellow Gilet. Or maybe just a bright yellow hi-viz beanie to start with . Most of it is going straight back ... feel down-trodden and overworked just looking at it !

Still think one of the best value things I fitted to the bike itself for reflectivity were these :

Halfords | 3M Reflective Spokes - 36 pack

.. and this goes on every night without fail (fell terribly exposed without it now .. you get so much confidence in something when you see people changing their driving patterns around you for real on a regular basis !) :

Monkey Light M210 Bike Light - 10 Full Color LEDs - Waterproof - Hundreds of theme and color combinations: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors


... impossible to miss and people steer a wide berth to catch a gander at them properly as they drive past.

 

[spiro]

.. and this goes on every night without fail (fell terribly exposed without it now .. you get so much confidence in something when you see people changing their driving patterns around you for real on a regular basis !) :

Monkey Light M210 Bike Light - 10 Full Color LEDs - Waterproof - Hundreds of theme and color combinations: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors


... impossible to miss and people steer a wide berth to catch a gander at them properly as they drive past.

These look even more eye catching and must be great for being seen when you cycle across a junction: Monkey Light M232 Bike Light - 32 Full Color LEDs - 42 Patterns - Waterproof: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

 

[carpetbagger]

I was in London yesterday and left at 8.30pm. I was amazed whilst walking back to the station at the amount of bikes,the speed they were travelling at and the lights on them.
There were a lot more bikes than i imagined...weaving between the taxis and buses.
They where travelling far to fast given the traffic and pedestrians at junctions
The lights on the majority were appalling,thats if they had any.
In the afternoon my son nearly got knocked down by one whilst crossing the road. The cyclist cut through some bollards at speed on the wrong side of the road to turn a corner.If he hadn't shouted my son could have been seriously injured.
After seeing cyclists in London i know now why we have a bad name....but its not like that everywhere.......

 

[flecc]

Welcome to London Mick, Britain's cycling capital.

Out of town motorists report the same reactions to London's motor traffic which they find equally alarming.

The Association of Chief Police Officers have voted London drivers the most skilled in the the country, which they certainly are. The conditions that produce those skills I'm sure also do the same for London cyclists, so what out of town drivers and cyclists perceive as dangerous isn't always actually so. Join in, learn the same and you'll find things much more acceptable than you at first thought.

Of course there are the few who are downright dangerous, but in truth they are a small minority, no different from anywhere else. Only the numbers in London make them seem more common.

 

[103Alex1]

These look even more eye catching and must be great for being seen when you cycle across a junction: Monkey Light M232 Bike Light - 32 Full Color LEDs - 42 Patterns - Waterproof: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Saw those big ones on demo at the NEC show - they are incredible but a bit too "bling bling" (as 'they' say !) at that size for me ... . Also, I think you have to be going a fair old whack for the whole pattern to be seen properly - one of the Amazon reviews says 30 kph+ for the pattern to show correctly on the big one, so best for roadsters on a long straight run rather than weaving from traffic light to traffic light or lane to lane like I find myself doing far more than I'd like. Would rather have two of the smaller ones front & rear for good effective viz in most conditions.

Actually bought mine off the guy who developed them for a hefty discount having explained my motives for going for it / where it was likely to be used. He only had one of the small ones at that time left - all the others were still under production/distribution for later sale. Very nice guy actually from Western USA - and guaranteed to replace without question if anything went wrong. They are very weather-proof and discreet - the battery pack just straps round your wheel hub with ties and a wire runs up a spoke to a tough flexible rubber unit which is mounted to your spokes. Very easy / quick to fit. Thought it would be another one of those 5-minute wonder "gimmick" things but it's far better built than that.

They where travelling far to fast given the traffic and pedestrians at junctions
The lights on the majority were appalling,thats if they had any.
In the afternoon my son nearly got knocked down by one whilst crossing the road. The cyclist cut through some bollards at speed on the wrong side of the road to turn a corner.If he hadn't shouted my son could have been seriously injured.
After seeing cyclists in London i know now why we have a bad name....but its not like that everywhere.......

Definitely like London driving then ! No, I agree with flecc .. London driving is extremely skilled on the whole - I ended up driving there regularly day and night last year and over the Summer. Once I learned the ropes never had any problems really but you need to have your reflexes on sharp all the time and hesitant driving is probably the most dangerous thing of all.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I agree with Caph: When drivers are approaching a junction at night, they're only looking for lights that are bright enough to light up the road to judge if anything's coming. Safest is to get the brightest lights possible. All the other things are gimmicks. They're fun, but won't save your life.

 

[carpetbagger]

I thought the driving was ok...just the cyclists dangerous,both to themselves and others. I don't exactly hang about but i definitely wouldn't ride like that in a busy city. Its far too dangerous.. Leaves you open to personal injury claims if you hit someone. From what i had prevoiusly read i was under the impression that cyclists quite regurlarly get hit by cars and its the drivers fault.From my experience yesterday its quite the opposite.The cyclists are 'asking for it' fast and nowhere near visible at night. Its nice to be home

 

[flecc]

It's about numbers Mick. Elsewhere in Britain cyclists are a tiny minority so have an inferior perceived position on the roads. The sheer numbers of cyclists in London, especially in the rush hours, means they are able to take as a right a far more dominant position than their country cousins. You have to remember that London drivers now expect that to be the case, so concede much more than their country cousins.

The accident statistics in proportion to the incidence of cycling show that London cyclists are far less likely to be killed and injured than any others in Britain. For example, London has roughly one eighth of the country's population and one eighth of the cyclist's deaths, but has a far greater incidence of cycling than anywhere else, in crude terms probably double the rate or more. That makes London at least twice as safe for cyclists.

 

[carpetbagger]

I'll take my chances around the ribble valley and trough of bowland thanks Flecc,but i see what you mean,just not for me though.

 

[flecc]

I fully agree there Mick, yours is a far, far nicer place to cycle, I envy you.

 

[Scimitar]

Welcome to London Mick, Britain's cycling capital.

Out of town motorists report the same reactions to London's motor traffic which they find equally alarming.

The Association of Chief Police Officers have voted London drivers the most skilled in the the country, which they certainly are. The conditions that produce those skills I'm sure also do the same for London cyclists, so what out of town drivers and cyclists perceive as dangerous isn't always actually so. Join in, learn the same and you'll find things much more acceptable than you at first thought.

Of course there are the few who are downright dangerous, but in truth they are a small minority, no different from anywhere else. Only the numbers in London make them seem more common.

Yep. I found exactly the same when I first took to London streets on a motorcycle. Before too long I was doing exactly the same as every other rider and going for gaps that I'd previously thought didn't exist
I must say, London drivers are actually very good, even if in some instances the only reason they don't show how bad they are is because they're immobilised.

 

[neptune]

I used to drive regularly in London, in 44 tonne Artics. I loved it , happy as the day was long. Then one day I had to drive to Covent Garden Market, in a car, to pick up a driver who`s truck had broken down. I was absolutely bloody terrified!

 

[barrycoll]

Flecc is so right about getting used to London cycling, and then just accepting it as the norm....for about 20 years I had about a 16 mile commute from central London to an outer suburb, and cycling home at night was a great pleasure, especially the bit through Hyde Park and Regents Park..

as LED lights were not invented in those years, I used the best front and rear lights that were available, which meant stuff with monster D cells, but I also used 2 torches strapped to my right ankle, giving moving lights both white and red...

nowadays I use 5/7 LED flashers strapped to my right ankle, as a moving light attracts more atttention than a still flasher, especially when viewed from the front approaching any cross roads, or emerging trafffic

but one still has to be aware of the problem of Looked But Did Not See (LBDNS), however brightly one is illuminated...sorry mate, didn't see you!

 

[bazwaldo]

With the Winter nights nearly here I am having to use my lights going to work and coming home when on the early shift.
My Bearprint has 3 front lights - 1 static over the front mudguard which came with the bike, then 2 x 5 LED lights mounted on the handlebar with 1 static and 1 flashing.
At the back I have 1 static red light mounted on the back of the rack and another flashing red light mounted to the side of the rack.
I have an Altura Night Vision hi-Vis yellow jacket with a flashing red LED light velcroed in the back of the jacket.
Finally the Marathon Plus tyres have reflective circles on the side walls.

Overall I am happy that other road users whether behind or in front can see me easily - if they are looking to knock me off they can see where I am!?!

Barry.

 

[smudger1956]

Cycling in London -Easy- Just regard every other road user as a brainless moron who will either maim or kill you, you will immediately benefit from acute spatial and heightened awareness.