Thoughts on using high intensity flashing red light during day
- Thread starter jonjoe
- Start date
I have lights on front and rear, day or night, blazing sunlight included.
Had a few dog walkers whinge at me, my response is I want to be seen, so of they see me, thats all that counts.
Had a few dog walkers whinge at me, my response is I want to be seen, so of they see me, thats all that counts.
Not wishing to be a dissenter as I have pretty good lights, but I was following a cyclist home tonight who had a flashing red light that was so intrusive in it's brightness (not necessarily a bad thing) that I found myself looking off to the side to avoid its distraction. Bright daylight and she was wearing a very bright pink over vest (thumbs up) which made her very visible.
Not sure. I can see pro's and con's.
Gaz
Not sure. I can see pro's and con's.
Gaz
Daylight running lights (DRL) don't need to be ultra bright, or intensively so. You can always dip them down a bit if they're dazzling others.
Alternatively, you can use the halo setting on some of them. Or strobe @ 50 secs in this video.
As a cyclist and a driver, I am not keen on flashing lights, front or rear, day or night. Gaz is correct in his observations in post #5. There is simply no need to be flashing like a Christmas tree to be noticed during daylight hours.
I drive home from work 5 nights a week, and as I have mentioned in another thread, encounter many cyclists riding home from the Nissan factory.
Some have solid front and rear lights, some go for the flashing options and some no lights at all. I consider the flashing light riders to be nearly as dangerous as the no light riders.
I'm sure some of you will disagree. How can someone riding with no lights be less safe than someone with flashing lights. Again, I point to Gaz's post above.
Flashing lights at night are simply too distracting to other road users.
Adequately bright, solid lighting, is in my opinion the safest way to go for night-time cycling.
I drive home from work 5 nights a week, and as I have mentioned in another thread, encounter many cyclists riding home from the Nissan factory.
Some have solid front and rear lights, some go for the flashing options and some no lights at all. I consider the flashing light riders to be nearly as dangerous as the no light riders.
I'm sure some of you will disagree. How can someone riding with no lights be less safe than someone with flashing lights. Again, I point to Gaz's post above.
Flashing lights at night are simply too distracting to other road users.
Adequately bright, solid lighting, is in my opinion the safest way to go for night-time cycling.
Lights tend to aid you in being seen in the daylight. No lights would make you less highlighted. I generally switch mine on in the daytime and always at night. My personal preference is the solid light source, dipped. More for illuminating the way ahead than to be seen by others. That's a given result with todays' LED'S.
Totally agree. Just to make it clear to others, I am referring to flashing lights only. I think using suitably bright solid lighting, day or night, is a great thing.
I'll switch my front to high (non flashing) mode, during the day, if the weather is overcast. The rear will also be switched on too.
I'm sure they hear your bell, before they see your lights though LeighPing
Good idea. The reason why I think that high intensity strobe lights used at night are not safe, is this. The human eye responds relatively slowly to light level changes at night. The iris simply cannot respond quick enough to a high intensity flash of light, then immediately dark again. It's this slow response that causes the distraction for the other road user, as their eyes try to adjust accordingly, and their brain process the image.I must knock up a quick vid to show that .new best headlight' on full strobe. It's blinding!
Think how long it takes your eyes to adjust, when you move from a dark to light area and vice versa.
Flashing lights at night.... Computer says no
I'll agree with that.Flashing lights at night.... Computer says no
DRL Halo, strobe or solid is fine by me. Here's how it looks at dusk. It would be blinding, head on, in the dark.
Click, if you want one.
i always ride with a light on in the day just to add as safety feature and i do use a Garmin Varia to so i know when people are behind me.
i do travel down lot of c roads so the Garmin Varia comes in handy so you know when something is behind you and able to pull over
At the end of the day if you did get hit by a car with a back light on in the day the argument in court could go can you not see a red light when you are driven
i don't think they would have much to say really because if you cannot see a bicycle light when driven then you cannot see a car rear light either so you should be on the road in the first place.
i personally don't think you can be too careful today when you are cycling because there is hundreds of idiots on the road that is why i always wear
a hi viz jacket
if you cannot see a hi viz on the road with a red light there is something wrong and you shouldn't be driven at all
i don't know what it is but when i am riding with a hi viz on motorist don't drive so fast towards me i think they think i am a police man or something
"Been seen be safe"
i do travel down lot of c roads so the Garmin Varia comes in handy so you know when something is behind you and able to pull over
At the end of the day if you did get hit by a car with a back light on in the day the argument in court could go can you not see a red light when you are driven
i don't think they would have much to say really because if you cannot see a bicycle light when driven then you cannot see a car rear light either so you should be on the road in the first place.
i personally don't think you can be too careful today when you are cycling because there is hundreds of idiots on the road that is why i always wear
a hi viz jacket
if you cannot see a hi viz on the road with a red light there is something wrong and you shouldn't be driven at all
i don't know what it is but when i am riding with a hi viz on motorist don't drive so fast towards me i think they think i am a police man or something
"Been seen be safe"
Driving my van today in bright sunlight, I caught a movement, in the distance, when coming out of a tee junction. It was a stobing light on a push bike, too far away for us to be any problem to each other, nevertheless I saw him.
I find that the flashing lights catch the eye (front or back), as a driver I like them.
Why is it that a lot of sports cyclists wear dark clothing? The guy whose light I spotted, was dressed in black and riding a dark cloured bike. So the light did him a real favour.
Me, I wear one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/?iid=331997652233&adgroupid=33676502101&rlsatarget=pla-271883344755&abcId=893836&adtype=pla&merchantid=7186914&googleloc=9045404&device=c&campaignid=707291931&crdt=0&chn=ps&var=541039913075
I find that the flashing lights catch the eye (front or back), as a driver I like them.
Why is it that a lot of sports cyclists wear dark clothing? The guy whose light I spotted, was dressed in black and riding a dark cloured bike. So the light did him a real favour.
Me, I wear one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/?iid=331997652233&adgroupid=33676502101&rlsatarget=pla-271883344755&abcId=893836&adtype=pla&merchantid=7186914&googleloc=9045404&device=c&campaignid=707291931&crdt=0&chn=ps&var=541039913075
A couple of years a go a old man said to me when I was coming home from a ride he called me over and he said to me make sure you keep that hi viz jacket on i can just about see you.
My reaction was straight away i said to him you shouldn't be on the road driven if you cannot see me with a hi viz on clearly he looked at me as if i was been cheeky towards him
I just turned around and said to him well i don't want you behind me when you are bring up statements like that at all i want you to see me clearly with no problems so their is a less chance of haven a accident
I did advise him that he should get his eyes tested every year to make sure you can see clearly because you could cause a major accident just because you are not wearing the correct glasses for when you are driven
I think they should make it law every 12 months if you are a motorist you should have your eyes tested and you have to do it so you would be allowed to drive for the next 12 months
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
A great idea in theory, but so many drivers think that it's their right to drive and not a privilege, that it would get massive opposition if the government tried to make it law.
A relative of the family has a condition where they have dizzy spells, which can come on at any time. They have already had a car accident, which we suspect was caused by this condition. Luckily, no one else was involved.
Even after countless suggestions, from close family, that maybe they should give up driving, they continue to drive. They even get angry and irritated when the subject comes up.
It's the, it's my right, attitude that will continue to allow drivers on the road that are a danger to themselves and others.
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