most dangerous

delcol

were do you fellow cyclist (commuters) feel the most danger is
night riding in the dark.


is it more important to have good visability from the rear so you can be seen by passin vehicals,.
i wear a high vis cycle jacket have a warterproof high vis hump rucksack cover have a black burn mars led light on it..
a blt led light on my seat post..
2 twinlker led leg bands on each leg.
and a indicator led strip on my right leg..


or is it safer to be seen from the front....
i run 2 cat eye lights el 530 and 510..

i post this cause in hte last week i have nearly been hit from behind being forced into the kerb,. and had to take major evasive action on a roundabout cause a car decided not to look and lock up his brakes trying to avoid me i had to swerve hard to the right to avoid him,..

both times i was cycling leagally one was impatience or ignoreance on the drivers part and the other was lack of attention,...

misterben

Tricky - it really depends on the situation, particularly what the traffic is like. With a roundabout, you should ideally have good side visibility, as that's what will often be seen first.

The rear is probably most important, but you want good front visibility too, for vehicles looking in their mirrors before turning left, and for people turning right across you, or coming out of side lanes.

BentMikey

Sounds to me like you have way more than enough to be seen by, and would better spend some time with a book called Cyclecraft by John Franklin. I gained a lot from this book, it changed the way I cycle and it's a great help in dealing with the failings of drivers and other road users.

DavidTQ

As well as reading cyclecraft youve also got to realise that there comes a point where youve done everything you possibly can, you can never rule out idiots completely.

Youve got to remember some motorists are capable of running into the back of a stationery coach in broad daylight...

Gambatte

DavidTQ wrote:

Youve got to remember some motorists are capable of running into the back of a stationery coach in broad daylight...

Sounds like how someone wrote off one of my cars.

2.3lt diesel Carlton, small motor, easily missed when painted red!

El Capitano

In my experience, not matter what you wear or light yourself up with, you may as well put on Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak! As has already be said, there is always some muppet who won't see you.

I wear: Hi Viz vest, reflective stripes on rucksack, two tyrefly thingamybobs on the rucksack (they were given away free with MBUK, I drilled holes in them, fitted a keyring loop and they hang on my rucksack, the movement making them light up), led lights in my helmet, reflective stripes on my leggings, reflective patches on the back of my shoes.

On the bike: 2 LED rear lights, one flashing, on constant, on the front - 1 Cateye HL-El410, set to flashing and a Cyglo Night Rover Light, use the 5w for lit roads then use with 10W on unlit areas) .

AidanR

Regarding the original question, is it safer to have front lights only or rear lights only (admittedly a little hypothetical), I'd say that it depends!

Around town where things are lit, a front light is more important because there tend to be a lot of side roads that drivers can pull out from, whereas drivers coming up behind you aren't coming up on you *that* fast so can see you despite lack of lights.

On open roads the opposite is true - there are few side roads, so opportunities for things to pull out into your path are much reduced. Equally, cars are approaching much faster from behind, aren't expecting stealth cyclists, and often the roads are unlit, so a rear light is more advantageous.

In an ideal world I'd say being lit both front and rear would be the way forward though!

jedster

With the posible exception of when you've only got enough batteries with you to power one light (clue - go and buy some more batteries!), this strikes me as as pointless a question as "what is more important, air or water?"....

Jon G

DavidTQ wrote:

you can never rule out idiots completely.

Youve got to remember some motorists are capable of running into the back of a stationery coach in broad daylight...

Quite. Some even drive into rivers because prat-nav gadgets tell them to.

BentMikey

David, isn't that effectively reiterating what I said?

ademort

I live in the Netherlands and cycle 10miles or 16km to work and the same back.The roads are quiet with very limited street lighting maybe 2miles in all.I am sure that most commuters in London etc must envy me when they read this.I have a cycle path for almost 8 to 8.5 miles of that distance and in this weather there are not many of us using it. However, amd this is a however, what we do have is the worst of the worst of the bloody worst of other road users, namely the moped riders or fuckin brainless wonders. These people are the scurge of every cyclist they overtake without giving any room at all. I am convinced that they do not look any further than 5metres in front of there front wheel. Oncoming moped riders are even worse, taking up the whole of the cycle path, including my side, usually about 20 metres from impact i can manage to scream loud enough to attract there attention, the headlights always shine right in your face and its sometimes very difficult to keep your bearings on the path. I was once in a collision with one of these lunatics, he was coming right at me and i had nowhere to go so i rode of the path. You would not believe it but he still hit my arm, ripping of the arm lamp i had strapped on, i had a full headlight reflective clothing two rear lights and tireflys on my wheels. more lights than a fuckin christmas tree. The moped rider fell from his bike and having regained my composure i approached him to ask him what he was trying to do , and he said whos fault do you think it was, i said you are effiing joking arent you . If i had not ridden off the path you would have hit me head on, yes he said i bought this bike yesterday and it was supposed to be souped up and i just wanted to se how fast i could go, maybe i took my eyes off the road for a moment, i said i think you left your eyes at home. London may not be such a bad place to commute after all.

nwallace

Well going with the hypothetical situation of having only 2 AA batteries working and the front and rear lights both use these same types of batteries and to go to a shop and buying replacements (if 1 set have run out chances are the other set is about to as well) isn't possible then you are probably in the middle of the country side or in a town after all the shops have shut.

If your in town then its probably stupid o'clock somewhere that Tesco hasn't found yet. You are also probably within reasonable distance for either a walk home or a taxi.

If your in the middle of the countryside then your stuffed. If the vehicle coming from behind doesn't get you when your rear light is out (if you have ever followed a car with its rear light out you will understand how useless reflectors are) then the one with its headlights (not dipped beam), Auxiluary driving lamps and Fog lamps will when your front light goes out.

As a preference I would rather have the front light go out, simply because I would still see on coming traffic much earlier and be able to adapt for it (i.e. slow down and hop off if required) and if challenged about not having a front light, "it's just died you don't have some AA's I could you to get home would you?"

Bassjunkieuk

Having been knocked off twice in broad daylight now it's got dark I couldn't care how daft I look as long as people can see me!

I wear a high vis vest, 1 flashing red LED on seat post and another on back of helmet. 2 LED lights upfront with a LED headlamp torch (a rather near purchase from Robery Dyas for a fiver!) I also now have some high vis straps that I'm using on my wrist to (hopefully) help drivers notice when I'm indicating for a turn!

My biggest problem with cycling in the dark now is my glasses! they tend to mist or fog up a bit with some of the recent weather, not to the point that I can't see - just get dazzled by incoming cars! does make filtering even more exciting :-D

clarkson

not been knocked off, but in broad daylight, some stupid women in a golf didnt see me indicate right, then gave me a load of abuse form her horn when i turned.

i wish i hadnt left my airhorn at home that day...

misterben

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Having been knocked off twice in broad daylight now it's got dark I couldn't care how daft I look as long as people can see me!

Having cycled in full "daylight" last Thursday for the first time, I can safely say that I feel safer in the dark than in the daylight. During daylight hours, I reckon it's easier for drivers coming out of side roads to mistake cyclists for pedestrians. We're more camoflaged on the whole, because there's more to look at.