Suicidal Cyclists

NWLondoner

Reflective Clothing, Lights, Shoulder Check and Hand signals.


When riding in the dark and especially in rush hour traffic could you please use all or some of the above. Not only would it be considerate to other road users but it may actually save your life.


We are always quick to blame drivers for accidents but the amount of stupid/dangerous and just inconsiderate cycling I saw last night was downright scary!!!

Pross

Seeing the same in Cardiff. Only about 50% of the bikes I see being ridden in my evening commute are using lights. I wish I had one of these cloaks of invincibility some seem to possess.

DCowling

I often see people who cycle to and from work, dressed in dark clothes ( sometimes in HI-VIZ, but this is usually so old that it's lost a lot of it's VIZ)
Sometimes they have lights and if they do the batteries are so low that they would probably doing well to register 1 candle power., they seem to be under the illusion that because they are on lit roads that they don,t need lights as they can see wher they are going
I drive most days but cycle in when I can and when I do, I am lit up like a christmas tree, it won't stop the cars hitting me but at least I know they can see me from a long way off

rick_chasey

DCowling wrote:

am lit up like a christmas tree, it won't stop the cars hitting me but at least I know they can see me from a long way off

It's as I explained to the family when I bought some lights fit for a night at Fabric.

"They're not so that I won't get hit. It's so they won't have the excuse that they didn't see me when they do"

Stewie Griffin

I have long since given up on them, if you dont have the noodle to see that a set of lights might just prevent you from dying in a most horrific way then feck em.

drawblood

On the dark commute this week I spotted 2 cars in traffic, no lights where they must not have realised they were not on due to the ambient street lighting.

Boy did they get noticed!! people flashing and pointing - maybe there is a reverse psychology at work here. Everyone has lights - same, Lights off - different and much more noticible!!

just a thought

Buckled_Rims

drawblood wrote:

On the dark commute this week I spotted 2 cars in traffic, no lights where they must not have realised they were not on due to the ambient street lighting.

Boy did they get noticed!! people flashing and pointing - maybe there is a reverse psychology at work here. Everyone has lights - same, Lights off - different and much more noticible!!

just a thought

+1 agreed.

I visited my mother who is in hospital. I took the car as I had to take my "fattish" nephew as well.

On the way back 2 cyclists without lights passed very closely by, I couldn't see them until the last second. Further on, a car without lights passed by. Unfortunately, I could see the car, but not the cyclists a few moments earlier!

downfader

At the moment I only see a handful of cyclists like that. Most are good enough. Hand signals can be a bit weak, some people seem to struggle with their balance I gather.

What I find annoying is people on BSOs with knackered BBs and trying to simultaneously turn too high a gear. :roll: Atleast drop the gear to make it easier! I ended up behind a woman doing this yesterday. I could hear the BB crunching FFS.. After 10 painful seconds of her struggling to pull off from the lights I decided s*d it, and overtook her.