A small request from a driver...

nickyhoward55

As an avid road cyclist myself i thought i would just give some friendly advice to some people (a minority i know) who seem to think it is ok to ride on the roads at night with no lights and dark clothing on. Are you mad??!!

I drive between 30 and 50k business miles a year and have a keen eye for the roads and often spot things a casual driver wouldnt, but over the past week ive almost hit a couple of people wearing black gear with no reflection or lights on there bike. A simple rear LED light costs less than a tenner and could save your life.

Oh, and having a super bright light on the front of your bike, doesnt make you visible from the back, as a guy on a boardman mtb almost found out saturday night when i nearly ran him over in my van.

Safe cycling all!

HebdenBiker

Can't argue with that...

cougie

Very true but these ninja cyclists probably don't frequent the forums.

I saw a guy tonight on a fast and unlit A road. As far as
I could see all in dark clothing - only his pedal reflectors were visible in my headlights.

I'd be cr@pping myself if I were him - I have 2 lights at minimum in the dark.

Kerguelen

Yep, well said, having a car and a bike I can see the road from both perspectives.

A lot of locals seem to do this as well, as you say cougie I'd be bricking it.

Currently running with Topeak HeadLux, Smart Lunar 35, Moon X500 and a Cateye TL-D630. Nothing like a bit of variety

knownothingbozo

There must be a fair percentage of people who both ride bikes and drive cars. It stuns me how many become different people depending on the mode of transport.
I follow the simple rule - don't do anything that would piss me off if I was driving behind me, and don't do anything that would piss me off if I was riding.

If I ever meet myself on the road, they'll be a cheery wave and a safe pass!

Simonhi

Saw a guy this morning dealing with police on a roundabout.

I probably came past 10-15 minutes after the incident.

Bloke appeared ok, bike mangled, taxi involved, all black clothing, black rucksack, no sign of any lights on bike.

Felt sorry for the taxi driver.

racingcondor

I'm not great at wearing reflectives but try to make up for it by always wearing light (white or yellow) arm warmers and being lit up like a Christmas tree.

Rear - 2 flat disk LED lights (2 LED's in each) + an Exposure Flash

Front - Exposure Flash, me being lit from the screen of my Garmin and if I'm somewhere properly dark an Exposure Joystick as well.

The number of people riding in London with no lights or with one that they've mounted on their seatpost and then covered up with their mud guards...

My tip - have 2 lights on the rear (even if one is a blinky). You can't tell when one has run out of batteries (they always work for 2 minuites after you turn them on).

amaferanga

Try posting on www.BSOradar.com

secretsqizz

As mentioned, blokes on bikes are hardly to be found on a forum like this... you could try to evangelize on a more likely forum for them, Pistonheads, but doubt you would get out alive,
leave 'em to it as I can guarantee they will never get hit... that fate is left to other unfortunates like ... well we have had enough examples this year that need no further mentioning

gilesjuk

No excuse for not having lights, but moaning about the lack of high vis and other clothing is a double standard when cars are allowed to be black.

I even saw a car or 4x4 in camouflage paint the other day and it wasn't a military vehicle.

Anyone choosing to wear high vis should be doing so based upon the conditions and through their own choice. They should not be bullied or lobbied into doing so by motorist organisations. Once cyclists start to be "controlled" it's a slippery slope and we'll be forced onto cycle lanes next (they tried it already with the "must use cycle lanes" clause in the highway code that was opposed and dropped).

It is a lot easier to see people and animals in the road if you drive slower. Given how fast people drive these days the motorist organisations would be better calling for people to slow down.

neeb

There's doubly no excuse these days for not having lights, as the newer designs are so much more convenient. In the past someone out for a training run on their best bike might have been caught out by a puncture or whatever and arrived back after dark unintentionally and without lights (not saying that's an excuse of course), but these days you can just stick a couple of knog style LED lights in your jersey pocket without needing to have brackets mounted on the bike.

One thing that would be helpful (although not to the majority of idiots who wouldn't take advantage of it anyway) is if garages sold cheap LED bike lights in addition to all of the other emergency items they stock for motorised road users (oil, fuses, jump leads etc). That way if (for whatever reason) a cyclist was caught out after dark with no lights they would have no excuse for not picking some up.

js14

Of course cyclists should have proper lighting when out on the roads after dark. I also wear high viz clothing for extra security (and to make it easier for the CPS to prove the motorist was at fault in case I get hit). That said, who hasn't had a rear light battery die on them without it being noticed for several minutes?

When I am driving I have no problem spotting cyclists without lights and without reflectors at least a hundred yards ahead of me. After all an unlit cyclist has to be avoided just like any other unlit object you encounter on your route: pedestrian, parked vehicle, skip, grey dustbin ...

Without wishing to offend anyone, if you're in your forties and notice that your eyes aren't as good in your younger motoring days, it may well be worth having your eyesight checked out.

bompington

JS14 wrote:

Skerryman

Seen a guy cycling down the road a few weeks ago at night, crappy little helmet light on and a small reflective thing on his jacket, closely followed by his young daughter with no lights at all and dark clothing. Surely he could have thought of a less suicidal way to get his daughter out for a bit of fresh air at night. It also amazes me how many kids I see late evening cycling down the cycle lane on the wrong side of the road, I'm guessing their parents have told them that they are some how indestructible if they're in a cycle lane!

neeb

JS14 wrote:

Without wishing to offend anyone, if you're in your forties and notice that your eyes aren't as good in your younger motoring days, it may well be worth having your eyesight checked out.

The sort of deterioration in eyesight you might get in your 40s specifically is going to affect your close-up vision rather than distance vision (hence reading glasses etc), it would need to be pretty bad before it stopped you seeing things on the road! Of course you can be myopic at any age, but you are more likely to develop this for the first time in your teens and twenties than in your 40s..

Of course some old farts just get mentally lazy and stop looking with their brains, even if their eyes are working perfectly fine...

elmsallmissile

bompington wrote:

JS14 wrote:

elmsallmissile

Yes bikes as all vehicles need to take steps to be seen, but any road user who tries to use the excuse that they couldn't see something in the road lit or unlit, would get little (nothing) in the way of sympathy from me, get yourself checked out for cataracts or other blindness issues!

js14

neeb wrote:

JS14 wrote:

Without wishing to offend anyone, if you're in your forties and notice that your eyes aren't as good in your younger motoring days, it may well be worth having your eyesight checked out.

The sort of deterioration in eyesight you might get in your 40s specifically is going to affect your close-up vision rather than distance vision (hence reading glasses etc), it would need to be pretty bad before it stopped you seeing things on the road! .

No, your night vision can go as well, quoting from College of Optometrists web site:

"Millions of drivers aged between 35 and 55 are regularly taking to the roads and risking accidents through not being able to see adequately, reveals a new study released today. One in five (20 per cent) of middle-aged drivers in the UK has driven knowing that they have poor eyesight, according to the study by the College of Optometrists.

"Dr Susan Blakeney, Optometric Adviser to the College of Optometrists, says: “Middle-age is often characterised by the onset of age-related health problems, and it seems failing eyesight is very low down on the list of priorities for most people. This ‘laissez-faire’ attitude is extremely worrying – particularly given that our research findings show millions of people in this age group are driving knowing full well that they can’t see properly. Focussing problems are often worse in low light levels so at this time of year when the morning and evening rush hours are in the dark, it is even more important to ensure that people can see clearly." "

neeb

JS14 wrote:

No, your night vision can go as well, quoting from College of Optometrists web site:

"Millions of drivers aged between 35 and 55 are regularly taking to the roads and risking accidents through not being able to see adequately, reveals a new study released today. One in five (20 per cent) of middle-aged drivers in the UK has driven knowing that they have poor eyesight, according to the study by the College of Optometrists.

"Dr Susan Blakeney, Optometric Adviser to the College of Optometrists, says: “Middle-age is often characterised by the onset of age-related health problems, and it seems failing eyesight is very low down on the list of priorities for most people. This ‘laissez-faire’ attitude is extremely worrying – particularly given that our research findings show millions of people in this age group are driving knowing full well that they can’t see properly. Focussing problems are often worse in low light levels so at this time of year when the morning and evening rush hours are in the dark, it is even more important to ensure that people can see clearly." "

Isn't this just saying that if you have focusing problems in any case, poor light conditions make them worse?

It may be the case that statistically, middle aged people with sight problems are less likely to get them sorted out of course.

js14

Isn't this just saying that if you have focusing problems in any case, poor light conditions make them worse

Don't ask me, I'm not an optometrist . All I know is that as an HGV licence holder, I do at least need to have my eyesight checked every five years and personally I think it would be a good idea if all motorists had to have an eyesight test at the onset of middle-age and at intervals thereafter.

fossyant

Nah, no point getting eyesight checked - most folk look but don't see anyway. :shock:

DrKJM

neeb wrote:

Isn't this just saying that if you have focusing problems in any case, poor light conditions make them worse?

It may be the case that statistically, middle aged people with sight problems are less likely to get them sorted out of course.

It may be, but I can speak from experience in saying that as the change was gradual I didn't really notice that my sight was deteriorating. Not enough to make it more than slightly annoying sometimes when I can't always read TV subtitles but enough to cause me problems driving at night. (I couldn't always tell if an object by the roadside in the distance was on the carriageway or in a layby). I never drive at night without specs now, and almost always wear them for daytime driving too. Worryingly, I can pass the standard driving test eyesight examination without my specs.

Kevin

PK1

I find no matter how much high viz and how many lights I have on (helmet & bike), motorists still fail to see me at roundabouts and junctions. I contantly ride defensively and assume the motorists have not seen me.

Just got some high viz gloves, with 2 flourescent fingers

neeb

DrKJM wrote:

neeb wrote:

Isn't this just saying that if you have focusing problems in any case, poor light conditions make them worse?

It may be the case that statistically, middle aged people with sight problems are less likely to get them sorted out of course.

It may be, but I can speak from experience in saying that as the change was gradual I didn't really notice that my sight was deteriorating. Not enough to make it more than slightly annoying sometimes when I can't always read TV subtitles but enough to cause me problems driving at night. (I couldn't always tell if an object by the roadside in the distance was on the carriageway or in a layby). I never drive at night without specs now, and almost always wear them for daytime driving too. Worryingly, I can pass the standard driving test eyesight examination without my specs.

Kevin

I had exactly the same experience in my early 20s when my short sight first got bad enough to need correcting (I have worn glasses or contact lenses ever since).

JD_76

gilesjuk wrote:

No excuse for not having lights, but moaning about the lack of high vis and other clothing is a double standard when cars are allowed to be black.

I even saw a car or 4x4 in camouflage paint the other day and it wasn't a military vehicle.

Anyone choosing to wear high vis should be doing so based upon the conditions and through their own choice. They should not be bullied or lobbied into doing so by motorist organisations. Once cyclists start to be "controlled" it's a slippery slope and we'll be forced onto cycle lanes next (they tried it already with the "must use cycle lanes" clause in the highway code that was opposed and dropped).

It is a lot easier to see people and animals in the road if you drive slower. Given how fast people drive these days the motorist organisations would be better calling for people to slow down.

+1
Im of the opinion:

If you dont see any of my four lights with 1 flashing and the two at the front can been seen from the side, a high vis jacket wont have made any difference, you would have still run me over.

cougie

I've no problem with black or camouflaged cars.

They have four lights on the front, two on the rear and reflectors on the back.
Plus all the safety devices that cars have nowadays. And they're usually pretty big too.

Now I don't like the darkened windows that some cars try to get away with.

As to us cyclists using hi viz and reflectives - anything that gives me more visibility on the road is worth it to me.