Local trend or national idiocy?

blinddrew

I've noticed a few cyclists in York riding around with their lights* on back to front. What I'm wondering is whether they're too dumb to work out that the white light goes on the front and the red on the rear or, as I suspect might be the case, that they're even dumber and have decided that this is in some way "cool"**.
Is this a local area thing or has anyone else noticed it other parts of the country?


* Yes, they have gone to the trouble to buy and fit lights, I suppose that should count for something.
** As someone who's never been cool in their life I have to be careful how I use this term... ;¬)

slowbike

I usually only see me on my commutes ... but on the odd occasions I see another rider they do seem to have their lights on the right way round ...

Are you sure you're riding on the right side of the road?

fatsmoker

OP is blinddrew. He might not know if he's on the wrong side. :-)

blinddrew

hoist by my own petard! :¬)
Yes, yes I'm sure I'm on the right side of the road :¬P

Mikey23

Someone posted about this a while back... So may be a developing trend. Don't quite get it myself but then I'm old

paulintheforest

I followed (in a car) someone riding into Lyndhurst with what looked like very good hope lights with a clear light pointing backwards. They did at least have clear facing forwards as well so maybe the lens had dropped off.

alan_sherman

Maybe they have Knog front lights which helpfully switch to Red when the battery gets low. Knog really need to engage their brain when designing lights a bit more I think.

blinddrew

alan sherman wrote:

which helpfully switch to Red when the battery gets low.

Really? That's a design feature? :!:

owenlars

I saw one in Kingston upon Thames yesterday evening. Most odd and totally illogical. It is a bit like those people you see at night with full hi viz clothing, completely helmeted, every safety gizmo you can think and yet..... no lights.

blinddrew

oxoman wrote:

Can't say i've spotted any yet, but surely better than dressed in stealth mode with no lights at all.

Well, I do wonder, I mean we're all fairly used to numpties with no lights but I wonder if some people might take avoiding action if they suddenly saw a "front" light swing into a space where you'd only expect a rear light?

Anyway, it's good to hear that it's not becoming a trend...

flywheel88

It must be a trend. Not one I was aware of though!

slowbike

What about this ??

LiveGiantly

So long as cars/lorries etc see you & stay away then I don't really see the fuss.....

slowbike

LiveGiantly wrote:

So long as cars/lorries etc see you & stay away then I don't really see the fuss.....

They've been giving me more space since I put the christmas lights on

cookeeemonster

LiveGiantly wrote:

So long as cars/lorries etc see you & stay away then I don't really see the fuss.....

so on the one hand I'm crusing along doing around 18/20mph...but that red light ahead I'm catching up with is telling me I MUST BE DOING 30/40MPH!!!!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!?

oh it's just some d*ck with his lights the wrong way round...darwin award people: this way please...

chris_bass

I think i can beat this - the other day i saw a man walking on an unlit road with a head torch (white light) on backwards! A bit like a backwards baseball cap!

he didn't have one pointing forwards either!

t4tomo

Chris Bass wrote:

I think i can beat this - the other day i saw a man walking on an unlit road with a head torch (white light) on backwards! A bit like a backwards baseball cap!

he didn't have one pointing forwards either!

maybe he was woried about mugger sneaking up on him unseen in the dark? at least that way he could turn around and see them.....

LiveGiantly

t4tomo wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

I think i can beat this - the other day i saw a man walking on an unlit road with a head torch (white light) on backwards! A bit like a backwards baseball cap!

he didn't have one pointing forwards either!

maybe he was woried about mugger sneaking up on him unseen in the dark? at least that way he could turn around and see them.....

he wouldn't be able see the mugger's face etc. when he turns around to defend himself because the light is on the back of his head....

however, witnesses would see the mugger approaching him from behind though...but then again the mugger would have the benefit of having a light shined on his victim's back pockets, rucksack etc.- easy pickings it seems to me!

bill_gates

I had two chaps go past me in the other direction in Edinburgh with red lights on the front and they were both eastern european of some origin so maybe it is a trend/law in their country which they have not realised could be dangerous in the UK?

Vladimir2007

hmmm well it is illegal to do this, right?

There was one interesting thing I saw, someone was wearing a couple of blinking lights on their jacket - one red and one blue. Technically not illegal, as worn on clothing but impersonating emergency vehicles isnt the best idea in the world, surely?

drummer_boy

I thought this was some crazy trend you only read about, and then, last night, as I was pulling into my drive, a cyclist comes down the road with red lights at the front! It's got to Lancashire now.

Runtothehills

Drummer_Boy wrote:

I thought this was some crazy trend you only read about, and then, last night, as I was pulling into my drive, a cyclist comes down the road with red lights at the front! It's got to Lancashire now.

Spotted someone last night with white on front and rear - maybe they could have a swap?

Not a bizarre as the people with a white light on their handlebars, which is a good start I'll admit, and a large rucksack/folder in their basket completely blocking the light. They've managed to completely blind themselves without increasing their visibility to others- worst of both worlds!

thistle_

Chris Bass wrote:

I think i can beat this - the other day i saw a man walking on an unlit road with a head torch (white light) on backwards! A bit like a backwards baseball cap!

he didn't have one pointing forwards either!

If he was walking on the right hand side of the road, maybe he thought it was better not to have a white light pointing at the traffic in case they thought he was another vehicle? (e.g. a cyclist).

If he'd gone to that much trouble though I would have thought he'd have a red light on the front.

roger_merriman

I see the odd folk in bushy park like that red front white rear, mind you I also see the odd folk with no lights but a lot of reflectives who glow once picked up by my lights.

shmooster

Modern lights push out so many lumens that pointing them backwards makes you faster. Pointing them forwards is why you're slower in the winter.

blinddrew

shmooster wrote:

Modern lights push out so many lumens that pointing them backwards makes you faster. Pointing them forwards is why you're slower in the winter.

andy_s_t

Spotted one in Cheltenham on Wednesday night.

richk

I've seen a couple of students with white lights at the back this winter :roll:

bluefinch

Saw someone last night with amber lights (a set of 3 LEDs) on the front, couldn't figure out what it was (car with indicator stuck? what?) when I saw it in the distance against the traffic.

Wouldn't even know where he bought them.

shmooster

bluefinch wrote:

Saw someone last night with amber lights (a set of 3 LEDs) on the front, couldn't figure out what it was (car with indicator stuck? what?) when I saw it in the distance against the traffic.

Wouldn't even know where he bought them.

Very old bike light, Cateye used to make them before the invention of white LEDs, think I might have one somewhere.

moarspeed

I suppose it makes drivers look twice?

I'm a fairly calm person, but one thing that drivers do which really has me shouting obscenities regarding their stupidity is parking up facing and blinding oncoming traffic at night (due to standard beam patterns being higher on the LH side). I've also been known to have words with cyclists riding on the pavement towards me, when using exceptionally bright lights, usually along the lines of "Dude, your blinding people....... Get off the footpath, or turn the f**king light off".

In theory its not a bad thing, but it is highly likely to aggravate some lunatic into bringing down some serious abuse onto such a cyclist.

The whole thing with cyclists getting abuse is largely down to tribal mentality, it's the conformists against the non-conformists, so the less you conform, the more you make yourself a target.