Dont use blue lights, you aint a copper!!
- Thread starter downfader
- Start date
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Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Jakes Dad said:
And where would your avatar place a blue flashing light?
I don't agree with you JD but looking at your avatar pic I can forgive you anything. Just carry on posting ..........
.I think she would cause major traffic jams where ever she cycled dressed like that no male driver would ever pass her .........
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OP
OP
downfader
extimus uero philosophus
- Location
- 'ampsheeeer
Personally I'm not too sure of the Polite tops either. Didnt Vike say the otherday that even eluding to it is an offence?
Didnt Vike say the otherday that even eluding to it is an offence?
beanzontoast
Guru
- Location
- South of The Peaks
downfader said:Personally I'm not too sure of the Polite tops either.
From the point of view of motorists seeing one of these, some are going to see it as harmless (even humourous) while others will see it as another instance of negative behaviour by cyclists.
I suspect a motorist who had a large look-alike 'POLITE' decal affixed to their vehicle would soon be dealt with by the law.
dudi
Senior Member
- Location
- Ipswich, Suffolk
i was thinking about something like this a few days ago as I feel that my 2 red rear lights get lost in the traffic and people may assume i'm just a car a bit further ahead...
Would it be bad form to add a bit of interest to the rear light collection? say a touch of purple or orange?
Would it cause a bit too much "urh, what's that??? derrrrrrrrrrrrr...." and distract the drivers from their main cause of driving safely? or would it be a bit of "hey, that's no car... that's a bike - i'd better drive really safely"?
I know you couldn't use blue or green safely, but surely a decent shade of purple, just to grab the attention would be alright?
Would it be bad form to add a bit of interest to the rear light collection? say a touch of purple or orange?
Would it cause a bit too much "urh, what's that??? derrrrrrrrrrrrr...." and distract the drivers from their main cause of driving safely? or would it be a bit of "hey, that's no car... that's a bike - i'd better drive really safely"?
I know you couldn't use blue or green safely, but surely a decent shade of purple, just to grab the attention would be alright?
I think there is a difference between using a blue flashing light and a "polite" decal.
Road users are only going to mistake the "Polite" for "Police" if they're not paying enough attention. A second (or longer) glance will show it for what it is. A blue light however, is still a blue light...
Road users are only going to mistake the "Polite" for "Police" if they're not paying enough attention. A second (or longer) glance will show it for what it is. A blue light however, is still a blue light...
l33rec
Active Member
- Location
- Surrey ( nr Gatwick)
Seems like he was using the flashing blue light wrongly but for the right reasons In my work ( Commercial Vehicle Recovery) we note over the last 10 years peoples acknowledgement of flashing amber lights as a hazard or abnormal / slow moving vehicle now they dont even register somedays I am nearly 40 metres long ( my truck towing an artic lorry or bendy bus ) we have when on the motorways and certain fast a roads taken too using alternating rear red ights under the adage better too be tried by 12 than carried by 6 ..... If i am impersonating a copper so are all those pcso s and Highways agency officers !!
beanzontoast
Guru
- Location
- South of The Peaks
Bongman said:
Yes, but surely the intention is to encourage them to mistake it for the word POLICE, and that is inherently wrong?
I don't think it holds water to say it all depends on how carefully they look. If you look carefully at the person with the blue light, you will tell from the rest of their appearance and their bike/vehicle whether they are a member of the emergency services or not - it still causes initial confusion in the same way the POLITE vest does.
In principal yes, I agree. I just think using a blue flashing light is significantly worse.
Clothing isnt really a deciding factor, the cyclist could still be a PC in plain clothes. Once you read the "Polite" decal properly, you immediately realise that they are not police.
Clothing isnt really a deciding factor, the cyclist could still be a PC in plain clothes. Once you read the "Polite" decal properly, you immediately realise that they are not police.
beanzontoast
Guru
- Location
- South of The Peaks
Bongman said:
Agreed.
I think both the vests and blue lights are pretty rare - we never seem to get either round here. We didn't even get examples of the 'Christmas lights' cyclists that I saw pics of in threads around December time!
Zippy
New Member
- Location
- Camborne, Cornwall
I didn't know there were such things as cyclist emergency services with legal blue flashing lights - is this a wind up or do they actually exist and where?
Vikeonabike
CC Neighbourhood Police Constable
- Location
- Bourne, Lincolnshire
l33rec said:
Actualy PCSO' and Highway Agency officers are legislated to use Emergency lights.
l33rec, all though it's not legal for you to use flashing red and amber....if you were recovering a vehicle on a busy road I would be inclined to ignore that particular breach in favour of common sense and safety..the droids may not.
Arch's Hi Viz Vest. HI Viz works best in day light. At night, all you can see is a haze of reflected light. Hi Viz in itself should be a warning to other road users that there is someone else on the road a long time before the can read the words POLITE. If they get close enough and mis read this, then they either need their eyes testing or they are not paying attention. It shouldn't make any difference what Arch has printed on her Hi Viz (Obviously as long as it isn't POLICE)
"Flashing" Blue Lights however are illegal as are Solid Blue to the rear!
Don't do it.....
Zippy said:
Oh yes. They are common in built up areas such as London.
Last one I saw was a paramedic at the regatta at Cowes last year. The rider looked a bit tired from pedalling all tha equipment around, so had parked up outside a chippy for some refreshment.
Photo of North Yorkshire cycle cops from http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/.
Back when I worked for the fuel injection company, we worked on the MG Meastro EFi. 2.0 liter.
The 'rolling chassis' prototype test vehicle ( diguised as an ordinary Meastro in a deep blue colour ) went like shoot off a shovel.
The WM traffic lads GAVE us a rooftop beacon.
No car would overtake.
The 'rolling chassis' prototype test vehicle ( diguised as an ordinary Meastro in a deep blue colour ) went like shoot off a shovel.
The WM traffic lads GAVE us a rooftop beacon.
No car would overtake.
yashicamat
New Member
- Location
- Macclesfield, Cheshire
siadwell said:Oh yes. They are common in built up areas such as London.
Last one I saw was a paramedic at the regatta at Cowes last year. The rider looked a bit tired from pedalling all tha equipment around, so had parked up outside a chippy for some refreshment.
Photo of North Yorkshire cycle cops from http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/.
Not just London, we get them (or had them) in Macclesfield too. I've chatted with a few who use them (I work with the Police quite a lot) and they say that it's rare they'll actually pull anyone over on a bike, the blue lights are there to alert other road users that they are on an emergency call and need to get through the traffic as quickly and safely as possible. Cue my reasons in the last post about it being a bad idea to have blue lights on a bike. They do have a siren as well (or they did around here anyway) but I haven't heard it in operation so I have no idea how effective it is.
