Flashing cycle lights???

[simongrant]

Hi all,
This may just be me and my eye's but when there is another cyclist oncoming with front light flashing i find it quite difficult to gauge there position in particular distance and it seems the brighter the light the harder it is.

Anyone else find this or should i have gone to specsavers??

Simon

 

[ed_o_brain]

It's only a problem for me when the cyclist is some way off, usually too far away for me to even know that they are there.

 

[GrasB]

No, it's not just you. Only having one front or rear light set to flashing light is a menace. It takes far longer for you to work out the 3 principle components of the cyclists trajectory (speed, direction & distance) you need to know if you want to make a proper judgement. It doesn't need much, a cheap SMART 3 LED secondary, & the problem is solved.

I've had a potential incident where I thought a cyclist was a moped the other side of some trees, the lights were bright enough, it was only when I started to turn & my lights caught the front wheel did I realise it was a cyclist, it didn't help that the cyclist was in pure black head to toe.

 

[J4CKO]

I have three rears, generally only put two on but it does kind of make sense as the regular is too regular, like the sirens they have now that are purposefully dischordant and change patterns to help drivers pinpoint where the sound is coming from having light flashing at different speeds/patterns identifies you as a cyclist (as opposed to a bigger vehicle behind trees like was mentioned) and stops to a certain extent drivers making assumptions about speed and trajectory as it doesnt fit a pattern.

I had kind of worked this one out for myself with the above reasoning, but I would like to hear from someone who actually knows what they are talking about rather than slightly sounding like it might be correct

Need to do something about the front if that is the case.

This kind of stuff, once there is a consensus, should be added to the sticky "Helpful tips and avoiding a messy death" section for new cyclists I mentioned a while back.

 

[MartinC]

Flashing lights are good for attracting attention but it's hard to judge the distance of a flashing light. Best bet is to use both flashing and steady lights on your bike.

 

[oxford_guy]

Personally I hate flashing lights on bikes full stop, especially on the front, where I think its really disorientating for drivers, though I guess having an auxiliary flashing rear light is okay for getting noticed.

 

[Davidc]

Well known issue, and you're certainly not alone.

I run with one steady and one flashing at both the front and back at night, and more often than not one flashing at the back in daylight. I think most drivers now understand that flashing = cyclist.

I also wear reflective stuff at night and have plenty of reflectives on the bike (but the wheel reflectors supplied with bikes/ wheels come off straight away - they're dangerous - see other threads).

 

[semislickstick]

Yeah, when people use them on flash on cycle lanes, you are passing closely is very disorientating and on the road where there is no street lighting all you see is the flash, one chap I pass on country 60mph roads only has very bright flashing lights (one on his head, one on the bike) I feel like vomiting and can't focus on the road. I wonder how he can make out where he is going?
I think newer LED lights are getting too powerful for flash. They are good for attracting attention, but there is no need to over do it!

 

[siadwell]

Flashing lights are, IMO, an important part of a cyclist's defences at night or in low visibility conditions, as they shout "bike!" more than perhaps anything else.

However, in the absence of any other visual clues, such as a solid light or retro-reflectives, a flashing light is much more difficult to track.

Solid lights alone can also be problematic, as drivers are used to seeing motor vehicle lights, which are roughly the same size and brightness. So drivers tend to assume that the larger and brighter a light source, the closer it is. As cycle lights tend to be smaller and less bright, they are perceived to be closer away than they actually are.

I found this research done by Honda into motorcyclist conspicuity (http://world.honda.com/ASV/motorcycle/). This found that for some reason drivers found it much easier to judge speed and distance of motorbikes where there were additional lights separated vertically. It also found that front lights configured to form a "face" made motorbikes more noticable to drivers.

Now, if I can just wire the Christmas tree lights and loop them from the handlebars in a big friendly smile...

 

[BentMikey]

You guys would just hate me so much if you saw me riding at night. An Exposure MaxxD on flash mode is awesomely attention getting.

 

[BigSteev]

You guys would just hate me so much if you saw me riding at night.

Only at night?

 

[Davidc]

Now, if I can just wire the Christmas tree lights and loop them from the handlebars in a big friendly smile...

last year there was a man round here who had fixed a plastic LED illuminated Christmas tree on the back of his bike rack. Looked crazy.

 

[BentMikey]

Only at night?

Oh yeah! I forgot I usually put it on flash in the daytime when I have a lot of filtering to do. The motons scatter out the way, it's lovely.

Another fav is putting the light on constant a km or so before a speed camera like the one on Kentish Way, and then as I get level with the light putting it on flash. You can just see the motons getting stressed about the flashes.

 

[Davidc]

as I get level with the light putting it on flash. You can just see the motons getting stressed about the flashes.

 

[gaz]

Another fav is putting the light on constant a km or so before a speed camera like the one on Kentish Way, and then as I get level with the light putting it on flash. You can just see the motons getting stressed about the flashes.

ROFLMAO, that is awesome!

___


I personally can't stand flashing lights used as main ones. as many people have said it's hard to judge the speed that they are coming at you. I also find that often they are too bright and end up blinding me.

I have two lights at the front, and two at the back, both the main lights are on consitnatly and my two smaller lights have a rotational flash on.