Get yourself seen!

[GrumpyGregry]

it's just a simple question that you're avoiding answering.

I suspect that you do in fact have a set of lights on your bike... but are reluctant to admit that as it shows that you too take just a little responsibility for your own visibility.

Reluctant to answer the question because it is irrelevant. Oh yeah and I wear black all the time. I'm even wearing black as I type this.

Edit: And I seem to have inadvertently deleted the post which led to you confessing to your illegal (stone him!) pedal reflectors

 

[GrumpyGregry]

[QUOTE 2710250, member: 1314"]Greg wears a skirt at night. That gets him noticed. There's a photo somewhere.

View attachment 30801 [/quote]

Blokes who wear skirts at night? Nobbers.

Feck me. How many lights has that bike got on it? And reflectors everywhere. You'd have to be completely, utterly, paranoid about what utter twunts car drivers are at night to ride around with that little lot. That, or having been on the end of a rear-ending by Mr SMIDSY.

Mind you I think I only got about four rides out of that pos junk planet-x "waterproof" before I went back to black.

 

[MontyVeda]

Reluctant to answer the question because it is irrelevant. Oh yeah and I wear black all the time. I'm even wearing black as I type this.

Edit: And I seem to have inadvertently deleted the post which led to you confessing to your illegal (stone him!) pedal reflectors

wondered what happened to the question about my pedal reflectors... they are illegal, but they're better than nothing.

as i understand it, the OP suggested that cyclists that have no lights, no reflectors, no hi-viz at all, should maybe make an effort to make themselves a little bit more visible... whilst others seem to think that because a tree (for example) makes no effort to make itself more visible, then neither should we.

asking whether or not you make any effort to make yourself visible is more relevant to this thread than a list of tree, rock, wall, pedestrian, squirrel, etc. is.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

wondered what happened to the question about my pedal reflectors... they are illegal, but they're better than nothing.

as i understand it, the OP suggested that cyclists that have no lights, no reflectors, no hi-viz at all, should maybe make an effort to make themselves a little bit more visible... whilst others seem to think that because a tree (for example) makes no effort to make itself more visible, then neither should we.

asking whether or not you make any effort to make yourself visible is more relevant to this thread than a list of tree, rock, wall, pedestrian, squirrel, etc. is.

Q. At night can a car driver who is looking see a ninja plank by the light of the car headlamps even if said ninja plank has no lights and is dressed head-to-toe in black? A. Yes.
Q. Is it better that said plank lights up A. Probably.
Q. Does their lighting up mean the driver can drive less responsibly? A. No.

 

[MontyVeda]

Q, at night, does grumpygregry ride around on his bike with no lights? A. that's irrelevant in a thread about visibility on a cycling forum.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

We like to create and maintain for ourselves the illusion that our actions increase our safety when our safety is, for far and away the most part, actually in the hands of those who represent the greatest risk to us; the operators of motor vehicles, who kill and main thousands on the roads every year.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Q, at night, does grumpygregry ride around on his bike with no lights? A. that's irrelevant in a thread about visibility on a cycling forum.

The thread is about the visibility, or otherwise, of the great unlit. Not what I do to get by.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

TBH As Adrian has already pointed out (he said, neatly dodging a TMN) this thread says all that needs to be said on the subject.

 

[ShipHill]

A buddy of mine was working during daylight hours in our local high street some months back and he was bedecked from head to foot in hi-viz council worker attire. He told me that 5 people walked into him during the course of the day. He lost his rag at the 5th incident and received a telling off for remonstrating with a member of the public.

Moral of this story I suppose is that some folks aren't looking at all at what is going on around them.
The people who didn't walk into my buddy were either a) paying attention or b) jarred into paying attention by his attire.

Take care y'all.

 

[Kies]

Q. At night can a car driver who is looking see a ninja plank by the light of the car headlamps even if said ninja plank has no lights and is dressed head-to-toe in black? A. Yes.
Q. Is it better that said plank lights up A. Probably.
Q. Does their lighting up mean the driver can drive less responsibly? A. No.

Q1 - agreed, if looking.

Q2 - probably????? Come now - all your posting would suggest you answer this with an unequivocal NO! To answer "probably" suggests the ninja cyclist should possibly maybe perhaps has a better chance with some form of artificial lighting on his bike, and thus takes some resposibility for road/driver/cyclist interaction

Q3. Agreed

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Q1 - agreed, if looking.

Q2 - probably????? Come now - all your posting would suggest you answer this with an unequivocal NO! To answer "probably" suggests the ninja cyclist should possibly maybe perhaps has a better chance with some form of artificial lighting on his bike, and thus takes some resposibility for road/driver/cyclist interaction

Q3. Agreed

I do not think anything a cyclist does can improve the chances that an inattentive driver will see them. No cyclist needs to worry about attentive drivers. All improving your visibility may do is make attentive drivers see you sooner.

Ultimately it seems we will have to agree to differ on this. I think CC spans a wide enough cross-section of opinion for us to do that safely. If ever we get to ride together we can debate it again over a pint.

 

[Kies]

Ha ha - a most excellent suggestion!

 

[MontyVeda]

I do not think anything a cyclist does can improve the chances that an inattentive driver will see them.
...

apart from maybe utilising something that's brighter than the surroundings to maybe grab the attention of the inattentive driver.
A little bit of bright in the dark may well turn your inattentive driver in to an attentive one, which is pretty much why I have lights on my bike. It's probably why they have lights on the backs of motor vehicles too.

but yes... 9 pages is a good time to agree to differ.

 

[Kies]

Nice to end a debate without name calling, or the mods locking it down :-)

 

[Kies]

[QUOTE 2711216, member: 9609"]No driver is completely inattentive, even the text fiend glances up once in a while - if you stand out they may just see you.

Maybe we need more uniformity in cycling, in the same way flashing lights is a bit of a give-away that there is a cyclist about to get in the way, if we were all compelled to wear one of those bright yellow cycling tops.....[/quote]

User9609 trying to get a reaction - naughty girl !!