"If cyclists wore hiviz & lights there wouldnt be any accidents!"

[GrumpyGregry]

Yep,yet another non-cyclists clutching at "it's up to the cyclists to be seen" straw yet again ! As said before you have to be looking up front to see this wonderful hi-viz that saves us for all manner of danger !
We had a lovely little yellow Fiat Cinquecento sporting that some tit in an BMW X5 rammed into the middle of Lymn roundabout (locals will know how busy that one is) He also claimed he did not see the bright yellow CAR in front !!!!!! " Luckily " only the car got written off and not Mrs Skud on her way to work.

Do motorcyclists get the same sort of crap or are they excempt due to paying "road tax LOL" and putting fossil fuel in their tanks.I would'nt know from experience as i have never owned one !

Motorcycles are further up the BMW owners 'food chain' than chunckychickens in my experience.

 

[summerdays]

Playing devils advocate ( again) i wonder how many cyclists are riding with dodgy eyesight.

I do know a couple of cyclists whose vision is such that they have never learned to drive (undiagnosed cataracts at birth leading to poor vision). The speeds we are generally going at, gives us longer to take in the scene immediately in front of us. Car drivers cannot not process all the information in front of them (well I think even humans walking can't), and have adapted to prioritorise (sorry google isn't sugesting a good spelling) the information.

Philip Hammond, our own Transport secretary seemed to think we should be looking behind us to avoid being crashed into, I seem to remember him saying when he took over.

if i looked behind every time i heard a car i would spend more time looking behind than where i am going and would probably crash. you can't look behind you all the time.

What she said!!! What about car drivers looking where they were going first!!

 

[PK99]

a bit off topic, but for visibility should I have my rear light flashing or solid?

Both.

Flashing say "look at me"*

Steady says "track my path"


* A solitary flashing light simply says "I'm here.... no i'm not, i'm here now..... errr, actually i'm over here now" only continuous observation of the flashing light allows tracking and drivers have other hazards to track.

 

[GrasB]

a bit off topic, but for visibility should I have my rear light flashing or solid?

Get another light & have both Also if you have 2 lights of different brightnesses set the brighter one to flash.

If you have one light which can only flash on & off or have a constant light I'd go for solid every time. However if you have a light which does a high intensity strobe over an always on light I'd go for that (something like the smart superflash).

 

[RRCC]

I've had near misses and people pull out on me regardless of whether I am wearing hi-viz or using lights or not.

I'm not a gutter hugger, I cycle reasonably far out, and take primary when I need to.

It seems as if drivers either notice you are there or not, hi-viz or lights don't seem to make too much of a difference.

If high-viz is going to make such a difference, then why isn't it mandatory that cars are all painted fluorescent yellow with retro reflectives stuck on them?

I usually cycle in bright clothing, often with reflectives on it, but I don't see why anyone should be compelled to do so.

I got SMIDSYed last week in my bright yellow Fiat Panda. If you look at the colour charts for new cars nearly all the colours blend in nicely with the road, the recent trend for more shiny chrome also produces a DPM type effect. Couple this with the ever-increasing thickness of a pillars and you can see why insurance premiums for increasing.
Is it time for a campaign for contrasting car colours and for safety ratings to include the effect of blind spots caused by A-pillars.

 

[david1701]

Cheers Gras and PK

I have an uber cheap rear light that I replaced with this better one, I think I'll put it back on and leave it continuous to have a combo.

Rode home in the dark for the first time yesterday which was an 'interesting' experience, I need more punch than my 20 quid front light gives me as I live in the country so no street lights (but not much traffic, just reading this has made me a bit paranoid )

 

[GrumpyGregry]

a bit off topic, but for visibility should I have my rear light flashing or solid?

you should have more than one rear light imo.

you don't want a single point of failure between you and a myopic car driver.

 

[pshore]

If high-viz is going to make such a difference, then why isn't it mandatory that cars are all painted fluorescent yellow with retro reflectives stuck on them?

I usually cycle in bright clothing, often with reflectives on it, but I don't see why anyone should be compelled to do so.

You are not too far off mcshroom. It's not hi-viz yellow for cars, but daytime running lights that have just been introduced.

http://www.theaa.com...ing-lights.html

In September 2008 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive that will introduce dedicated daytime running light (DRL) on all new types of passenger cars and small delivery vans from February 2011 onwards. Trucks and buses will follow from August 2012 onwards.

 

[downfader]

Daytime lights on cars is going to make it worse. The idiot Drivers will have another excuse when they plough into a pedestrian or cyclist: "But I did look! I looked for lights!" Or am I too sceptical.

 

[HLaB]

Daytime lights on cars is going to make it worse. The idiot Drivers will have another excuse when they plough into a pedestrian or cyclist: "But I did look! I looked for lights!" Or am I too sceptical.

I don't think that excuse will stack up but there was a report a while back indicating how they made things worse for cyclists, distracting eyes away from where they should be looking, etc. Its interesting though (well to me anyway) that Sweden where I believe they are also mandatory, has one of the best (if best is the right word) accident rates in Europe.

 

[downfader]

I don't think that excuse will stack up but there was a report a while back indicating how they made things worse for cyclists, distracting eyes away from where they should be looking, etc. Its interesting though (well to me anyway) that Sweden where I believe they are also mandatory, has one of the best (if best is the right word) accident rates in Europe.

Sweden, Finland and Norway where they have this law have a) less drivers and b) more hours of darkness at this time of year. So I can see why they have the law. We on the otherhand are a brighter country.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Sweden, Finland and Norway where they have this law have a) less drivers and b) more hours of darkness at this time of year. So I can see why they have the law. We on the otherhand are a brighter country.

Only luminous-ly speaking.

 

[downfader]

Only luminous-ly speaking.

Is you sayin I is thick?

 

[ComedyPilot]

Is you sayin I is thick?

I am saying 'collectively' as a nation, we are willing to allow a daily cull to take place on our roads with no sign of any government pressure to address it.

I am now registered with a Dutch cycle forum, and (with the help of Babelfish) trying to get contacts in the Netherlands to see if their (very powerful cycling body) can pressure their government into embarrasing ours at European level to do something. Obviously we (as cyclists) are too small a body compared to the car lobby, so what harm is there in drumming up some kindered spirit support from the strongest cycling lobby in the world?

 

[lit]

Very good Idea ComedyPilot, if there's anything I could do to help, let me know.