improving safety

[Trevrev]

Welcome to cyclechat Pooly1uk !!!!

 

[goo_mason]

Another vote for common sense. Better trying to be more visible than invisible.

We all know that you can be lit up like a Pink Floyd lightshow and reflective enough to blind anyone without welding googles on and STILL someone will pull out on you and say "Sorry mate - I didn't see you".

If the driver doesn't look, they won't see you - that's the simple fact. Dress appropriately and light up, but always assume they've not seen you and cycle accordingly.

 

[twobiker]

Welcome to cyclechat Pooly1uk !!!!

Thank you Pooly1uk ,Some of us will accept your words in the way they were intended and some will just pick up their ball and go home.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Hopefully you'll stick around here. It's a friendly place, although it does get a bit heated at times.

 

[pooly1uk]

Hopefully you'll stick around here. It's a friendly place, although it does get a bit heated at times.

thanks for the welcome messages, I didnt expect the reception ive received over the last day or so, funny as it was I can understand some of the replies, but I can assure you I am not "bogus" as someone has implied, but yes I will be sticking around, theres a lot of good stuff and a lot of good people on here.

 

[Hip Priest]

My front light fell off 10 miles from home the other night. Had to ride home with a extreme caution, anticipating right-hooks and whatnot. It makes sense to be well lit.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Good to have two back lights - one strobe. You never know when one will stop working.

 

[dawesome]

It looks a bit pikey, but I've got a BLT Fantom gaffer taped to my rear pannier rack. A Smart Lunar 25 rear light, Aldi spoke reflectors, reflective backpack and tyreflies. Tyreflies are good for sideways visibility at roundabouts and whatnot, Maplins do them.

Gaffer tape's a bit like The Force because it holds the universe together and has a dark side.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I'm with those who commented that lights are good simply because they make you more visible, and give motorists fewer excuses for SMIDSYs. As others mentioned, I also make no assumptions that others will be sensible, i.e. I commute expecting and preparing for anything to occur, and that approach has served me well for decades.

And yes, I also get irritated by cyclists who use no front and/or rear lights, or lights that just aren't bright enough, because they're not only putting themselves in danger but those around them too. Lights meeting the road safety rules standards (both in Australia and I presume in the UK) are relatively cheap to buy, unfortunately they don't always meet "weight weenie" standards.

 

[Archie_tect]

The trouble with statistics is that half of them are made up, half of them are exaggerated for effect and half of them don't add up.

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

Reading the poorly thought-out, badly constructed, illogical arguments put forward in this thread and the wholly disproportionate, Daily Mail levels of outrage, I wonder if this shouldn't be moved to "Helmet Debates".

Just a thought...

I'm sure the OP will be drawn there soon enough, and will expect his contributions to carry more weight than those from engineers, material specialists,statisticians ,physicists or even people who test helmets. After all, its common sense, innit?