Is riding on unlight country roads at night suicide?

[markg0vbr]

good lights, reflective, clothing. most cars will not dip there lights so look down and to the left as they approach or just close one eye when the car has gone past and you open your eye you will still have your night vision.
i use 12v gel battery with the led brake light strips from a car at the back and three led down lighter bulbs mr11, total cost £18.

 

[snorri]

anyone else find that when a car fails to dim its lights and your dazzled you drift towards the light (not a joke btw )
on occasion ive almost been in opposite lane because of this , i must have some condition
as nobody ive spoken to does it , very strange and terrifying , has me almost slow to a
crawl to avoid ?

I do that occasionally, it has the double plus of slowing down the oncoming vehicle and getting the driver to dip lights.
You have to be very sure there is nothing behind you though.

 

[Ian H]

My 3w dynamo light is adequate for dark Devon lanes, and bright enough to cause motorists to dip and, where it's narrow, pull in to wait. It wouldn't have the same effect on motorists if I had it pointing at the ground a few feet in front of me - I see a lot of cyclists who set their lights up just like that but, personally, I prefer to see ahead.

 

[kewb]

Target fixation? Just don't look at the lights.

Had a lovely ride on an unlit country road this evening.

i tell you it isnt pleasant ,i do check behind as cars approach anyway out of habbit for safety reasons but i cant explain it i dont drift in daylight or
if cars pass lights dimmed ,
its when im dazzled im like "walk into the bloomin light "
so i now crawl past cars on full beam for both our safety ,
i can only assume im automatically heading for the only point of reference
in restricted sight ive on occasion over compensated and rode along kerbsides ,grass verges etc but settled on reducing speed were the sensation of road position is clearer and points of reference easier to make out .

 

[markg0vbr]

when im dazzled im like "walk into the bloomin light "
.

if you see a diminutive plump woman, turn the bike around and peddle like Beelzebub has just nibbled your elbow.




sorry... but it is the one thing well one of a phew, alright one of a increasing number of things that seam me, when a total t..t comes at you full beam, (my head is exactly the same hight from the road as the head light) i some time say gosh you flipping cad quiet loudly.

 

[GrasB]

agree with crankarm -
they don't need to be mega expensive just good quality.

my lights to be seen by are smart lunar 25 kit which is a very bright front and the excellent 1/2 watt rear - £50, or less if you catch a sale somewhere and they get me a wide berth and dipped lights by every driver.

I've never had a 'to see the road by' front light that cost more than £80 and have happily ridden pitch dark twisty country roads at all hours of the night whilst on call.

It really depends on how you're riding, at less than 15mph I could use a £25 'be seen' light but I'm not doing 15mph I'm closer to 25mph. At those sorts of speeds I'd almost certainly have taken many trips to A&E due to not seeing things like rabbits, deer, cats, etc. at the side of the road before they've run out in front of me & some of the smaller but rather nasty surface imperfections.

 

[zacklaws]

I forgot to add in my earlier post, that I find a headlight useful too. Unlike your lights fixed to the bike, an headlight will point to wherever you look, so when your turning by just looking that way you can illuminate the area you are turning into and not crash into something that suddenly appears out of the darkness.

When riding through wooded areas etc too with a headlight, its surprising how many pairs of eyes glare out of the darkness back at you as you look to the left and right, with a bit of imaginative thinking, big cats etc it can help increase your pace a bit.

 

[MacLean]

Well I did the run, and I only had front and back light but I was happy enough with what I could see.

And yes I also got that oncoming car blidness and found myself much further to the right than I would have liked when my vision came back....

I started putting head down so that the little cap bit of the helmet blocked the beam.....

All in all was exactly how you all sed, the cars seem to give you even more room... I did feel like a bit of a nutter though for some reason

After my hill climb there was alot of fast downhill, and tbh I found the fact I couldnt see as well made it all the more exciting lol.

 

[wafflycat]

I forgot to add in my earlier post, that I find a headlight useful too. Unlike your lights fixed to the bike, an headlight will point to wherever you look, so when your turning by just looking that way you can illuminate the area you are turning into and not crash into something that suddenly appears out of the darkness.

When riding through wooded areas etc too with a headlight, its surprising how many pairs of eyes glare out of the darkness back at you as you look to the left and right, with a bit of imaginative thinking, big cats etc it can help increase your pace a bit.

+1 for the headlight. Attaching an LED headtorch to my lid for nighttime cycling has been the single most effective thing I have for getting oncoming drivers to dip their headlights in good time. Plus if an oncoming driver is being tardy about dipping lights, a *swift* look towards the lights usually works a treat, as it means my light is shinging straight at the driver and the reaction is a dipping of headlights. Ok, so I look like a dork, but I don't care as light on lid is very effective.

 

[MacLean]

When riding through wooded areas etc too with a headlight, its surprising how many pairs of eyes glare out of the darkness back at you as you look to the left and right, with a bit of imaginative thinking, big cats etc it can help increase your pace a bit.

LMAO, I was on a very quiet, 100% pitch black, only wide enough for one car road going through woods and was thinking exactly this!

I know there have been various sightings of a 'large black cat' around the country and lol the thought of one jumping out from nowhere really got me moving!

 

[tyred]

Something which seems to have gone out of fashion but it I believe a good light mounted low down on the fork is better for picking out potholes and other road issues. It works best if it's aimed slightly high or roughly parallel to the ground and gives a good view of the road for a considerable distance. I mounted my halogen headlight to the dynamo bracket on the front forks and this works very well for seeing the road and have another reasonably bright LED light on the bars which I think makes it easier for motorists to see me as the other light is possibly too low for that.

 

[BentMikey]

Hmm yeh, my lights were about 20quid for a deal off amazon for the pair,

They seem pretty bright, but yeh not sure if they're gonna be bright enough....

I may go for it, but be ready to turn around when I hit the country roads if I dont feel they are bright enough.

Those will likely be dim lights, I would want super powerful ones. RSP Astrum, Blackburn Mars 4.0, Exposure Redeye, etc. for the rear.

 

[Norm]

Ok, so I look like a dork, but I don't care as light on lid is very effective.

Dalek is the most frequent comment I get.

 

[MacB]

Dalek is the most frequent comment I get.

what about when you're in your cycling gear?

 

[Norm]

what about when you're in your cycling gear?

Payback time for this thread?