KneesUp
Guru
My bike is equipped with:
2 x tyres with reflective sidewalls
1 x LED rear light (flashing)
1 x LED rear light (steady)
1 x rear reflector
1 x wheel reflector (no idea where the other one has gone)
1 x generic Chinese-made front light with a Cree T6 (which I generally have on flashing)
In addition my cycling jacket -Aldi's finest - has a bright yellow bum cover and reflective bits on the arms.
So all in all I think I'm pretty visible. Except that on my way home last night (it's all of three miles) a car pulled out on me on a roundabout and two cars passed far too closely. When the second one did so I raised my hand in exasperation (I didn't say anything, just did a 'what the hell was that all about?' shrug) and the chap - who it turned out was only going another 200 yards anyway - felt the need to jump out of the car and remonstrate with me. Pretty much all of my commute is on suburban roads with a 30mph limit - the same roads I always use and generally don't have problems with. Last night though was the first time that I've felt it was reasonably dark.
In both cases of being passed to closely I thought I was 'taking the lane' i.e. there wasn't enough room for a car to pass. I guess I need to get further over, although given the reaction of the driver of the second car, I don't feel there is any guarantee people won't just drive in to me.
So will more lights make any difference do you think, or is it just a case of being careful?
2 x tyres with reflective sidewalls
1 x LED rear light (flashing)
1 x LED rear light (steady)
1 x rear reflector
1 x wheel reflector (no idea where the other one has gone)
1 x generic Chinese-made front light with a Cree T6 (which I generally have on flashing)
In addition my cycling jacket -Aldi's finest - has a bright yellow bum cover and reflective bits on the arms.
So all in all I think I'm pretty visible. Except that on my way home last night (it's all of three miles) a car pulled out on me on a roundabout and two cars passed far too closely. When the second one did so I raised my hand in exasperation (I didn't say anything, just did a 'what the hell was that all about?' shrug) and the chap - who it turned out was only going another 200 yards anyway - felt the need to jump out of the car and remonstrate with me. Pretty much all of my commute is on suburban roads with a 30mph limit - the same roads I always use and generally don't have problems with. Last night though was the first time that I've felt it was reasonably dark.
In both cases of being passed to closely I thought I was 'taking the lane' i.e. there wasn't enough room for a car to pass. I guess I need to get further over, although given the reaction of the driver of the second car, I don't feel there is any guarantee people won't just drive in to me.
So will more lights make any difference do you think, or is it just a case of being careful?