Switching lights on?

[Bicycle]

Suddenly the daylight is gone - and despite the warmth we are plunged into darkness for most of the day...

I have a silly routine when coming home around lighting-up time. I have no idea when it started...

I switch my lights on when five out of the last ten cars to pass me have their side lights (or more) on.

I go for lots of visible clothing and work on the principle that I need to be seen to be safe... but I still let this barmy schoolroom game rule when I switch my lights on. If one of the ten turns off before passing me, it is discounted.

Am I the only terminally sad person out here, or do others let silly counting games govern the way they manage their visibility and illumination?

I should add that I ride on very busy roads, so there's no chance I'll get home in fading light without my lights on.

I should also add that highly sensitive automatic headlights on newer cars are threatening the very soul of my game...

 

[Tynan]

mine are on all the time I ride, when driving I'll turn on as soon as i see one other person, granted the latest car has auto lights

even in daylight a good front light makes a difference

you can turn the rear light on when riding?

 

[gaz]

My lights are on all the time.

 

[Norm]

I have one set on almost all of the time.

My other lights appear when the sun starts to set, long before the street lights have come on and, in most cases, before any cars are showing their lights. I left all of my lights at home today, accidentally, and very nearly cancelled a whole day of riding in bright sunshine because of it.

Do you want to be the first one with the lights on, or the last.

 

[Bigsharn]

Soon as the street lights come on, so do my bike lights. Only exception being in increment weather (I pull over at the slightest hint of rain and put them on)

 

[Edge705]

Mens fitness magazine a while back undertook a study on high visibilty cyclists they found that cars made more of an effort and gave more room to a cyclist with little or no reflective clothing or lights and found that high visibilty cyclists were passed more closely

They concluded the high vis cyclist was more of an attraction than a distraction

I once drove home on a single track road with passing places thats how narrow it is I noticed in the distance what I first thought was an animal perhaps a hare or fox I drove forward with caution as I did not want to run the little blighter over

As I got closer I noticed it was a teenager on a small kids bmx bike no lights and dark jacket I thought he's gonna get himself killed Howvere had he been light up like the illuminations woud I hacve proceeded with the same extrem caution? I certainly would of approached much quicker

Having said that if you seen my bike two fibre flares on each seat stay a 180 light and motion as a tail light and the new magicshine 1600 lumen front light as my friont dazzler I have always put being seen my first priority. My work colleague has now deemed my bike illeagal its that bright even in daylight.

I agree though having a bright front light during the day similar to motor cyclists having their high beam on will give some adavantage to you if drivers pull out from the left

Mostly though I dont use my lights during the summer months and have only just installed upgraded them as winter approaches though I have stumbled across Blackburns offering of twin led's fronty and rear these are remarkably good for 13 quid extremly acurate and noticable I'll probably use them as backup lights

 

[BentMikey]

Isn't that borderline OCD, bicycle?

Like Gaz, mine are on all the time, daytime included, and a fully paid up member of the road vehicle lighting wars. I'm ambivalent about it though, since I see both sides of the DRL arguments.

 

[summerdays]

Bicycle whilst I don't have a specific counting system, I do look at how many have their lights on and if it is about 50% then I assume cyclists should have lights on - normally it is when I've been caught out and was just doing a local drop of the kids to a club without realising it was getting darker, or when I'm out during the day and the weather turns wet and dull.

 

[Bman]

Lights fitted already and I switch them on before I set off.

It's great when cars move over to the left when filtering with flashers on the front I think we get more room, not less....

 

[beastie]

I use my eyes. When visibility starts to fade, I put my lights on, yes it's that simple. 5 out of 10 cars sounds like a Channel 4 game show.

 

[summerdays]

I don't tend to leave my lights on my bike since I'm locking it up several times a day in different places. So in summer it is pointless putting lights on every journey just to remove them unused at the other end. In winter I'm more likely to put the lights on even though most of my journeys are in the daytime. It's at this time of year that I get caught out once or twice without them on the bike and so I use the level of light AND number of cars with lights as to whether I need to stop and find them at the bottom of my pannier bag or whether I will get home before the light levels drop any further.

 

[Red Light]

Mens fitness magazine a while back undertook a study on high visibilty cyclists they found that cars made more of an effort and gave more room to a cyclist with little or no reflective clothing or lights and found that high visibilty cyclists were passed more closely

They concluded the high vis cyclist was more of an attraction than a distraction

If you trawl through the statistical details of cycling accidents too you find that there is no excess of cycling injuries after dark i.e. although fewer people cycle in those hours, there are proportionately fewer injuries. And that is despite many cyclists cycling without lights or high viz clothing after dark. So its not clear that there is any safety advantage in using lights rather just a legal requirement.

 

[Norm]

If you trawl through the statistical details of cycling accidents too you find that there is no excess of cycling injuries after dark i.e. although fewer people cycle in those hours, there are proportionately fewer injuries. And that is despite many cyclists cycling without lights or high viz clothing after dark. So its not clear that there is any safety advantage in using lights rather just a legal requirement.

Is one take on it.

An alternative viewpoint is that the increased safety for those who are well illuminated (IME, I get much more room when well illuminated) is offset by those who ride without even the barest minimum to match the legal requirement.

 

[BentMikey]

I quite like this video from Traffic Droid today - the chase me cyclist has an Exposure MaXx-D I think. Notice how bright the flash is? It even lights up his rear tyre.

[media]

]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn6fVLiE-oI[/media]

 

[coffeejo]

Lots a couple of people in my club have photocell light thingies (tm) that come on as soon as it gets darker: very handy when it's still light but you turn down a gloomy lane. It took me ages to work out how J managed to switch his rear light on in said circumstances without seeming to move a muscle