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PLEA FOR LIGHTS

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14 comments

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John N | 7 years ago
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7:30 - 7:45 I'd guess.  Mrs N. had to be at her brothers for around 8:30pm so that'd be about right.

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fenix | 7 years ago
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What time was this ? Maybe they were caught out by conditions.

 

Peeing down today and I've passed a rider clad all in black with no lights front or back.  Its a miserable day out there. Why you'd ride like this is beyond me.  Maybe they've never been in a car in the rain, or maybe they just aren't thinking. 

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John N | 7 years ago
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I didn't say it was gloomy where I was.  I said there was a threatning sky to the west (where I was heading) and it was this that formed the back drop behind the cyclists and that the cyclists appeared out of the gloom.

The A40 at this point has streetlights, but they won't compensate for a dark background like I was approaching.  If the streetlights are on, I'll normally put the lights on - but I'll have to admit that having driven 2x Volvos for the last 20 years their idea of sidelights / running lights is a lot better than Fords and one that I don't fdully appreciate until it's got a little darker where I am.

I could have composed my post better had I thought about it.

I do sometimes complain about bike lights but mostly I suspect because they are misaligned, just as I whinge about cars for the same.  Retina burners do no one any favours whatever they're on. 

I use a 600 lumen Niterider for lighting up the road and a smaller Cateye opticube for being seen.

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oldstrath | 7 years ago
1 like

Fine, so long as you promise not to then start moaning that "your evil nasty bike lights are blinding me".

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arfa | 7 years ago
1 like

Yup, run strobing usb rechargeablelights all the time. Costs nothing and google "saccadic masking" if you are unconvinced.

Still, they're no defense against people who are convinced they can safely operate their car and their mobile phone at the same time but that's another story

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atgni | 7 years ago
3 likes

I run flashing rear all the time - in the hope of not getting run down by someone in a metal box.  Even in daylight I think the flashing rear light might help as dappled sun between trees can make it harder to see us.  Won't make much difference is someone is busy texting whilst driving though.

I carry a front light all the time too, but only turn it on when it's getting dark.  'Gloom' in the evening is a tricky time as it always looks lighter when you're outside of a car, so they might not have turned them on yet.

If you considered it dull daytime weather then rule 115 of the highway code says you should have had your headlights on  3

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John N | 7 years ago
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I'm not suggesting you use them in daylight.  I just felt that if feel the need to use rear lights, why not front as well.  My car had side lights on, not sufficient to pick up on reflective material (if there was any) and day glos is not a lot of good in the dark.  The last rider had a pink vest on it did show up in the rear view mirror, but not when approaching out of the gloom!

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MartyMcCann replied to John N | 7 years ago
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John N wrote:

  My car had side lights on, not sufficient to pick up on reflective material (if there was any) and day glos is not a lot of good in the dark. 

 

Interesting- while I agree that people using any sort of vehicle on the road (two wheels or four) should respond to changing lighting conditions, why did you only have your side lights on? If it is gloomy I always have headlights on- side lights are next to useless unless you are parked at the side of a road in dull conditions. In fact according to the Highway Code the only situation in which you are permitted to drive with sidelights alone is at night on a road which has lit street lighting.  Headlights must otherwise be used at night or during the day when visibility is seriously reduced. I simply don't understand other cyclists who don't use lights when visibility is reduced or drivers who only insist on side lights when it doesn't cost anything extra to use headlights.

i appreciate I am slighty shifting the thread from your original point but why were you only using sidelights?

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FluffyKittenofT... | 7 years ago
1 like

Dunno. I have plenty of lights. Maybe too many. Don't see why I should have to use them in daylight though, beyond a point its just pandering to drivers' carelessness/laziness.

As a pedestrian I frown and go 'tsk tsk' when I see cyclists on the road (or, indeed, the pavement) at night without lights (or a pathetic one I can barely see), as I have to really peer and double/triple check when crossing the road. But it doesn't really fill me with the anger I feel when I see drivers driving at night with no (working) headlights.
It does fit the general pattern that the police rarely bother enforcing any laws at all on the roads, for any user-group.

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sergius | 7 years ago
1 like

Dunno, I've no lights on my best bike, and my winter bike only has a small one on the back.  I only ride in daylight though - so have never considered it a problem.

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StraelGuy | 7 years ago
1 like

I agree, I won't ride without GOOD front and rear lights, even in broad daylight. Some drivers are dopey enough with giving them the SMIDSY excuse.

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John N | 7 years ago
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Before I have my little rant just let me put the record straight.  I'm the person who leaves a few extra seconds before overtaking a cyclist, and gives them a little extra room.  I'm the one who helped (along with many others) delivering the ROSPA Cyclesafe scheme free to the local school for many years, I'm the one who dislikes 3+ abreast club runs (I can live with 2) and lastly I'm just an average pedalist enjoying a ride when I can.

The other evening I had to take my wife to her brothers, it was dusk, with a deepening sky westward.  2 pairs of cyclists (probably on a training run, because they wern't hanging about) were going east on the A40 through Stokenchurch.  The 1st. pair were behind an Audi that pulled into the Kings Arms car park.  The turn may have been abrupt, but the driver was signalling his intentions.  Equally abrupt was the the move pulled off by the 1st. pair of cyclists who manouvered around him, coming close to the middle of the road.  NO FRONT LIGHTS - and I didn't see them until it would have been to late to do anything about it (had I been closer to the centre line). A little further up the road, perhaps 500m behind another pair with NO FRONT LIGHTS.  Absolutely nothing wrong here except I couldn't see them.  They just seemed to arrive out of the gloom. Some, possibly all, had rear lights but they are not easily visible from the front.  Neither is a little bit of dayglo / reflective material much good in these situations.  A small front light IS.  All I'm asking is that you help yourselves.  A £1000+ bike and not got a tenner spare for a small light doesn't wash with me. I'm not a saint, I've been caught out without lights myself but if I know I'm coming back in dusk I don't go out without checking  mine are working first.  I'd like to hear what others have to say on this.

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. . | 7 years ago
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'View source' shows the original text.  They said:

"Before I have my little rant just let me put the record straight.  I'm the person who leaves a few extra seconds before overtaking a cyclist, and gives them a little extra room.  I'm the one who helped (along with many others) delivering the ROSPA Cyclesafe scheme free to the local school for many years, I'm the one who dislikes 3+ abreast club runs (I can live with 2) and lastly I'm just an average pedalist enjoying a ride when I can. The other evening I had to take my wife to her brothers, it was dusk, with a deepening sky westward.  2 pairs of cyclists (probably on a training run, because they wern't hanging about) were going east on the A40 through Stokenchurch.  The 1st. pair were behind an Audi that pulled into the Kings Arms car park.  The turn may have been abrupt, but the driver was signalling his intentions.  Equally abrupt was the the move pulled off by the 1st. pair of cyclists who manouvered around him, coming close to the middle of the road.  NO FRONT LIGHTS - and I didn't see them until it would have been to late to do anything about it (had I been closer to the centre line). A little further up the road, perhaps 500m behind another pair with NO FRONT LIGHTS.  Absolutely nothing wrong here except I couldn't see them.  They just seemed to arrive out of the gloom. Some, possibly all, had rear lights but they are not easily visible from the front.  Neither is a little bit of dayglo / reflective material much good in these situations.  A small front light IS.  All I'm asking is that you help yourselves.  A £1000+ bike and not got a tenner spare for a small light doesn't wash with me. I'm not a saint, I've been caught out without lights myself but if I know I'm coming back in dusk I don't go out without checking  mine are working first.  I'd like to hear what others have to say on this."

(excuse bad formatting)

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fenix | 7 years ago
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