Visibility for cyclists at night - Page 2

I ride with reflective tyres during the winter, a reflective ring around the tyre wall for extra side visibilty. I also use a flasher and steady light riding alone, just a steady if out with anyone else. I base what I use on what I see when driving. from time to time I don't see a cyclist. I think a flasher on the front is more noticeable, though with a scorcher on the front I think it's enough. Drivers take a second look to judge your speed and i think they're not sure what kind of vehicle you are. There's been plenty of near misses where a driver has said, I didn't think you where going that fast or the asumption was it's only a bike if you just use a flasher or in pure daylight even! So in some ways you can actually be safer at night! Erm!

The epilepsy issue seems to only just be coming to the front! Anyone heard of any cases or is this more HSE gone daft?

Photosensitive Epilepsy is a real thing and seizures can be triggered by repeating patterns, flashing lights, and so on. It's entirely possible that the flash frequency of a light could trigger a seizure in such an epileptic.

There is no evidence that flashing lights make us more visible. In fact, there's ample reason to believe it doesn't. In a lot of municipalities or states, flashing lights are illegal (why, I don't know). I rank my safe control of my bike first and my visibility to others second. Flashing lights do impair what we see. The lack of continual illuminated visual input decreases depth perception and motion tracking. Peripheral vision, which is already limited in the dark, gets much worse with flashing illumination. Irregular flashing does draw attention, but I'd much rather rely on my helmet mounted retina torch to get the attention of drivers coming toward me, as well as drivers on cross streets (or driveways).

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Yup, the epilepsy is real but it would have to be pedestrians or passengers that it might effect over here as you're not allowed to drive if you suffer. I was just curious, i'm also under the impression epilepsy is on the increase. I don't know enough about it to know how likely a passing flasher is to set someone off.

As for the solid/flash argument I think it's going to go on. A solid light is easily lost in a sea of car headlights at rush hour. Everyones perception will be different. Control and road position is a must day or night, where do I get some? ;-)

How likely a flasher is to set someone off is dependent on to what temporal frequencies they're sensitive.

In the US, the incidence of epilepsy in children is decreasing while it is increasing in the elderly. Those are the two populations in which new cases are predominately found. I don't know how that varies around the world.

Bike control: everything is safer the faster you go!

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I use only steady lights instead of flashing (both front and rear). I agree with Germans (and i guess Netherlands) laws, at those countries flash lights are illegal. In very bad visibility (very dark or dark and rainy), flash ligts can be missleading. It is difficalt for car drivers to tell the exact distance to bicycle or/and speed of bicycle with flashlights.
I was using flash lights until one time in very bad weather i allmost hit the bicyclist by my Civic. Thankfuly i avoided him in last moment. Was realy surprised how misleading the flaslight in certain conditions can be. Never used flashlights by myself since that time.

Ahh come on mate. How accurate a distance does one need to know?

• Driver sees flashing lights, thinks "Cyclist ahead, must adjust my speed accordingly".
• Driver slows down and passes cyclist without crashing into cyclist.
• Driver proceeds on his/her way.
• Cyclist proceeds on his/her way.
• Flashing lights = job done.

Simple innit?

In general your arguments are right, but there may be diferent- dificult situations. In my opinion if you have difficult road conditions (fast, heavy traffic, limited space and visibility) it is nice to know how far exactly object is from your car in order to pass him comfortably (for both- driver and cyclist) and not to be missleaded by flashlight. But maybe that's just me.
Still in some European countries flash lights are illegal (THEY claim that the oject is closer than it apears with flashlight on) in order not to misslead car drivers.
I am just saying that not every time it is that simple.

Slag me off for being pedantic, but how accurate do you want to be for the following statement:
it is nice to know how far exactly object is from your car in order to pass him comfortably ?

On the rear of my bike I have 2 flashing and 1 on steady.

(Apologies for being sarcastic, but I just couldn't resist it).

if you have 2 flashlights an one steady, then it is a diferent picture, i guess.

sorry, just could't resist

as a cyclist it is also important to ride on the defensive, if you rely too much on which lights you do have, you risk of being overly confident on the road and then accidents happen

I will admit that for seeing where you're going a helmet light is awful good.......BUT....... Bicycles are required to have a headlight at night. Your helmet light doesn't meet the letter of the law and if some jerk hits you (even from behind) its your fault because you technically shouldn't have been there without a proper light. The same goes for those lights aiming at the ground or sky clipped to your britches.

WOW, In most places epileptics can not recieve a drivers license.

You're wrong. In most, if not all, of the US, a helmet light meets the letter of the law. And not all lights are pointed at the sky or ground as you claim. There is a lot of high tec in modern battery powered lights, and the lights can be aimed quite accurately.

Dynamo powered lights are not better. They're simply a different choice, with different set of pluses and minuses. Further I'd venture to say that battery powered lights are exceeding most dynamo powered lights in terms of illuminance.

Personally, I don't want to have to buy a second best or third best hub because it's got a dynamo in it. I want the hubs I choose and bright lights. Moreover, I'll take being able to put a light in a drivers face to be sure they'll see me, rather than having the light fixed on my bike. That's my preference.

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O.K. go read the law books." A bicycle is required to be equiped with" is how almost all of our state's laws start, which means stuff hanging from the cyclist does NOT count, that includes anything hanging from one's pants (britches for you non-english speakers), and NO it isn't possible to accurately aim any light that is attached to a flexible cloth surface. I'm not countering your point about how nice helmet lights are, in fact I couldn't agree more about their usefulness- but court cases have been lost (she's still dead, and her family recieved no compensation) because the defense attorney pointed out that the bike didn't have any lights (she was thouroughly decorated with them).

SO, please don't give someone here the false security by incorrectly stating the legal implications of a particular lighting system.
If you're happy with changing batteries and not riding more than a few hours each night, I'm happy for ya' really and welcome to the road !

Whatever, bub.

__________________
Sex is horrid
Pain is Fun
I cut my fingers off
One by one