Ninja Cyclists / High Viz / lack of lights - your opinions please

[winjim]

Or, to make it simpler, rely on observation and induction**.

There is a sign at the entrance to motorways saying you can't cycle there. There is no similar sign at the "entrance" to DC. Hence, you can cycle on them. Unless of course, there is a sign.

** or deduction, I confuse the two.

The sign just tells you that motorway rules apply, and relies on your own knowledge of those rules via the highway code to inform you that no cycling is permitted. There's not an explicit no cycling sign on every motorway slip road.

 

[jefmcg]

The sign just tells you that motorway rules apply, and relies on your own knowledge of those rules via the highway code to inform you that no cycling is permitted. There's not an explicit no cycling sign on every motorway slip road.

Dammit. Forgetting which country has which signs

 

[Pat "5mph"]

We only get 3 days a year of sunlight here in deepest, darkest Scotland: I refuse to put my lights on when it's, erm, light!
I also stopped wearing yellow hi-viz once I saw everybody was wearing it: council workers, BT men, wee kids out for a stroll.
I now have a stylish, reflective, Sam Browne belt that I can put in my panniers and not look like a "cyclist" when at my destination.
Of course cyclists on the path without lights used to annoy me (I don't drive, can't comment as a driver) but I have learned to keep an eye out for them.
Cyclist with over bright, especially flashing, lights in an urban environment think they are safe, but nothing is safe from dozing drivers!
There could be anything unlit on a road, a fox, a cat, another car whose lights have failed, a drunk person crossing oblivious.
Drivers should learn to look out for the unexpected, imo.
Anyway, if the op saw them, they were not invisible.

Why doesn't someone develop stylish black hi vis and make everyone happy?

My black Altura Night Vision jacket is stylish and had many reflective details, it really stands out in the dark.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Last night I was driving on a dual carriageway at 11.45PM and passed a couple of tools on road bikes riding 2 abreast. All in black, not a single light between them!!

You clearly saw them, so there's no problem.

 

[IainC]

Luckily most drivers seem to be able to see me even when in ninja mode (me that is, not the drivers) except for people in BMW SUVs or Rangerovers, in which case my cloaking device appears to automatically engage...

 

[steveindenmark]

Yet again you lot have frightened the Op away.

You are just cruel

 

[winjim]

Yet again you lot have frightened the Op away.

You are just cruel

Six posters, 17 posts and a time of 21 minutes. Not bad, but I think we can do better. I'm hoping somebody else will come along and start talking rubbish so we can have another crack at it.

 

[Lonestar]

Cyclist with over bright, especially flashing, lights in an urban environment think they are safe, but nothing is safe from dozing drivers!
There could be anything unlit on a road, a fox, a cat, another car whose lights have failed, a (pedestrian) person crossing oblivious.

Foxes are common here in the backstreet and stand out in the road until they decide to leg it.Cyclists with bright or flashing lights don't bother me too much.I will never moan about it.Cars do the same thing with their headlights.(sometimes badly adjusted or not working,though)

Pretty common round here is the amount of vehicles driving round with faulty lights like the old trick of one headlight (tail light/brake light) working and trying to work out what the vehicle is behind.Sometimes can get fooled into thinking it's a motorbike.

 

[ufkacbln]

Or, to make it simpler, rely on observation and induction**.

There is a sign at the entrance to motorways saying you can't cycle there. There is no similar sign at the "entrance" to DC. Hence, you can cycle on them. Unless of course, there is a sign.

** or deduction, I confuse the two.

Not the only one

Colleague of mine remembered it by:

Induction - you have to be in
Deduction - you have to decide

 

[Phil Fouracre]

Great, just gone up in my estimation - perfect responses to stupid post

 

[Drago]

Should I whinge and complain of just let people know that it's a bit of an insular site....

Hmm

 

[Phil Fouracre]

I'm old enough to remember the just William books! 'I'll scream, and scream until I'm sick' !!!

 

[mjr]

I use my lights day and night, bit like a motorbike. I have a flashing PDW 200 or 450 front Smart front light and use a rear Smart R1 on flash even on a lovely day.

Costs me next to nothing and just seems like sense to me.

It seems pointless to waste money and power on puny lights which will be useless in the brightness of the sun much of the time. If they can't see someone riding a bike in broad daylight, they're not going to see a tiny light.

I also don't get flashing lights: why do you want people to miss you if they blink and find it harder to judge your speed/direction/distance if they don't? Use big steady lights in darkness, especially on higher-speed roads - it just seems to make sense to me.

I've always thought cycling on a dual carriageway is illegal, but I guess it isn't. You won't catch me on them, it's too dangerous.

The dual carriageway between Washbrook and almost Capel St Mary in Suffolk is a strange joy to ride. It used to be the A12 until they built the A14 across it, built a new A12 alongside and left the old DC as only a through route for cyclists and walkers. Of course, better counties/countries would probably bollard off one lane for two-way cycling, but it's pretty quiet so still pretty good fun.

 

[Lonestar]

I worry about steady lights...I missed one on the CS 3 recently and had to apologise to the cyclist I offended.I don't know how I missed it or where it came from but quite simply I made a mistake.

 

[mjr]

I worry about steady lights...I missed one on the CS 3 recently and had to apologise to the cyclist I offended.I don't know how I missed it or where it came from but quite simply I made a mistake.

I've done similar on the A10 last autumn - I failed to identify an oncoming moving cycle light against a backdrop of oncoming moving car lights. I don't think steady/flashing has much to do with that sort of mistake.