safety lights?

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up hill struggle

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
Location
newtownards, county down
i gave up smoking 6 months ago, tonight after a watching some youtube videos of people commuting in various cities i was gonna start smoking again just to calm my nerves.

how the hell do you guys do it?

whats bugging me is having no idea what the bikes are doing. Everybody there peddling along fine, suddenly guy wearing the bike cam swerves to avoid an other bike that just stopped for no apparent reason or biker signals for turn then puts hand back on handlebars so he can get round the bend & at that point a car plows into the back of him, argument follows that driver didn't see biker indicate his intention to turn.

now my question, has anybody fitted one of these kits ive seen on ebay has a tail light, rear indicators & an attachment to fit to the brake mechanism that lights up a brake light?

only reason i was asking is that when i went out last week i was riding along a cycle path (not a footpath with cycle lane beside a road) this was a path for cyclist & pedestrians that cut through the country side. Glanced in the mirror couldn't see anything, glanced over my shoulder and looked clear so stopped for drink of water. Just as my foot touched the ground a fella on a road bike shot passed me & i near shat myself with surprise thought if he had been 10 seconds earlier just as i was about to stop he could have hit me.

so been thinking about one of the above mentioned kits if for no other reason just for the brake light & indicators for road use, may reduce the chance of getting rear ended.

Any thoughts, ive got a light on the bike & 2 on the front & i know some wont like the idea but just as a safe measure surely it can't be a bad thing.
 
classic33

classic33

Leg End Member
Indicators on a bike will be too close together to give any real indication of your intentions. 6 inch's is the largest distance between the two indicators I've seen.

Body movement(s) are a better indication of what you intend to do. Although I'd argue that some drivers seem unaware of what they actually mean. Stopped years ago for giving the I intend to slow down or stop signal to a vehicle following fairly close behind. Driver mistook it as a right hand turn signal and proceeded to try and get past on my left. Main road went off to the right, with a junction to the left. Condition of the road at the time forced me out wider than I'd have liked.
Brake light may actually be illegal on a pedal cycle and can easily me mistaken for nowt but a rear light.

Commuting by bike isn't as bad as some videos make it out to be. You'll seldom see a video called " today I went to work by bike and everyone left me plenty of space". In 6 months and over 11,000 miles, I'd had less than 10 incidents Five of which wouldn't have been prevented by any additional lighting. One was a driver deliberately rear ending me,Another where the driver jumped out of his cab whilst the lorry was still moving. I'd held him up at the previous set of lights at a roundabout(M62, J26 Chain Bar).
 
Tyke

Tyke

Senior Member
The problem is most people see you as a cyclist so don`t expect a brake light and the indicators are so close together they don`t show the way you intend to turn. I think you are better with good lights so you can be seen at night and in daylight or dark giving good hand signals and being aware or whats around you should be enough you just need to get used to it before you start to feel safe.
 
winjim

winjim

Smash the cistern
The meaning of a flashing orange light on a bicycle is undefined. Your intentions should be made clear by
  • Clear unambiguous arm signals. I see many cyclists make vague 45° arm movements akin to the group riding signal for "pothole ahead", or pointing, which draws the eye away from the rider. Stick your arm out parallel to the road, fingers together, palm facing forwards, and keep it there for several seconds.
  • Your position in the road. Obviously you can't keep your arm outstretched whilst using the brakes. Your road position then becomes part of your signalling as well as asserting your rights to the road.
  • Looking. Glancing is not good enough. You need to be able to properly look behind you for hazards, and also try and make eye contact with any other road users who will be affected by you manouvering. That way they may get the hint that you are about to do something. Do this before you make your arm signal, again before you perform the manouver, and ideally once you have completed it.
 
BSRU

BSRU

A Human Being
Location
Swindon
You mean some guy on a road bike was cycling too fast on a shared path.
I see that all the time, some people just want to go as fast as possible without regards for other users of the shared path.
But they seem to be very slow once on the road.
 
OP
OP
up hill struggle

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
Location
newtownards, county down
BSRU said:
You mean some guy on a road bike was cycling too fast on a shared path.
Click to expand...

yeah! He was moving seriously fast, head down, ass up. Came within inches of me, really gave me quite a shock.

May have been a bit of showing off move just rubbing me face in it cause he passed me going in the other direction about 5 mins before, was kind of like is this how far you've got, i passed you a few minutes ago, been to the end & back & your stopped for a drink already.

Saying that ive seen him a number of times before sometime when im on the bike and others when ive been with the kids or walking the dogs, & he has cut it pretty close then aswell passing within a foot or so of the kids. Hes just arrogant. Seems to treat the path like his own personal race track & treats other users like drivers treat cyclists on the road.

but watching the videos on youtube, that fella passing me like that last week & my own experiences of how i was treated both on bicycles & motorcycles just got thinking if a brake light and indicator set would be a good idea just to reduce the chances of being knocked off.

up side, when i have ventured onto the roads ive just tried to make sure im seen & hold a good road position (thanks to my years on the motorbikes) it gives me space to move in if i need to without being squished between the kirb & traffic & so far the drivers that have over taken me seemed to have given me plenty of space possibly cause im able to move over quite abit to allow them to pass & they see that if made an effort to get out of their way, i respect them and so far they have shown me the same.

always gonna get some prick though that would prefer to put me in hospital rather than give abit more space, also helps im not riding in rush hour traffic.
 
OP
OP
up hill struggle

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
Location
newtownards, county down
Cunobelin said:
If a driver cannot see 3 feet of arm sticking out, then they will not see a small, underpowered light winking
Click to expand...

your right, besides even if they did notice it the flash they would probably look at that then miss the hand signal & plow into the back of me anyway.

winjim said:
The meaning of a flashing orange light on a bicycle is undefined. Your intentions should be made clear by
  • Clear unambiguous arm signals. I see many cyclists make vague 45° arm movements akin to the group riding signal for "pothole ahead", or pointing, which draws the eye away from the rider. Stick your arm out parallel to the road, fingers together, palm facing forwards, and keep it there for several seconds.
  • Your position in the road. Obviously you can't keep your arm outstretched whilst using the brakes. Your road position then becomes part of your signalling as well as asserting your rights to the road.
  • Looking. Glancing is not good enough. You need to be able to properly look behind you for hazards, and also try and make eye contact with any other road users who will be affected by you manouvering. That way they may get the hint that you are about to do something. Do this before you make your arm signal, again before you perform the manouver, and ideally once you have completed it.
Click to expand...

thanks for the refresher there. Must find a coy of the highway to read up on hand signals & cyclist.
 
U

ufkacbln

Guest
up hill struggle said:
your right, besides even if they did notice it the flash they would probably look at that then miss the hand signal & plow into the back of me anyway.



thanks for the refresher there. Must find a coy of the highway to read up on hand signals & cyclist.
Click to expand...


I was in the pub the other night and a guy questioned my use of a Nazi salute!

Had to point out that as the traffic flow was to the left for all traffic except bicycles and buses, I had pulled in the primary and used an arm bent at 90 degrees with the hand upa nd froward as it was (or used to be) the signal for "I am proceeding straight ahead".... making my intentions absolutely clear to the following traffic
 
OP
OP
up hill struggle

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
Location
newtownards, county down
Cunobelin said:
I was in the pub the other night and a guy questioned my use of a Nazi salute!

Had to point out that as the traffic flow was to the left for all traffic except bicycles and buses, I had pulled in the primary and used an arm bent at 90 degrees with the hand upa nd froward as it was (or used to be) the signal for "I am proceeding straight ahead".... making my intentions absolutely clear to the following traffic
Click to expand...

i gotta read up on the highway code.

any other books or articles anybody can think off about cycling that may be useful?
 
U

ufkacbln

Guest
John Franklin's Cyclecraft is considered to be a good manual by some, however it is one that relies on some experience and confidence.

For example there is a "primary riding position" this is a safety manoeuvre where you teke the centre of the road at a junction, obstacle or lights. It decreases the chances of vehicles performing silly overtakes.

However pulling out into a lane of traffic to take this position is a manoeuvre that many will find difficult at first.
 
John the Monkey

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Cunobelin said:
I was in the pub the other night and a guy questioned my use of a Nazi salute!

Had to point out that as the traffic flow was to the left for all traffic except bicycles and buses, I had pulled in the primary and used an arm bent at 90 degrees with the hand upa nd froward as it was (or used to be) the signal for "I am proceeding straight ahead".... making my intentions absolutely clear to the following traffic
Click to expand...

I do a straight ahead signal too, but by holding my arm out ahead with my hand perpendicular to the ground (like a right or left turn signal, but ahead). I've given up on drivers remembering anything at all from the Highway Code, and find this less ambiguous.
 
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