The Art of Continued Safety (or "How to be Conspicuous”)

[Descolada]

As some of you will know I have an on-going "thing" for additional lighting on my wee. The trick is in not ending up looking like a Christmas tree.

I have been doing further reading on the subject and though it might be of interest to others so am posting some links here.

Motorcycles are looking more human:

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=fbef48f4-354a-4707-94b0-84ce69ce9d44

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road:

http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/

Of course the problem here is that most of the time it's not the motorcycle rider that needs to read articles such as these - it's the car drivers.

It also appears that the more the front of your ride looks like a human face the more likely people are to notice you. So with that in mind I am going to aim for the following with my next mod.

[MartinW]

Not sure about your specific plan Des, but it just confirms to me that a double headlight is highly desirable. Not sure I will ever buy a bike with a single light.

Unless a Cyclops face also counts?

[macamx]

I really believe the only way is to make yourself as visible as possible but to ride as if you are totally and completely invisible, hope that makes sense.

Geoff.

[frez]

If all motorcycles were fitted with chainsaws I'm sure people would check more carefully for them.

[Rusty Nuts]

True. I bet nobody ever says they didn't see the Dolmette.

[Brockett]

White bike, White safety helmet, Hi-Vis jacket, dipped headlight......... was of no use when the driver didn't look and knocked me off just the same as if I was all in black.  :limp:

That said I will never know how many times My lights, white bike etc. were seen and no accident occurred.

I use a helmet camera so the next time I wake up in hospital I will be able to find out what happened.

[SimonW]

That said I will never know how many times My lights, white bike etc. were seen and no accident occurred.

Well said. And that is precisely why the oft-trotted out (and usually sarcastically-negative) response the anti-hi-viz/pro camouflage brigade offer of "I/my mate were all hi-vizzed up and still got hit by some stupid bastard so hi-viz doesn't work" is unproven (and probably wrong). Because you can't (easily) measure things that don't happen.

[Descolada]

You may not be able to apply a metric to how many times high Viz has helped you avoid an accident, but I know for certain the number of times I have seen drivers ahead of me do a double-take and think again while I had extra lighting on my bike. I've seen them go to pull out and then back off as they registered that there was something coming they had best look again at.

That's all it takes - for you to have something about your ride that makes other road users think again.

[Brockett]

Oh! yes and that image looks like Sheldon Cooper has gone cannibalistic.

[ProfG]

A very good article from a rider in Durham

[joderest]

It is very true that "something out of the ordinary" will make some look again. I have always ridden with very bright running/marker lights, angled so that they are at their brightest, and I am sure it makes drivers look. When I ran without them on the wee, I had drivers half pulling out on me on more than one occasion. when I fitted them, has not happened since.
It is also a very sad fact of life that you cannot guard against the driver who does not look/see/bothers, and in my job (something to do with white cars and blue lights !!!) I see it day in and day out. But I also must defend some drivers, some riders are idiots. Sorry, had to say it. As well as some really bad drivers. You see some that are just an accident looking for somewhere to happen.

[Rusty Nuts]

Oh! yes and that image looks like Sheldon Cooper has gone cannibalistic.

Reminds me of the Reliant Robin / prescription windscreen story.

[Descolada]

A very good article from a rider in Durham

Thanks for posting this ProfG - that's a great article.  

[ProfG]

Which rider is more visible?



Now add this to a situation at night with loads of conflicting lights that will make the rider's headlights be lost in a sea of other headlights.

Which one of these riders do you think has more chance of being seen?

[mjc506]

I notice you didn't post the picture after that one

[Descolada]

Anyways, just caught sight of this from todays "papers";

Motorcyclist's brush with death when lorry crushes his £4,000 Ducati



That's some blindspot mate!

It's the bit where the lorry starts to back up and drags the bike that got me going.

[Pug27]

Look and look again

[MartinW]

Wow, that's scary. I looked several times as you made me expect to see something. Eventually I did.

[Pug27]

Certainly makes you think about hi vis. Casual glance from a car driver on a day like that, even if the bike was travelling at the speed limit, would end in tears.

[UK_Vstrom650]

Man, that's one hidden biker!