As everyone knows I commute to a from work regularly. Over the years I've come across others who have either been in collision with me or a 'near miss'. The usual excuse is "sorry I did't see you". To counter this I have spent a bit of money upgrading my lights over the last year. Last night I had a little 'run in' with a motorist who objected to the brightness of my front light. I captured the encounter on my helmet cam...
I've never had an issue like this before so it took me by surprise. Did his grievance give him the right to reverse at me like he did? I'm not about to tone down my lighting, I think it keeps me safe.
4 comments:
Sorry, it's a bit difficult to tell what exactly happened, but no, you definitely need bright lights on your bike at night. Some real idiots on the road these days.
surely the more visible you are the better...
...the bloke is an idiot!
The bright flashing light is fine for day time use but not recommended for night time use since it can cause a bad feeling in the brain of some people. "For about 3 percent of people with epilepsy, exposure to flashing lights at certain intensities or to certain visual patterns can trigger seizures. This condition is known as photosensitive epilepsy." I unfortunately fall into that 3%. I use a steady bright white light for night riding and the flashing feature ONLY DURING daylight hours. So please, refrain from using the flashing mode when riding at night.
Obviously a subject you feel deeply about. I've been riding/commuting for about 15 years and seen lighting technology improve greatly over that time. I've been involved in 3 collisions over the years (and countless near misses) all of whom stated that they "didn't see me" despite lighting. I have, in my opinion, managed to invest in good lighting to hopefully reduce the chance of further injuries (I've enough metal plate in my arm and shoulder). Flashing lights are proven to get you noticed more that static and there is no evidence of bicycle lights causing seizures (except in a small number and those people were in close proximity and setting the lighting up). I have however decided to look at reconfiguring the direction my flashing unit points and direct it downward so I still get noticed without dazzling anyone.
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