Bright cycle lights?

[rastuscat]

I've been given a complaint to deal with.

A concerned motorist is complaining about how bright some cycle lights are. He's dazzled daily, apparently.

Any thoughts?

[2smokes]

Can't you beat him to death with your truncheon

[rastuscat]

Can't you beat him to death with your truncheon

My first thoughts too.

Potentially cyclists wouldn't use mega bright lights if people paid more attention to them.

I still have an old wooden truncheon too. Might take you up.

[swarfie]

Last Friday my wife was driving my daughters car and hit a girl cyclist who didn't have any lights on her bike. The silly bovine had dark clothing on and there were no street lights. Thank Christ she was okay, with only minimal damage to the cage. I ride a pushy to work, mostly in the dark (I start work @ 6.30am) and IMO pushy lights can't be bright enough. Having said that some of them can be a bit piercing though

More tickets for those that don't have lights please.

[husaberg]

My first thoughts too.

Potentially cyclists wouldn't use mega bright lights if people paid more attention to them.

I still have an old wooden truncheon too. Might take you up.

What I thought your first go to instinct was a beating with a phone book.
shit do you even have a moustache

[Kickaha]

I've been given a complaint to deal with.

A concerned motorist is complaining about how bright some cycle lights are. He's dazzled daily, apparently.

Any thoughts?

Tell him to take a different route and to not be such a whinging cunt

[jellywrestler]

I've been given a complaint to deal with.

A concerned motorist is complaining about how bright some cycle lights are. He's dazzled daily, apparently.

Any thoughts?

yeah i like bright especially flashing rear ones but just tonight in wellington traffic i had two head height led ones in my face, confusing, yes, and i consider myself a lot more alert on the road than i'm sure others were but one dazzled me so i couldn't see shit. get onto it or they'll all end up this bright. we have rules so my vehicles light doesn't dazzle someone else and they run off the raod eh...

[AllanB]

Hmmmmm a genuine issue unfortunately. I've been 'blinded' or at least distracted numerous times by cyclists with helmet mounted LED lights. The worst ones are those fucking flashing led helmet mounted cycle lights, Jesus they mess with your head.


From a law enforcement point of view it is interesting - I've also seen too many knobs riding without lights in the dark on my way to work, I suspect they are import construction workers to NZ based on their hi-viz (not in the dark, doh!) vests, work boots etc. On the other hand those firkin head mounted cycle lights.


Add to the list new 4wd's with projector lights riding my bumper. The lights appear to be designed to align perfectly with my rear vision mirror.


Is it legal to carry a baseball bat in ones boot to take out offending drivers/riders?


Speaking of which the knob on a motorcycle in Halswell passing without noticing a pedestrian island gave me much amusement a couple weeks back - ended up very much on the wrong side of the road facing on-coming traffic. Must have missed his 6.00am coffee.

[R650R]

I've been given a complaint to deal with.

A concerned motorist is complaining about how bright some cycle lights are. He's dazzled daily, apparently.

Any thoughts?

Well in the truck where as a night driver you covet your night vision the ones on HB expressway used to annoy the hell out of me.
Yes you can look away and use various methods to shield your vision same as if blinded by a car. But there does exist a situation where it could cause a genuine hazard.
Also the wavelength of light is very narrow and sits somewhere halfway between normal lights and laser. Prolonged exposure can be harmful and maybe the eye takes longer to recover from such a strong source.
I see CAT trucks are now using them in headlights and no complaints from other drivers yet...

I find the use if red rear light in strobe mode perplexing and discussed this with guy in cycle shop while getting mtb parts. To my brain the flashing strobe signals perhaps a fire engine far away/roadside equipment/reflection from another source rather than hey this is a road user in same lane. Made him think a bit. Similar with front strobe mode although just annoying and distracting.

I have 2 x 900 lumens LED (one on bike, one on helmet for contrast to create shadows/perspective to see roots and stumps/drop-offs etc) for night mountainbiking in forest (its damn crazy fun and adds another dimension to the park). They are plenty bright on high and two of these plus main beam would be your legal limit for daytime running lamp setup sum total of light emission. But there are brighter lights, 1200 lumens and more and I expect there are plenty of these in use.

Really overall I'd prob rate it as an annoyance issue but there exists the situation where Lycra Lance dazzles Supergran pulling out of New World in the rain and her aging eyes don't see the motorbike behind him etc...
On this note I think you should shoot on site any fecker using a rear red fog light in the rain...

http://www.bikelights.co.nz/

http://www.bikelights.co.nz/bikeligh...ght-3800-lumen

[Mr Revhead]

This is a serious annoyance and becoming an issue here in Nelson. We have quite a few shared cycle/footpaths and cycle lanes.
A lot are laid out so a cyclist can be on your side of the road as well.

These inconsiderate idiots that fit massive LED flood lamps to their heads need shooting.
What does a cyclist do when a car/motorcycle is near? They look at it. Directing that light straight at the driver/rider.
A bright light mounted on the bike pointing mostly down is fine and not a bad idea. A huge light designed for off road mountain biking has NO place on the road.

Think of it this way, are you allowed to use your highbeam in the face of on coming traffic? NO. So why should a cyclist?

[pritch]

I used to have a somewhat old fashioned lamp on the front of the pushbike it definitely wouldn't dazzle anybody. One dark night, while riding down a hill at what passes for speed when I'm cycling, I hit an unseen beer bottle. Momentarily disconcertting to put it mildly.

When shopping for a somewhat brighter lamp, one that would give me a sporting chance of seeing a beer bottle or other inopportune obstruction, the salesman pulled out his best and brightest.
"We call this the fuck-the-car-drivers headlight."
Sold.

There was a recent thread on KB that contained complaints about bright cycle lights, but also an account whereby a cyclist was only narrowly avoided because the bike light was allegedly insufficiently bright.

Basically I don't think that the lights are too bright, trains have a big arse headlight and muppets still hit them. The problem, however, may be partially attributed to incorrect adjustment, most cycle lamps seem to be held on with a rubber band.

It could also be that your complainant needs to get their eyes tested? Some people have difficulty seeing after dark and as far as I recall that isn't part of the standard eye test.

[Gremlin]

Thoughts, sure, decision, no.

I can see both sides. Cars have to dip their beams when around other traffic as it can dazzle or blind. Same thing can happen with bicycle lights as some of them are seriously bright. Red aren't quite so bad due to the colour, but the white ones and more particularly the really fast flashing ones, can be really bright. As far as I know, there are no limits on the power of the lights? As we argue with motorcycle lights for those that say ride on high beam... if the driver can't see you because they're blinded, are you really safe?

That said, cyclists use them because they want to be seen. If you can't see a seriously bright light on an LSD-trip pattern, then you probably shouldn't be driving. I think flashing is important to set them apart from other vehicles on the road (plus street lights etc) because generally, their speed has a big difference to other road traffic.

Ultimately, how many road users can throw whatever lights they like on their vehicles and to hell with what other road users think? As usual, off road use, no limit and away you go.

[wharekura]

Been a good read before bed thanks ppl. Im a cyclist as well as car and motorbike rider. I wear hiz viz if I really must ride at nite and two front handle bar lights and one rear red strobe. I take the point about the strobe and will change the setting to steady lite and wont wear helmet lites, albeit a lot of the racing compadre do.

When the wife and I go cycling its ALWAYS single file unless we are on a closed road.

The Waikato expressway is one hell of a trip to cycle on.

[nzspokes]

I've been given a complaint to deal with.

A concerned motorist is complaining about how bright some cycle lights are. He's dazzled daily, apparently.

Any thoughts?

Quiet day then?

[Berries]

Potentially cyclists wouldn't use mega bright lights if people paid more attention to them.

Burn them. And burn all motorcyclists who ride around with full beam for the same reason.

We are small, we won't always be seen. People need to deal with that particular reality or go and buy a truck.