Can they see us?

**dawnrazor** · 18th May 2006, 10:40

So the other night on the way home from work I was picking my way through auckland traffic with a reasonable level of care and attention for the other road users.

Just as well really, as I noticed a Merc ready to pull out of a parking space at the side of the road in front of me, something told me he was going to do a U-turn, I just knew it, and I had already adjusted my speed, braked and poised my thumb over the horn. I also knew there was no way he had seen me, if he had looked at all.

Anyways as it happens he actually does one of those real violent fast U-turns only meters from me, I was clear but he came alot closer then I reckoned he would. So long blast of Horn, up visor and a string of expletives that, I'm happy to say, stopped traffic (I was so mad at the recklessness of his driving). And predictably enough I was met with the obligatory "sorry, mate I didn't see you". Well I reamed off another volley of abuse, and was about to get off the bike and wander over and point out the stupidity of his driving when he speeds off like a cat with a firecracker up his chuff.

Which was probably just as well as I would have probably ended up getting knock down by some other myoptic neanderthal.

Later on in the relative comfort of my kitchen doing the evenings washing up, I was replaying the incident in my head, trying to analyze it and see if there was anything I had done wrong. One conclusion I had to admit to was, there was every chance that he didn't see me (not excusing his driving style and skills), he may have looked saw one rrealatively small head light being backlit by a stream of car headlights behind me and simply didn't see me!

I reckon this wasn't the case in this instance, but it did lead my train of thought onto loftier things, like how can I make myself more visable at night?

So what are folks thoughts on brighter bulbs/ zenon/halogen bulbs
- would we be more noticable if we had headlights as bright as some of the highend cars you see now. Or for that matter would we be more distinguishable with amber lights or bright blue-white light?

Or do we just fine tune the senses even more, as assuming you have made yourself more visable might lead you into a false sense of security that would let you relax as you ride and thus be flattened by the first distracted mother in her 8L bohemoth with optional cow catcher up front with the bloodstained chrome finish.

Ahem, bastards - now to do the drying up.

**Postie** · 18th May 2006, 10:47

keeping your full beam on when in town and traffic, i find that helps. even in the day time. Else you could wear a reflective vest during winter. the latter sort of losses cool points though.

**snuffles** · 18th May 2006, 10:51

I found the best way to stay seen is a high vis vest and an extra pair of spots on the bike and my full beam turned on, I know this is a pain for other roadusers, but it has saved my arse on many occasions.

As for the hi vis vest, I may get arseholes for wearing it, but it keeps the bastards away from me.

**Squeak the Rat** · 18th May 2006, 10:58

Mate, good skills - this is quite relevant after a number of recent threads.

You were in the right, he was in the wrong, but you had the awareness and aptitude to identify the potential hazard and react when the hazard materialised.

In regards to visibility - yes, bikes can be hard to see. Again there have been a number of recent discussions, with the general consensus being that two things make you more visible:

Contrast with the background - Not much you could do here by the sounds of it, except maybe turn your headlight off? A refllective vest might be ok, but you'd need oncoming traffic with headlights on the get any real benefit.
Movement. A moving object is picked up easier with peripheral vision. Options here are to move around in the lane, or people have also talked about headlight modulators that "flicker" the headlight. Do a search - I think there's some talk about these under "Survival Skills".

Or the drivers could actually look over their shoulder.

**WildBoarMouse** · 18th May 2006, 11:00

I use a dorky looking yellow safety vest for when it's dark, but also have a "halo" around the base of the helmet. I picked this up from the states for about $25NZD. It's a 3M product and is basically a 4cm wide band of stretchy neopreme with reflective stuff over the top. I haven't seen any others in NZ yet. The advantage is that it's high up so I'm guessing a bit more visible. And because the base of your helmet is unobstructed in 360 degrees, it's visible/reflective in all directions.

**Blackbird** · 18th May 2006, 11:09

Originally Posted by dawnrazor

So what are folks thoughts on brighter bulbs/ zenon/halogen bulbs
- would we be more noticable if we had headlights as bright as some of the highend cars you see now. Or for that matter would we be more distinguishable with amber lights or bright blue-white light?

Refer to http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=26322 for my post on this very subject. Really pleased that you avoided near disaster.

Cheers

Geoff

**dawnrazor** · 18th May 2006, 12:30

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Refer to http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=26322 for my post on this very subject. Really pleased that you avoided near disaster.

Cheers

Geoff

Sweet, I have a service and WOF coming up soon, so I think I'll ask the nice folks at colemans to pop in some new xenons while they have the "hood up"!

**dawnrazor** · 18th May 2006, 12:34

Now as for the reflective vest thing, I'm not a convert yet - but if I had motorway commuting at night I would certainly get one.

Taking the reflective vest one step further, surely with the advances in paint technology over the last couple of years, they could make a paint that is light relective like a vest, but not appear to be a heinous colour during the day.

Just imagine the UFO sightings going through the roof!!!

**rok-the-boat** · 18th May 2006, 13:10

In Korea I used to have a flickering spotlight - not too bright, but very noticeable. Doubt they are legal here, but, maybe I should refit it. They don't know what is coming, but they do know that somthing is coming.

I also used to put all four indicators on, flashing too sometimes. You can get that option in Korea - but not necessarily legal (not that anyone ever cared). Being noisy is also safe, in my opinion.

**riffer** · 18th May 2006, 13:21

As far as I know, headlight modulators are illegal in New Zealand.

However, anecdotal evidence from overseas suggests they are extremely effective in helping BDC's see bikes.

**paturoa** · 18th May 2006, 13:30

I've got twin super brights which since I've started riding on high beam during the day have not had any pull outs. They are too bright for night time so that is still a risk.

I've been looking at mounting super bright LEDs in several locations on my bike for the other stuff.

**sAsLEX** · 18th May 2006, 13:33

Originally Posted by WildBoarMouse

I use a dorky looking yellow safety vest for when it's dark, but also have a "halo" around the base of the helmet. I picked this up from the states for about $25NZD. It's a 3M product and is basically a 4cm wide band of stretchy neopreme with reflective stuff over the top. I haven't seen any others in NZ yet. The advantage is that it's high up so I'm guessing a bit more visible. And because the base of your helmet is unobstructed in 360 degrees, it's visible/reflective in all directions.

Talk about being hard to find on the net http://www.reflectivedecals.com/haloebay.htm

and a review on the thing http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/halo-helmet/

sounds like a decent Idea anyone seen them in NZ else might ask around for a group buy to save on postage?

**Karma** · 18th May 2006, 13:35

The other thing I'm noticing a lot more recently, is that there are quite a few cages around that only have one working headlight.

I've had a few times where I've seen a single light coming up behind me, so I slow down to see if it's anyone I know, and turns out it's some piece of shit cage with one working light.