Riding with lights on

[pyrocam]

so I was riding to work this morning. ripping up a bus lane as per normal. wasnt being outrageous or anything. as im riding down I notice someone come up to a side road and stop. now, just before I had my ninja-spidey-sense-a-tinglin so I knew he was going to be a cunteyes and whatdaya know he pulls out in front of me. I pull across my lane, through another and into right lane. flail my arm wildly to gesture something along the lines of he should watch what hes doing a bit more. I pull back into the bus lane and keep on trundling along and then someone ELSE does it too. only this chick saw me half way out of the road and stopped. I said. how the fuck can people not notice me. then I realised my lights were off.

edit: im refering to during normal light situations not when its night or anything

[jrandom]

yeah. riding with light off is stupid. saw a guy on a brutale almost get taken out on khyber pass rd t'other day, turning right into the late afternoon sun in heavy traffic with his light off.

he tootled melodiously and shook his fist at the driver, but I couldnt help thinking that he could have done a bit more to make himself visible.

nice bike, though.

[DMNTD:Me]

I can't turn my lights off on m'TL so that answers that but even if I could I wouldn't. Just isn't worth it.
InfactI keep my lights on full beam during the day too,not sure or care if it's legal or not. Would rather been seen.
I expect everyone to pull out so it keeps me alive.

[thehollowmen]

I can't turn mine off

[pyrocam]

I was having starting probs so I turned em off and forgot to turn them back on, but their great. ive got off / low / bright dipped / high beam

much better than the rgv's single 25w bulb.

[Sniper]

Always on, nothing like a christmas tree at 50kph coming towards you to wake you up.

[James Deuce]

Where's the "I can't turn my lights off" option?

[Motu]

I'm kinda disadvantaged on this one - my light shines out of my arse,I gotta get past the cars and lift my rear...but shit,they can't miss it and often vear right off the road!

Why didn't you do a search,this has been done before by much more important people than you.

[wendigo]

Found when I had the option of driving with my lights of (I don't on the tl - they're always on), that it seemed to make bugger all difference (i.e I suffered the same number of 'people not seeing me' moments).

My theory on this is because of parallax. That is, the human eye is more trained to pick up differences in motion. Hence in a car with the lights on, as the car approaches, the lights get noticably further apart & the brain registers this, and registers it automatically. In a bike, coz the lights are so much closer together, this difference is much smaller, so unless the observer is actively concentrating, the observers brain filters our & ignores the approaching bike.

I put this to the test on occasions, by weaving gently from side to side of the lane. I never never had a 'people not seeing me' moment.

Did have a lot of people flashing & waving their fists at me though...

my 2c.

[Karma]

Where's the "I can't turn my lights off" option?

Same here. Bloody nanny state... won't let me turn off my lights.

How am I supposed to sneak up and scare old ladies if I've got my lights on!!

[bugjuice]

mine are hardwired on, so no choice..

what I have chosen to do lately tho, just to really piss people off, and for a bloody good cause, is stick the full beam on while filtering. Then people get blinded by the light, think something along 'fuckin bike... rar rarar...'.. point is, they see me more (instead of pull out), and acknowledge that I'm there..

[James Deuce]

My theory on this is because of parallax. That is, the human eye is more trained to pick up differences in motion. Hence in a car with the lights on, as the car approaches, the lights get noticably further apart & the brain registers this, and registers it automatically. In a bike, coz the lights are so much closer together, this difference is much smaller, so unless the observer is actively concentrating, the observers brain filters our & ignores the approaching bike.

my 2c.

You are absolutely right. TO a casual glance the effectively single headlight looks like a stationary light off in the distance, until the bike rapidly increases in size. The apparent rapid approach of the motorcycle as it finally increases in size against the background is responsible for the almost universal claim that the motorcyclist must have been "speeding" for him to approach the intersection so quickly.

[Dazza]

I was experimenting with this a couple of weekends ago whilst out riding on my lonesome. Turning my lights off on long straights(now why would you do this?) and back on again for built up areas and intersections. Amazing the amount of people who cannot see a motorcyclist on a black bike,black gear and no light on,go figure. First bike I've had for a while that the light can be turned off,excellent for catching someone who thinks they've given you the slip.Definatley a lights on type of guy though

[Grahameeboy]

Yeah my SV's lights come on auto....and I have them on high beam day and night....back in the UK some yonks ago there was an accident when, at night, a lady pulled out as she saw 2 headlights and thought that it was a car in the distance....it wasn't it was a bike and you can guess the rest!!
Look 'ere geezers, lights 'ave go'ta be be'er than no lights at all.....yeah I still get bozzoes pulling out in front of me, but then they do when I drive my bastard Mpv...that is just the way of the highway guys....no point complaining but if you run without lights the risk 'as gotta be higher....as for that weaving test...well nuff said...be safe and save fast riding for out of town and give yourself a better chance of riding the next day......

[inlinefour]

The only time the headlight is not on is when the starter motor is engaged or the key is in the off position. Even in daylight conditions, I think its vise to ride with the light on, as there is as we all know, so many idiots out there on the roads we all ride on.