Compulsory daylight headlight use in NZ

[OutForADuck]

From a legislation point of view why do this when just about all new bikes have to conform to such standards as ADR, California, or EU etc all of which dictate that the lights must not be able to be turned off.

i.e. whey change the law when all you are affecting is older bikes anyway.

They will eventually all phase out of come under exemptions for age!!!

P.S. Wouldn't be out there without my light personally, everything I can do to assist the myopically challenged cage dwellers to look at me and not the screaming kids in the back!!!

[Beemer]

So everyone here who is advocating "lights on" and rides with lights on has ever had a vehicle pull out in front of them or had any kind of 'sorry I didn't see you moments or been knocked off their bike?

I ride with lights off, always have, always will, I don't believe they will see you either way and ride accordingly

Precisely - trains have headlights going during the day and yet it doesn't stop drivers of cars and trucks driving right in front of them.

I'm not elitist, just trying to see the point of view of those who ride older bikes. These bikes charge just fine at normal road speeds, but when stuck in traffic at very low speeds they don't always cope too well. Should we ban these bikes because they can't run their headlights during the day in those circumstances?

I've always ridden with my headlight on during the day (but not at high beam, that's something that pisses me off with any motorist, two or four wheeled) but I certainly haven't found it was a magic bullet that made me 100% visible to drivers. Until we can ensure that every driver is alert and actually bothers to actively look for other vehicles/bikes, this will give people a false sense of security.

And I just hate things being made compulsory when there is not overriding evidence that it is justified.

[Max Preload]

While I ride with the headlight on all of the time anyway, I'm against anything like this being compulsory. I was actually going to start a thread on this myself.

Submissions are due in by 16 October. See here for the full document. The one in question is 'Proposal 20'.

I shall also be making a submission on proposals 3 & 14.

If you like a laugh browse 'Proposal 13'.

[Max Preload]

...I leave my HIDs on fullbeam during the day.

That's actually pretty dumb. It makes it very much harder for other drivers to gauge your distance and approach speed.

[Big Dave]

Well, after reading the thread and due consideration:

I don't really care. New bikes are all set up that way anyway.

[Big Dave]

That's actually pretty dumb. It makes it very much harder for other drivers to gauge your distance and approach speed.

Or you completely dazzle and disorient some old plonker who ploughs head-on into you.

[FJRider]

If the people that want law change, and can... will. Regardless of what we say.
Dont forget...voting time... have your say THEN...

[CookMySock]

That's actually pretty dumb. It makes it very much harder for other drivers to gauge your distance and approach speed.

(re HIDs on fullbeam) Maybe. That is just one cursory glance at it - not suggesting its an invalid one. We could also suggest that people won't risk pulling out in front of it on account of its intimidatory effect, but that would be a cursory glance at it also.

The bottom line is, I don't really know and neither do you.

What I DO know, is traffic parts like the friggin red sea in front of me, and I rarely have problems, though maybe this happens for all bikes. It seems to me that people are quite startled by it and afford me a large level of respect, if that is the right word. Put it this way - they get the hell OUT of the way a lot more quickly when I am on the bike compared to the car - that much is very very clear to me. The lights are the colour of a super-bright burning magnesium flare - frightningly bright, and instantly and startlingly obvious from 3-400m away. I think I get away with it, because its not particularly well focussed - its a projector lamp, not a conventional reflector lamp so its very widely spread - just the colour temperature is just right to be really piercing.

There has only ever been one car that pulled out in front of me, and in all fairness to them, I came out of a 45k corner at 120k and no way they expected that to happen. The poor bastard damn near jumped right out of his skin the instant he saw me, and shot right across the road out of my way DAMN quick. This was just as much my fault as it was his. Oh well.

I am very sure my ultra bright lights work well for me. I could dip them for a week and see what happens.. Not sure if that is smart.


Steve

[Ixion]

The thing with older bikes, is that originally they had horribly feeble bulbs. Often 24/36 W or so. You mostly can't get these any more , and if you could you wouldn't want to , because the feeble glimmer they cast is so pitiful and unsafe. So, people replace them with modern bulbs, maybe 50/70 W or so. This is good cos now you can see at night. But, downside, the alternators on those old bikes were usually designed to provide JUST enough current for the original load (so as not to overload the equally feeble voltage regulators). So, the extra current for the brighter bulb means that the battery will slowly discharge . On a night ride, it's not long enough to run the battery flat and it can recharge the next day with lights off. But if the light is on all the time, the battery will go flat

Of course, there are those who will smugly declare that only new modern bikes should be allowed on the roads, in accordance with the great middle class dictum of consumerism. Go suck a donkey dick

As to the principle.

I mostly ride with lights on. I recommend EVERYONE should ride with lights on. Research shows that riding with lights on may have some safety benefit .So, should the government make everyone ride with lights on ? If you think so, consider this -

I also mostly ride with a full hi-vis jacket on. I recommend EVERYONE should always ride wearing a hi-vis jacket or vest. Research shows that wearing a hi-vis vest may have some safety benefits (more than lights on, anyway) .So , should the government make everyone wear a hi-vis vest.

Please state why you think the government should enforce the first compulsary safety measure and not the second . Especially bearing in mind that the benefits of hi-vis are shown to be greater than lights on.

And don't fool yourself that having implemented one this year the Sheeple won't come back next year and implement the second.

I reckon it'll look so cute with compulsary hi-vis vests over the toothpaste suits, and the bad-ass leather jackets. Sort of dents the "look at me, I'm Rossi" image though. But if it saves even one life, it's got to be worth it , right?

[Conquiztador]

I also mostly ride with a full hi-vis jacket on. I recommend EVERYONE should always ride wearing a hi-vis jacket or vest. Research shows that wearing a hi-vis vest may have some safety benefits (more than lights on, anyway) .So , should the government make everyone wear a hi-vis vest.

Please state why you think the government should enforce the first compulsary safety measure and not the second . Especially bearing in mind that the benefits of hi-vis are shown to be greater than lights on.

And don't fool yourself that having implemented one this year the Sheeple won't come back next year and implement the second.

I reckon it'll look so cute with compulsary hi-vis vests over the toothpaste suits, and the bad-ass leather jackets. Sort of dents the "look at me, I'm Rossi" image though. But if it saves even one life, it's got to be worth it , right?

I would like to read that research you are refering to. The one where high vis jackets are the bees knees. And of a higher benefit for a bikers saefty then lights.

I have tried to find information to support that there is a country in the world where high visibility jackets on motorbikes is compulsory. But I can find none.

Without doing any research re lights on I know that all Scandinavian countries have it, and also many of the other European ones.

There must be a reason why they have the lights but not the jackets. Common sense?

In any case, NZ is not a country that leads the way in road rule innovation. So as long as nobody else comes to the conclusion that high visibility vests are the go, they wont become compulsory in NZ.

[motorbyclist]

wtf, they've limited the summ of your responses on all those laws to 4000 characters.... that's fuck all if they want a coherent argument

[Tank]

(re HIDs on fullbeam) Maybe. That is just one cursory glance at it - not suggesting its an invalid one. We could also suggest that people won't risk pulling out in front of it on account of its intimidatory effect, but that would be a cursory glance at it also.

The bottom line is, I don't really know and neither do you.

....

There has only ever been one car that pulled out in front of me, and in all fairness to them, I came out of a 45k corner at 120k and no way they expected that to happen. The poor bastard damn near jumped right out of his skin the instant he saw me, and shot right across the road out of my way DAMN quick. This was just as much my fault as it was his. Oh well.

What we DO know riding along - having some inconsiderate moron who insist on riding with his HID's on full beam coming towards you is really bloody annoying - and that it causes you have to avert your gaze because if it.

Ive said it before - and Ill say it again its bad form.

oh and 120 out of a 45km corner -

[Ocean1]

Without doing any research re lights on I know that all Scandinavian countries have it, and also many of the other European ones.

There must be a reason why they have the lights but not the jackets. Common sense?

Perhaps the wee fact that it's dark most of the day for a fairly large part of the year?

[Ixion]

wtf, they've limited the summ of your responses on all those laws to 4000 characters.... that's fuck all if they want a coherent argument

You can write a separate submission and attach it to an email. Mine was three pages.

[Headbanger]

. Mine was three pages.

Did you suggest they suck on donkey dick?