Being seen by the other guy!
#42
10-28-2009, 08:54 AM
I agree with your reasoning on the modulators. I feel better running high beams in daylight hours. Has worked pretty good for me though the years.
#43
10-28-2009, 09:36 AM
Elite HDF Member
Wear some color, mon! Black, black, black, black........ White helmet. Jacket with some color. No guaruntees. Never thought about it until I looked at a pack of riders and the only one I saw (or noticed) was a guy with a white helmet. And I look for bikes! Kind of got me thinking..... Still no guraruntees.
good luck with that . i've been 'left turned' twice , and wearing a white helmet both times
#44
10-28-2009, 10:00 AM
Road Captain
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Thanks
Good words.
+1. I've kind of studied this phenomenon recently and have noted that depending on the angle of a bike coming down the road, and a car sitting at a cross road waiting to pull out, bikes aren't very "visible". They are easy to see, but, they can be deceiving due to their lack of a broad frontal area (car/truck/etc) that most people look for. And if you have a vehicle behind the motorcycle, it can cause a couple of things. 1) focus is automatically drawn to the larger vehicle, and 2) it makes the motorcycle seem closer to that larger vehicle and can cause a deception on how close the bike actually is to the intersection.
Now these are just what I've observed over time. No science involved here. But I've ridden bikes all my life. And if things appear this way to me, I can imagine what it looks like to someone that's never been on a bike, much less specifically looks for them.
I think the best thing any rider can do to avoid a collision when someone pulls out in front of them is to anticipate that very scenerio happening every time they come to an cross road. And plan an escape for each one. I know that takes away some of the fun of just kicking back and cruising without having to worry about things like that, but hey, I'd rather do that and ride another day.
Now these are just what I've observed over time. No science involved here. But I've ridden bikes all my life. And if things appear this way to me, I can imagine what it looks like to someone that's never been on a bike, much less specifically looks for them.
I think the best thing any rider can do to avoid a collision when someone pulls out in front of them is to anticipate that very scenerio happening every time they come to an cross road. And plan an escape for each one. I know that takes away some of the fun of just kicking back and cruising without having to worry about things like that, but hey, I'd rather do that and ride another day.
#45
10-28-2009, 11:44 AM
Ultimate HDF Member
I've had people pull out in front of my while I was driving a huge truck. I don't think there is anything you can put on your bike to cure stupidity.
#46
10-28-2009, 12:01 PM
I never assume the cagers see me...just the other day while riding in the neighborhood...a cager at a stop sign looked me right in the eyes and proceeded to pull out. Everytime I go through an intersection, I'm half anticipating getting nailed. Call me paranoid, but after reading so many horror stories here and in the paper, it seems likely.
Despite the risks, I love riding and will continue to do so...while doing everything I can to be seen.
I recently installed "moto-lights". They are chrome and mount right to the front calipers. https://www.motolight.com/
After doing some research, I'm convinced they could possibly save my bacon some day. Of course, nothing can be done in the case of the inattentive drivers, but for those who are actually looking, I think these lights go a long way in getting me noticed.
From what I understand, cagers have a hard time discerning speed and distance when a single light is coming towards them. This has something to do with the way our eyes and brain "see" plus the fact cars have 2 headlights and we've been "trained" to recognize 2 lights as being a vehicle. As a result, we've and have gotten pretty accustomed to judging speed and distance when 2 lights are coming towards us. Because of this, vehicles with 1 headlight tend to get filtered out. This 1 headlight thing still applies to those of us with auxillary lights since they are on the same plane as the headlight, and are mounted so close. Apparently, the brain still sees that as 1 light. The fork/caliper lights create a triangle of light, which all of a sudden makes cagers notice it as another vehicle.
Many police bikes have them. My riding buddy also put them on her Road Glide. WOW! Everytime I look in my side mirrors, I can't believe how noticeable those lights are. Not to mention, I have gotten many inquiries about mine from other riders...just the other evening, a guy on an Ultra pulled beside me and started asking about them. NO, I don't have any interest in the company...just passing their info along to anyone who might be interested.
They are pricey though...but easy to take off and move from bike to bike. They do give discounts to military, LEO's and firemen.
Here are some pics
Despite the risks, I love riding and will continue to do so...while doing everything I can to be seen.
I recently installed "moto-lights". They are chrome and mount right to the front calipers. https://www.motolight.com/
After doing some research, I'm convinced they could possibly save my bacon some day. Of course, nothing can be done in the case of the inattentive drivers, but for those who are actually looking, I think these lights go a long way in getting me noticed.
From what I understand, cagers have a hard time discerning speed and distance when a single light is coming towards them. This has something to do with the way our eyes and brain "see" plus the fact cars have 2 headlights and we've been "trained" to recognize 2 lights as being a vehicle. As a result, we've and have gotten pretty accustomed to judging speed and distance when 2 lights are coming towards us. Because of this, vehicles with 1 headlight tend to get filtered out. This 1 headlight thing still applies to those of us with auxillary lights since they are on the same plane as the headlight, and are mounted so close. Apparently, the brain still sees that as 1 light. The fork/caliper lights create a triangle of light, which all of a sudden makes cagers notice it as another vehicle.
Many police bikes have them. My riding buddy also put them on her Road Glide. WOW! Everytime I look in my side mirrors, I can't believe how noticeable those lights are. Not to mention, I have gotten many inquiries about mine from other riders...just the other evening, a guy on an Ultra pulled beside me and started asking about them. NO, I don't have any interest in the company...just passing their info along to anyone who might be interested.
They are pricey though...but easy to take off and move from bike to bike. They do give discounts to military, LEO's and firemen.
Here are some pics
#47
10-28-2009, 12:20 PM
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Had a guy follow me for about 5 miles one night on a country road. I was in my car and he was on his bike with a headligt modulator. There was several cars in front of me. It got so irritating watching that headlight in my rear view mirror I was either going to stop and beat the hell out of him or let him pass. I pulled into a driveway and let him go by.
Not a fan of headlight modulators.
Not a fan of headlight modulators.
#48
10-28-2009, 12:38 PM
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I've always followed the philosophy of "ride like a ghost".....they don't see you but when they do they're scared of what might happen.
Conspicuity in any design may or may not provide you with an advantage. Absolutely don't allow it to go to your head. Nothing is fool-proof. Being aware and ready to react is paramount.
All that being said, I wear a white full helmet with 3M black n white checkered glow tape, ride a white bike and keep all lights on in all conditions. I WANT to be seen by traffic but know accidents do happen.
Prepare, train, and have a good realistic mental attitude about our driving public and all the problems you can encounter. Being conspicous doesn't hurt.
However, I don't like modulators. It distracts drivers from keeping focused on the big picture...and I find them down right annoying as hell too.
Ride smart, ride safer....
Conspicuity in any design may or may not provide you with an advantage. Absolutely don't allow it to go to your head. Nothing is fool-proof. Being aware and ready to react is paramount.
All that being said, I wear a white full helmet with 3M black n white checkered glow tape, ride a white bike and keep all lights on in all conditions. I WANT to be seen by traffic but know accidents do happen.
Prepare, train, and have a good realistic mental attitude about our driving public and all the problems you can encounter. Being conspicous doesn't hurt.
However, I don't like modulators. It distracts drivers from keeping focused on the big picture...and I find them down right annoying as hell too.
Ride smart, ride safer....
Last edited by Glofish88; 10-28-2009 at 12:41 PM.
#50
10-28-2009, 03:38 PM
I am not a fan of those modulators as well... If large vehicles can be hit then so can a bike with an annoying flashing light. I just believe that you need to anticipate that they don't see you. Move around in your lane a little bit, if you see a car up ahead. Make sure the driver makes visible contact with you while you approach. I had an incident where I was watching an elderly lady driver in a van looking to cross my lane at an intersection to head the other direction. I knew she did not see me, I slowed and by god sure enough she pulled out right in front of me. My awareness avoided that accident that some other rider might have been killed over. You need to be aware. All the doohickies in the world will not make you any safer than your own awareness in what is happening around you at that instant. I have had people try to take my lane on me before or come up too fast when I was slowing to turn off a road...I am watching them and knew to get out of the way before anything happened. Oh and if you have more than one lane, stay out of the left lane unless you are turning.