No lights + dusk + Norton Summit ~= death
I ride up Norton Summit a few times a week, mostly at dusk or just after and have been amazed by the number of riders descending rapidly in very poor light conditions without lights on their bikes.
Just in case you descenders hadn't noticed there are far too many idiot car drivers that seem to think it is perfectly safe to overtake riders on blind right hand corners when they are going up the hill. This has happened to me more times than I care to count.
Sooner or later one of those idiot drivers is going to time it perfectly and have an (idiot) unlit cyclist on or in the front of their car and it is going to be messy. I don't want to be the one calling the ambulance and sticking my fingers in holes in your body that aren't meant to be there to stop you bleeding to death. Or worse still locking lips with you for two breaths every thirty compressions to keep you alive while the ambulance arrives.
If you are one of those idiot cyclists put some bloody lights on your bike and give yourself a chance of being seen!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Steven Orr on -
Having been hit by a vehicle coming from my left when I was in a bike lane with AY-UPs flashing at 5.15pm I have ZERO sympathy for people who don't like the blinky lights and less for people without lights at all.
It's not hard to work out which people have never done a defensive driving course for using a motor vehicle let alone cycling...Lights on all the time for me around anything less than good conditions!!
I have since added a Cygolite to my helmet and have up to four red lights on at the back.
Keep in mind I am riding through the Belair National Park at 5.30am each morning and the only light in there comes from the moon & stars or what I have on my bike.
Now once I hit the bottom of the Old Belair Road I switch all lights to intermittment as I know they are bright, but no motorist is going to use the "I didn't see him" excuse on me.
-
Permalink Reply by heather on -
Steven, can you organise photos of you on the bike with all your lights? Please post on AC forum. Sorry that you have been hit twice, even while using lights. Photos helpful if you are hit again and can show images of your lights before smashed.
-
Permalink Reply by Don (Who's lost?) Nairn on -
Some drivers deserve to have their licence taken away and some drivers actually do loose their licence for poor driving.
Logically if you come across one of these very poor dives you are in trouble whatever your mode of transport.
Sometimes all you can do is get out of their way.
After all if some drivers can't avoid trees and stobie poles during the daytime what chances does a cyclist at night have?
-
Permalink Reply by mike cleaver-smith on -
was riding along king george ave at Brighton the other morn at 6.30 am. approaching a bloke riding an adult bmx with no lights, dark clothing and no helmet. said to him as i got level, in a friendly concerned tone, "hey mate , your asking to be killed.no lights ,no helmet and dark clothes, car drivers wont see you ! his response was "I guess im dead then!"
youre wasting youre time trying to educate people like this,that think it will never happen to them
-
Permalink Reply by Simon Lownsborough on -
Yep, and you know what? That's one time I feel a little sympathy for the poor motorist who hits one of these invisible suckers.
I see some locally that ride nights in dark clothing/no lid/no lights - it's ignorant and selfish.
-
Permalink Reply by Jeremy Miller on -
Luke, Totally agree with your assessment of this. I would hate to be either the guy "first on the scene", or be in the car with a driver who simply did not see the cyclist at speed, in poor light. I see "invisible" cyclists all the time on Magill Road, especially in the afternoon commute back up the hill. I know that some see high-viz as a bit naff, but tell you what, even a small bit goes a long way. The guy dressed in black kit the other night, but with day-glow booties, stood out so much against the background visual gloom. Maybe Magill Road cyclists commuting with out lights should drop by Clarks Cycles on the way home. Kevin has a good range of affordable flashing lights which all cyclists should use for safety and visibility at this time of year.
-
Permalink Reply by Greg Graham on
-
It is not just dusk, it is now also dawn. If the result was limited to the rider then it would be up to them. As others have said, think about the first person on the scene, the ambos, the health workers, the need for rehab if you survive etc. If it was a car driving with no lights on in that visibility, we would be hearing the howls of protest a mile away...
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›
© 2013 Created by Gus K.
