Advocacy & Safety - What makes you visible to motorists?

What do you choose for visibility? Why is your choice better than the other?

I'd taken to riding with the neon yellow jerseys and jacket. Lights at night. I have a blinking front light for the front now, with a Cateye TL-LD1000 on the back, as well as a TL-LD600 for the chain stay. I just got a 10W front light from Performance.

No offense, but this is a rather silly poll, as the two options are not exclusive of each other.

For example, in a narrow outside lane during the daytime, I ride in the center of the lane, in part due to increased visibility. But if I occupy such a position in the nighttime without lights, I'll end up flat as a pancake. Lights allow me to safely carry my daytime lane positioning techniques into the nighttime.

Lane positioning is something I'll use if it's physically necessary; for someone to have a clear line of sight to me before they pull out into my path, for example.

As for the rest...

bike

NiteRider FlameThrower HID (used day and night)
Cateye TL-LD170-F facing left off the left bar-end (solid-mode amber side-marker light)
A little Nashbar amber LED on the side of each front pannier (solid-mode amber side-marker light)
Cateye EL200 bailout headlight (usually off, eats batteries too fast for some reason)
NiteRider "superblinkie" rear, flashing mode, used day and night
Cateye TL-LD1000 "superblinkie" rear, steady mode, used day and night
Cateye TL-LD500 bailout blinkie rear (also a CPSC wide-angle reflector), steady mode
Two standard wide-angle red rear reflectors
Bike's frame, left crank, and wheels are outlined with TrimBrite amber reflective tape for sideways identifiability, plus a patch on each bar-end clamp to help define width

rider
Neon-yellow riding jacket
PolyBrite self-illuminated reflective vest
PolyBrite self-illuminated reflective belt
Nathan self-illuminated reflective armband (left wrist, signalling arm for me)
Jog-A-Lite reflective legbands, both ankles
Planet Bike helmet blinkie
TrimBrite tape on rear of helmet

It's a start, anyway ;)

edit: maybe I should add that this is my workhorse commuter bike I'm talking about. See http://www.mechbgon.com/commute/index.html for a sample commute to put this into perspective.

edit #2: what's a visibility thread without pics.

http://www.mechbgon.com/commute/hangman2.jpg
mech's favorite ride of 2005

http://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/vestbelt3.jpg
a coarse shot of that self-illuminating vest and belt at close range

I just ride to the right of mechBgon with no lights.

I just ride to the right of mechBgon with no lights./me secretly swaps the budget FlameThrower HID for 2manybike's $900 Lupine Edison 10... he'll never notice this missing... :lol:


How come we don't have an :evil: emoticon here, anyway? :p

A lady holding a door for me and my bike at night commented that she thought it was about to give her a seizure. Its heart is a zenon strobe mechanism from Radio Shack. It puts out an intense flash for 360 degrees around me. It strobes at 20 to 80 times a minute depending on voltage (6v to 18v). I have gotten home down an unlit bike path on a cloudy night when my headlight failed by standing on my pedals and letting the strobe light the path ahead. As I have said elsewhere in the Forums I believe in powerful lights. Strobe taillights are available from NightSun and others, just not as wide a beam or as strong. (Geek power)

I just ride to the right of mechBgon with no lights.
I practice DLLP in front of mechBgon and move over to the right when I see him catching up on me! :D

No offense, but this is a rather silly poll, as the two options are not exclusive of each other.

For example, in a narrow outside lane during the daytime, I ride in the center of the lane, in part due to increased visibility. But if I occupy such a position in the nighttime without lights, I'll end up flat as a pancake. Lights allow me to safely carry my daytime lane positioning techniques into the nighttime.
+1

riding a recumbent is a good one. in the daytime I don't need any bright clothing to be seen pretty well.
at night my xenon strobes seem to do the best job from the front. well second best I ahve two cold cathode tubes that get me huge amounts of attention. I get cars that pull up and say how bright and how well they can see me.
not a great picture but these light up the road all around me. great for changing flats too (G)

I think there is a difference between being visible and being noticed.
You can be "visible" with no one around.
But you can't be noticed unless there is someone there to notice you.

I think of lights and clothing color as factors that determine how "visible" you are. While visibility factors do contribute to whether a cyclist is noticed, this is much more true at night than during the day.

During the day, I think where you ride is a much more important factor in determining whether a cyclist will be noticed then how "visible" he is.

/me secretly swaps the budget FlameThrower HID for 2manybike's $900 Lupine Edison 10... he'll never notice this missing... :lol:


How come we don't have an :evil: emoticon here, anyway? :p

:lol:

What the heck is wrong with this stupid light !!! .........................................hey, just a minute...?



I practice DLLP in front of mechBgon and move over to the right when I see him catching up on me!

:lol:

A new bicycle technique has finally been invented ! Headlight beam drafting, headlight beam peloton.

"your turn to pull for a while, my light's getting dim"

zenon strobe mechanism from Radio Shack

Do you have a part # on that?

No offense, but this is a rather silly poll, as the two options are not exclusive of each other.

For example, in a narrow outside lane during the daytime, I ride in the center of the lane, in part due to increased visibility. But if I occupy such a position in the nighttime without lights, I'll end up flat as a pancake. Lights allow me to safely carry my daytime lane positioning techniques into the nighttime.
The poll allows you to choose both, or at least I tried to set it up that way.

I choose active and passive lighting and try to be as aware of my surroundings as possible. I try not to ride in a confrontational matter, becuase I feel the bike and rider will suffer more than the car and driver will in any contact situation. Bicycling is not a contact sport.

Do you have a part # on that?

There was mention of a similar strobe in the "Total Geekiness" thread. But when I went to RS it appeared they had discontinued that model. So I ordered one for $8.95 plus S&H from www.allelectronics.com. The main thing is that with a 20 watt front light and the xenon flasher, I was getting only about an hour run time. It was definitely a great flasher, though.

A lady holding a door for me and my bike at night commented that she thought it was about to give her a seizure. Its heart is a zenon strobe mechanism from Radio Shack.
I had one from Radio Shack, it rocked. When it gave up the ghost, I got another from JC Whitney, an online automotive supplier, for about $25 (100,000 candlepower.) At the same time, I got a Lightman strobe (xenon,) which boasted 600,000 candlepower, or 6 times brighter. When I tested them, the JC Whitney strobe was brighter, hands down.

Here it is:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000166419/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000166419/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000166419

I tried the All Electronics xenon strobe, but it gave out on my first ride, not sure why. Rather than spend shipping to send it back for replacement, I went with the above light. The All Electronics light didn't look very well built, very fragile. But the JC Whitney strobe seems heavy-duty (but lightweight) and allows for bulb replacement (less than $10 per bulb.)

I don't use lane positioning for visibility, but for giving me more room.

No offense, but this is a rather silly poll, as the two options are not exclusive of each other.

For example, in a narrow outside lane during the daytime, I ride in the center of the lane, in part due to increased visibility. But if I occupy such a position in the nighttime without lights, I'll end up flat as a pancake. Lights allow me to safely carry my daytime lane positioning techniques into the nighttime.

Bump +2

myself I thin kthe mest solution to being seen is to be different. I am far more visibile on my recumbent with less fashy clothing then on my road bike. the more oddball my lighting the better I am noticed at night.

The poll allows you to choose both, or at least I tried to set it up that way.
Which is how I voted (both)

Al

Lane positioning is something I'll use if it's physically necessary; for someone to have a clear line of sight to me before they pull out into my path, for example.

As for the rest...

bike

Cateye TL-LD170-F facing left off the left bar-end (solid-mode amber side-marker light)
A little Nashbar amber LED on the side of each front pannier (solid-mode amber side-marker light)





Great use of side clearance lights. Thanks for the example and images.

Here it is:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000166419/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000166419/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000166419
)

How do you power this since it takes a cigar lighter power input?

Well I tend to believe in straight line cycling... however, on long tours and long open country back road rides I do go center biased as back country drivers tend to nod off and drift and blind curves tend to be de rigeur on back roads.

In the city, for commuting, I depend on bright clothing... from contrasting T shirts (red and blue and orange clashing colors) to hi vis vest to bright screaming colors on jerseys. ("why is it every time I see you, you are wearing some sort of orange" -- question posed to me by another cyclist)

I do take the lane when needed, and I do tend to ride leftish of BL when they exist. But as far as "well timed swerves" to attract the attention of motorists... I don't do that. I tend to ride in straight lines punctuated by signals and movements left at intersections.

Well I tend to believe in straight line cycling... however, on long tours and long open country back road rides I do go center biased as back country drivers tend to nod off and drift and blind curves tend to be de rigeur on back roads.

In the city, for commuting, I depend on bright clothing... from contrasting T shirts (red and blue and orange clashing colors) to hi vis vest to bright screaming colors on jerseys. ("why is it every time I see you, you are wearing some sort of orange" -- question posed to me by another cyclist)

I do take the lane when needed, and I do tend to ride leftish of BL when they exist. But as far as "well timed swerves" to attract the attention of motorists... I don't do that. I tend to ride in straight lines punctuated by signals and movements left at intersections.

I'm not sure where the 'well-timed swerves' came from, did I miss something that HH said? What I have found is that when I already am centerish in the lane, the movement of yielding to the right, when traffic is detected coming from the rear, tends to help get the attention of the driver. One does not swerve in and out on purpose in an effort to use movement to aid visibility, as some would misrepresent. But when you DO have to change your lane position, such as yielding right when you are already in the lane, that movement does help to attract a driver's attention - as an added benefit to something you normally do, not as a technique to be practiced or learned.

Chipcom, if I move aside to let faster traffic pass, and then see more traffic coming, but it's still a long way back, sometime I will move back into the center for a while. But they do have to be a LONG way back.

In answer to the poll: both.

I'm not sure where the 'well-timed swerves' came from, did I miss something that HH said? What I have found is that when I already am centerish in the lane, the movement of yielding to the right, when traffic is detected coming from the rear, tends to help get the attention of the driver. One does not swerve in and out on purpose in an effort to use movement to aid visibility, as some would misrepresent. But when you DO have to change your lane position, such as yielding right when you are already in the lane, that movement does help to attract a driver's attention - as an added benefit to something you normally do, not as a technique to be practiced or learned.

I short handed the term "well timed swerves" as according to HH, he waits until he sees either braking or lane changing by motorists before moving back to the right... that is a "well timed swerve." I can't see calling it anything less. HH mentioned watching his mirror until he saw driver reaction... then moving... he also mentioned having to maintain his glances to see this reaction. I don't believe I am misrepresenting him at all. I mentioned riding centerish while touring or riding long distance in the back country in the "alternative thread" and he came back and said it was more than that...

Now for me, in high speed traffic, doing this between bunches of approaching motorists is just a bit too much. I feel that riding in a straight line makes me more predictable and is easier to manage in most day to day 45-50MPH traffic that I face.

Now if I am centerish in the lane, as I have to take the lane for some reason I am not likely to try to time my movement to the point of seeing some indication from the motorist... I will either yield as soon as I become aware of that traffic or hold my position. Anything else is an evasive move.

What makes you visible to motorists?


:D My middle finger. :D

The All Electronics light didn't look very well built, very fragile. But the JC Whitney strobe seems heavy-duty (but lightweight) and allows for bulb replacement (less than $10 per bulb.)
My All Electronics seems built well enough (for $8.95), but you may have used yours more than mine. Mine was mounted to the back of a child seat, which may have absorbed some of the shock. The fact that you've had lights go out makes me wonder if they're being over-driven?

With the JC Whitney flasher, how do you mount it? Is the magnet strong enough to hold it, or does it allow extra fasteners somewhere?

I ride a recumbent, too, Steve. I have both a regular recumbent and a trike. Some have suggested that perhaps some of my traffic woes could partially be caused by my trike being "too visible". In other words, so unusual that nobody knows what to expect from me. I'm thinking one of those reflective triangles with a picture of a bike on it might help make the connection in their minds.

Now if I am centerish in the lane, as I have to take the lane for some reason I am not likely to try to time my movement to the point of seeing some indication from the motorist... I will either yield as soon as I become aware of that traffic or hold my position. Anything else is an evasive move.


I agree, I do it exactly the same.

How do you power this since it takes a cigar lighter power input?The $20 12v battery pack I have from Pep Boys (also mentioned in the Total Geekiness thread) has a jack that takes a lighter plug.

Yes, we all know about taking the center of the lane for this or that. What I'm curious about is whether you rely more upon high-vis gear or lane positioning in most situations. But if you rely on both equally, that's fine too. Just curious.

I have found that high-vis clothing during the day, flags (on my low trike), and lights to be of sufficient effectiveness that I don't feel I need to stick myself out in the center of the lane for the purpose of capturing the attention of motorists. I doubt anybody fails to see me, and I seldom experience anthing that seems to indicate they don't see me.

Yes, we all know about taking the center of the lane for this or that. What I'm curious about is whether you rely more upon high-vis gear or lane positioning in most situations. But if you rely on both equally, that's fine too. Just curious.

I have found that high-vis clothing during the day, flags (on my low trike), and lights to be of sufficient effectiveness that I don't feel I need to stick myself out in the center of the lane for the purpose of capturing the attention of motorists. I doubt anybody fails to see me, and I seldom experience anthing that seems to indicate they don't see me.
There is a little subtlety here for me in that I don't ride down center of lane solely for rear visibility - other factors include often better roadway, better reaction time for sudden side events (like kid throwing ball in street, being near sidewalk) and visibility and predictabily for vehicles traveling the other direction and from side streets. If I'm in center it most clearly shows I am not turning. Finally on mulitilane roads that are not too busy I ride in the center of the right lane as it may actually encourage driver choose to merge left well before I need to merge right which just makes for more pleasant riding avoiding getting passed within a few feet by cars going 65mph. One thing that I notice a lot is that even with two adjacent totally clear lanes, most drivers do not merge left to next lane if I am right biased in a WOL.

I know you wrote about this is not discussing this or that which I just did, but since its about center vs. hivis vs. both and you noted you don't need to stick yourself in lane to be seen... So the point I am making is the high vis and lights do provide the most benefit in general and the center of lane riding provides the additional benefit for intersections. Between on flat straight road center bias is less for visibilty that at other times.

Al

I short handed the term "well timed swerves" as according to HH, he waits until he sees either braking or lane changing by motorists before moving back to the right... that is a "well timed swerve." I can't see calling it anything less. HH mentioned watching his mirror until he saw driver reaction... then moving... he also mentioned having to maintain his glances to see this reaction. I don't believe I am misrepresenting him at all. I mentioned riding centerish while touring or riding long distance in the back country in the "alternative thread" and he came back and said it was more than that...

Now for me, in high speed traffic, doing this between bunches of approaching motorists is just a bit too much. I feel that riding in a straight line makes me more predictable and is easier to manage in most day to day 45-50MPH traffic that I face.

Now if I am centerish in the lane, as I have to take the lane for some reason I am not likely to try to time my movement to the point of seeing some indication from the motorist... I will either yield as soon as I become aware of that traffic or hold my position. Anything else is an evasive move.
The part you're missing is I don't necessarily wait until I get some kind of signal from the approaching motorist.

The point is that there is a lot of time between "as soon as I notice someone approaching from the rear but they are still a long way off", and "still time to move out of the way with a good safety margin".

At which point I decide to move during that time partially depends on what I detect from the motorist. In particular, once the motorist does something that indicates he has noticed me, i'm likely to move aside. But don't confuse that with thinking that I won't move aside until I do get some kind of sign like that.
That's just one of many factors that gets considered.

Did you know that being visible has its drawbacks? In some instances, if a drunk driver sees your bicycle light or reflector at night they will head straight for the light and crash into it.


Hard to believe? Ask a traffic cop. They know what I am talking about.

The part you're missing is I don't necessarily wait until I get some kind of signal from the approaching motorist.

The point is that there is a lot of time between "as soon as I notice someone approaching from the rear but they are still a long way off", and "still time to move out of the way with a good safety margin".

At which point I decide to move during that time partially depends on what I detect from the motorist. In particular, once the motorist does something that indicates he has noticed me, i'm likely to move aside. But don't confuse that with thinking that I won't move aside until I do get some kind of sign like that.
That's just one of many factors that gets considered.

Well then I too have read your technique wrong... but you were clarifying it for someone else in the "alternative" thread when you mentioned:


I would have to keep a pretty close eye on my rearview mirror, moreso than I do already.

HH's response:
This is true. But I find a split second glance every 3-4 seconds is plenty good. I usually notice motorists when they're still at least 20 seconds back. I watch them get closer, sometimes noticing them slow down a bit, and move aside.


This is distinctly different from what I would do in touring or riding back country where I don't wait until they "get closer" then 20 seconds back. And from that aspect of your message, I derived: "well timed swerve."

This is distinctly different from what I would do in touring or riding back country where I don't wait until they "get closer" then 20 seconds back.

20 seconds is a long, long way back. Look at a second hand right now. Now, without doing anything except watching the seconds tick by, wait for 20 seconds to pass. Seriously. In contrast, note that car drivers are taught to maintain a 2 second gap for safety, and motorcyclists 3-4 seconds. If you pull aside while they are still 20 seconds back, they're very likely to not notice you (and thus still leave you uneccessarily vulnerable to inadverdent drift), and you forfeit most of your chance to achieve the goodwill when they see you move aside obviously out of courtesy to them.

And then there is the cross-traffic factor. The main reason we center ourselves is to make ourselves more obvious to cross-traffic, like the guy who is pulling out of a driveway on our right. One of the reasons it's safer to pull aside when there is faster same-direction traffic is because the presence of faster traffic serves as a cover. That is, the guy pulling out of the driveway to our right is not going to pull out if he sees traffic coming... unless it's car traffic that is still 20 seconds back and bike traffic that has already pulled aside where he is less likely to notice them...

20 seconds is a long, long way back. Look at a second hand right now. Now, without doing anything except watching the seconds tick by, wait for 20 seconds to pass. Seriously. In contrast, note that car drivers are taught to maintain a 2 second gap for safety, and motorcyclists 3-4 seconds. If you pull aside while they are still 20 seconds back, they're very likely to not notice you (and thus still leave you uneccessarily vulnerable to inadverdent drift), and you forfeit most of your chance to achieve the goodwill when they see you move aside obviously out of courtesy to them.

And then there is the cross-traffic factor. The main reason we center ourselves is to make ourselves more obvious to cross-traffic, like the guy who is pulling out of a driveway on our right. One of the reasons it's safer to pull aside when there is faster same-direction traffic is because the presence of faster traffic serves as a cover. That is, the guy pulling out of the driveway to our right is not going to pull out if he sees traffic coming... unless it's car traffic that is still 20 seconds back and bike traffic that has already pulled aside where he is less likely to notice them...


Oh sure I understand 20 seconds is a long way back, but you clearly stated you wait until they are closer "sometimes noticing them slow down a bit."

That is the aspect of "well timed swerve."

BTW "2 seconds back for motorists..." :roflmao:

I work hard to maintain a safe following distance when I drive... I rarely get to keep it... it is usually seen as an invite for about 4 other cars to try to jam into.

Now you do have a point about the cover factor... although admittedly I have never tried to cover behind me in that fashion... but I do use cars to cover sides.

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains?

Oh, you mean like Neville Chamberlain. Very patient man. Real stupid, but patient.

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains?

Oh, you mean like Neville Chamberlain. Very patient man. Real stupid, but patient.
It's an old Dutch proverb.

I'm thinking more of Webster's definition #3: Constancy in labor or application; perseverance.

Did you know that being visible has its drawbacks? In some instances, if a drunk driver sees your bicycle light or reflector at night they will head straight for the light and crash into it.


Hard to believe? Ask a traffic cop. They know what I am talking about.


In my younger days I drove drunk more than I care to admit...red, yellow or blue lights or any flashing lights got my attention because they were all potential cops...I didn't go into some trance and run into them, I did my best to avoid them. If someone is just plain stinking drunk, they could run into anything, lit or not. I don't see that as a good reason not to be well lit when riding at night. BTW, I have just a teensy-weensy bit of experience living and working with cops, never heard a one mention such a thing.

So the point I am making is the high vis and lights do provide the most benefit in general and the center of lane riding provides the additional benefit for intersections. Between on flat straight road center bias is less for visibilty that at other times.

Al
I think most of us are pretty similar in the way we ride. I probably don't use the center as much as some of you all do, but your statement pretty much sums it up for me. Using the center can help here and there, but I don't think motorists are blind to cyclists with high-vis gear no matter where on the road they are. I do think they see us.

(Heck, I can even see those disembodied reflectors moving wrong-way on the side walk.)

If anyone is riding in the center of the traffic lane on a (typically) high speed country road, and the cars are slowing noticably before the cyclist yields,

The cyclist is exhibiting risky, unvehicular road positioning. Sounds like the idiot I was watching on Rainier Ave S last weekend, and all the cars' brake lights behind him....

How that is considered a safe way to bike, by any distortion of reality, is beyond me.

I just got back from a 4 day bike tour up Puget Sound Island country and the Olympic peninsula, on rural highways, and high visiblility and the ability to YIELD THE LANE WITHOUT IMPEDING TRAFFIC FLOW is the second thing on my mind, after my safety.

That means if I'm riding in the center of the lane for whatever reason, and I do that a lot, I am always aware of NOT impeding traffic flow using MY dynamic lateral lane positioning to STAY OUT OF THE WAY of traffic if the roadway is safe for me to do so.

High visiblilty is WAY more important overall than your lane position when it comes to driver recognition. I have some theories about drivers' visibility and degrees of arc, the height of a cyclist versus any parked cars, mailboxes, etc. but because this is conjecture, I won't waste everyones time with pedantic, verbose statements of unproven theory...


and, again, if a bicyclist using his own style of DLLP is causing cars to pull back and slow prior to passing,(unless the roadway conditions specifically dictate taking the lane for safety reasons) that cyclist is unsafe, unvehicular, and a risk to themselves and traffic. I'm not going to recommend anyone ride using this patently unvehicular bicycling technique.

Cateye TL-LD170-F facing left off the left bar-end (solid-mode amber side-marker light)

A little Nashbar amber LED on the side of each front pannier (solid-mode amber side-marker light)

Could you take a close-up picture of these lights? Sounds interesting.

Could you take a close-up picture of these lights? Sounds interesting.Sure thing, you can see several pics of the Cateye on this page, to start with:

http://www.mechbgon.com/commute/index.html

I got the Nashbars after taking this ride, so they're not shown, but I'll get you a pic when I get home (I'm down at work, the phone system went *POW*). I leave the zipper open about an inch on each pannier and just clip them to the fabric between the zipper pulls.

This came after I began noticing that my main headlight, due to the recessed lens, is really not visible from the side, so I began goofing around with the side-marker idea.

In my younger days I drove drunk more than I care to admit...red, yellow or blue lights or any flashing lights got my attention because they were all potential cops...I didn't go into some trance and run into them, I did my best to avoid them. If someone is just plain stinking drunk, they could run into anything, lit or not. I don't see that as a good reason not to be well lit when riding at night. BTW, I have just a teensy-weensy bit of experience living and working with cops, never heard a one mention such a thing.


hm.... that's a tough one. obviously, as has been already stated, tougher DWI laws and enforcement are what's needed... as well as changing people's attitude.

although i haven't lived there for a while now, in Texas, the combination of laws, enforcement, education and advertising like MAD have made quite a change in the attitude towards drunk driving... where 20 years ago it was 'Oh yeah, i'm a good driver and i drive fine after 4 beers' now the people that still do that mostly don't talk about it b/c the general attitude has changed and almost everyone has a friend or relative who has been killed so you will be personally attacked if you say something like that now... (not everywhere, but it's more the norm) and most bars take the law very seriously since most owners have been sued or closed down at least once...

i think the death stats for drunk driving are high concerning 'innocent' auto users and pedestrians as well as cyclists...

as far as a protection for cyclists against those drunk drivers out there... there's not much you can do. i've actually heard that a blinking red light at night can actually *attract* a drunk driver who is unable to focus/concentrate on the road...

but it's much the same as in a caror on foot, like if a drunk driver runs a red light at 40mph...

i think the only protection is either not to be out on the road whether in a car, bike or on foot OR to get the drunk drivers off the road.

Here is a comment from someone else.

In my younger days I drove drunk more than I care to admit...red, yellow or blue lights or any flashing lights got my attention because they were all potential cops...I didn't go into some trance and run into them, I did my best to avoid them. If someone is just plain stinking drunk, they could run into anything, lit or not. I don't see that as a good reason not to be well lit when riding at night. BTW, I have just a teensy-weensy bit of experience living and working with cops, never heard a one mention such a thing.

And here is another


Arnold Layne
Well technically they are not required for bicycles (which in most states include trikes as well :). I don't use one.. and on my Trike have never had any problems with people seeing me. Still I think a blinky rear light is a more valuable safety feature than a reflecting triangle.

--
Bill
I read the other day where a study was done by law enforcement that determined blinking lights attract drunk drivers. The study was done due to the increase of police officers' cars being hit during traffic stops where the police car's emergency lights were on. It also showed where cars that had broken down along the road and had their emergency flashers on were more likely to get hit by drunks. I don't know how true this is but it made me start using my light in steady mode.
As for the triangles, Hostel Shoppe sells them: http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=983911118 Some of the upright riders will have fun cutting on you for being slow, if you worry about that sort of thing (I don't). I guess you could always write "I may be slow, but I'm ahead of you" on it!

Here is a comment from someone else.

Another 'I heard', I don't suppose anyone has a cite to some study or authorative source that claims that drunks are more apt to run into things with blinking lights? How about all of you out there that have actually driven drunk, have you been drawn to run into things with blinking lights?