Advocacy & Safety - Bright headlights on bikes

Here's another good question about "super bright" or "powerful" light systems on bikes. Has anyone while out riding at night with a "super bright" or "powerful" light system had a cop use a hand signal to "dim" your lights because you lit them up as "bright as day?"

Several years ago, shortly after I'd gotten my Marwi Night Pro Elite light system for both my bike and helmet. I was coming home from a local seafood restaurant. Part of my route to and from said restaurant is "cutting" down a couple of connected alley's. As I make one turn I light up a cop that was crouched down behind a brick wall. He motions with his hand like he wanted me to dim my headlights.

Has anyone else had this happen? What do/would you do? Not seeing anyone else around, not hearing any gun fire, and obviously nothing happened to me or the cop. As I just kept riding along minding my business.

Are you sure he wasn't just inviting you over for a donut?

Nope never had a cop say a word about my lights, but when I started doing night rides on the towpath that my LBS sponsors, I've had a lot of cyclists and peds going the other direction complain about them, even on low.

If you look through the lighting forum, some people have posted that they have been told to dim by cops.

I can believe it. But I think that bike head lights just are not comparable to automobile headlights or motorcycle headlights is raw power. But I bike headlight can be adjust farther upwards so that it will shine in the eyes of an oncoming motorist. When I rode I night, I often adjusted my lights so that they were high. To me, a big point to having lights was not so much illuminating the road but to advertise my presence on the road to motorists.

Are you sure he wasn't just inviting you over for a donut?

Nope never had a cop say a word about my lights, but when I started doing night rides on the towpath that my LBS sponsors, I've had a lot of cyclists and peds going the other direction complain about them, even on low.

When I saw him he was in a crouched position. Pretty much behind the aforementioned brick wall.

No, but I did make an LEO put his cruiser in reverse when he had it nosed out of a driveway and into a bike lane one winter evening. The best part was that I was still a considerable distance away when he reversed his cruiser.

The cop in the alley may have been waiting to pounce on someone inside the property, and you may have been accidentally exposing him. Just a thought.....

Bike lights are rarely too bright, but often aimed poorly.

When I saw him he was in a crouched position. Pretty much behind the aforementioned brick wall.

my own visualization of being crouched behind a brick wall would lead me to believe he didn't want the attention your light was drawing. But if it would have been me, I would asked you for a donut.

Bike headlights are certainly more likely to be pointed too high, and into the faces of oncomming drivers, riders and walkers, because their alignment is left to the rider. They're not generally bolted down hard, to a specified position as with motor vehicles. Riders overriding their light will point them higher to compensate. Those wearing headlights on helmets are just over-the-line, in-your-face blasting everybody they look toward at night with those inconsiderate things. Now that brightness is going way up and prices comming way down for it, we'll be hearing much, much more about this problem. Believe me. I work everyday on state-of-the-art LEDs and lasers for TV, projection and display applications. You won't believe how powerful they are both getting fast.

No, but I did make an LEO put his cruiser in reverse when he had it nosed out of a driveway and into a bike lane one winter evening. The best part was that I was still a considerable distance away when he reversed his cruiser.

About two years ago coming home from a massage therapy appointment I had a car stop and wait for me at an intersection cause the driver couldn't figure out what the hell was coming down the road. And I was a considerable distance away from said intersection, so I guess my lights did the job of alerting people that I was on the street.

The cop in the alley may have been waiting to pounce on someone inside the property, and you may have been accidentally exposing him. Just a thought.....

Bike lights are rarely too bright, but often aimed poorly.

Could be, but doubtful. He would have had a hell of a time getting into the yard from where he was. I'll have to take a picture of the area and post it.

my own visualization of being crouched behind a brick wall would lead me to believe he didn't want the attention your light was drawing. But if it would have been me, I would asked you for a donut.

Could be, but wouldn't almost standing and motioning with his hand draw more attention to him?

Could be, but wouldn't almost standing and motioning with his hand draw more attention to him?

maybe...where did I say he was smart? Dude, the guy was crouching behind a brick wall, he could have been having delusions of Starsky and Hutch...or even taking a pee/dump for all I know. ;)

maybe...where did I say he was smart? Dude, the guy was crouching behind a brick wall, he could have been having delusions of Starsky and Hutch...or even taking a pee/dump for all I know. ;)

True, and he was also the only cop in the area. As well as there not being any parked cruisers anywhere in the immediate area. I think that a reasonable person would want to know what he was up to.

Hell for all I know he could have been recreating the peeping tom scene from Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" movie.

True, and he was also the only cop in the area. As well as there not being any parked cruisers anywhere in the immediate area. I think that a reasonable person would want to know what he was up to.

Hell for all I know he could have been recreating the peeping tom scene from Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" movie.

:lol: or some auxiliary cop living out his barney fife fantasies!

:lol: or some auxiliary cop living out his barney fife fantasies!

Excellent! Oh Chipcom, what would we do without you?!? :roflmao2:

Seriously: My state law (MA) requires that your headlight be visible in the dark for 500 ft. There is no maximum power specified.

When I saw him he was in a crouched position. Pretty much behind the aforementioned brick wall.He should have tazzed you bro.

When I saw him he was in a crouched position. Pretty much behind the aforementioned brick wall.

He was probably just taking a leak.

He was probably just taking a leak.

My shrewd powers of deduction say otherwise. Taking a leak requires an upright position to give one the most options for pee-script graffiti on either the wall or the ground. Crouching indicates that he was either giving or receiving something from Mr. Lemmiwinks.

Of course there is one scenario where crouching and peeing might be a reasonable conclusion....he was a she.

my wife and I had a car pull over ahead of us on the highway. At the time we road with a large motorcycle sized light up front and a huge flashing 7" diameter barricade light in back. He stopped to compliment us and tell us we were the first bikers he could actually SEE from behind. We chuckled and thanked him. That was a seriously old-style bike lighting system by a company that must be long out of business (bicycle lighting systems, if I recall correctly). The batteries were nicad and very large, strapped to the rear rack.