Advocacy & Safety - Rear Blinky no go on helmet!!!!!

Cliff notes at the bottom of post.......

I hope the guy reads this. I should have stopped ad told him, but he may have ignored me or thought I was being a jerk for stopping.

Today at ~7pm (the sun set 3 hours ago), I''m leaving Swan Island in Portland Oregon, after making a delivery to a customer, I'm driving the company box truck. Its a LONG up hill and the lanes are cut down from 4 to 2, and the lanes are THIN, trucks side by side can't go through with more then 6 inches clearance. Speed is 40mph, but 55-60 is the norm :mad:. I see a bicycle in the right lane (taking the lane as he should) a good 200 yard up the hill, two triple semis scoot over in to the left lane to avoid him, I like this. But am worried for him, hes dresses in all black, I see no blinky (no street lights), no reflective anything and a big black back pack (say that fast 5 times). The kind that are water proof as they have a roll up top. The SUV behind the trucks moves over, I relax a little, I'm in the middle of the road so no one behind me trys to pass pushing me into the guy. As I am right beside him I see a blinky, its attached to his helmet. It is doing him NO good because the back pack is fully covering it, if a driver was the least bit inattentive the biker could have been taken out. :twitchy:

Attach the thing to the bike, if you turn your head or have a big pack one, with your only safety device attached to your helmet, it does you no good. I hope he made it home safe, it is Portland, so for the most part people are on the look out for bikers, but still.

Cliff notes: Blinkys attached to helmets can be hard/impossible to see if you have a back pack on, or turn your head. Please attach to the bike or bag.

And don't depend on a single blinky light. I've seen many that are barely glowing due to weak batteries or that have slipped down a bit and are no longer aimed right. At least have a decent reflector in addition to the blinky as a backup in case something goes wrong with the light (and in many states the reflector is a legal requirement even if you also have a rear light).

Indeed, I'm a two blinky guy, along with blinding yellow wind breakers. I also check my lights every time they go on to see if they are alittle weak. And carry 2 AAA batteries with the patch kit.

Good point. A jacket collar can also hide one's helmet blinkie if it's clipped to the occipital-lobe crossbar thingie, especially if the rider's in a lower riding position, e.g. a road bike:

http://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/helmet_blinkie.jpg

Also, bike blinkies tend to be quite directional, other than the DiNotte which is more of a flood beam, so it's good to have at least one mounted to the bike and aimed carefully. If a helmet blinkie can be mounted up above collar/backpack level, that would be a solution. My helmet's not very conducive to that, unfortunately.

.^. My solution too. I wear one on my helmet as above and have one on my rear rack.. One for all levels.. My Planet Bike lite on my helmet is so strong a light , I fear the possibility of neck burn..

All very true. Blinkies are quite directional; as such, it's also important that they be properly aimed. Proper aiming (straight back) helps people see you, not to mention being more aesthetically pleasing.

Indeed, I'm a two blinky guy, along with blinding yellow wind breakers. I also check my lights every time they go on to see if they are alittle weak. And carry 2 AAA batteries with the patch kit.

While I agree with some of your post, mounting a light on a helmet isn't wrong...as long as you have more than one light elsewhere. I run at least 3. One on the back of a helmet (specifically chosen so that it is flat in the back for mounting a light), one on my Camelbak and at least one on the frame. The frame one (rear of the rack) is on steady while the others are in flash mode. I feel that at least one of your lights needs to be on steady so that motorists can gauge the distance to the bicycle.

I do agree that there are lots of dumb places to put a light. One of the worst I've seen was the light on a messenger bag that had slipped under the riders arm. At least on a helmet there some possibility of seeing it. Illuminating an armpit just doesn't do much.

Planet Bike has a helmet blinky that swivels level (?? Binky 3 ??). Brightness is good and it also has a reflector; I don't know whether it is CPSC . Since the blinky mounts to the top rear of the helmet, visibility is quite good unless you put a hood over it!

I believe Amazon sells them for $14-15.

I've seen the opposite, where a cyclist had a rear light on the seat post and was blocked by his low slung back pack. I follow one cyclist, every so often, with a rear light on his helmet and it can be observed from a great distance, and it's not so much where the light is positioned, but where it will not be obstructed by certain items one may wear or have on their bike.

Planet Bike has a helmet blinky that swivels level (?? Binky 3 ??).

Have one of those. Works really well,but the strap wore out because of the helmet I had it on(the rear vents were very far apart). They need to beef up the strap and mod it to accept the SuperFlash,then they'd really have something.

It's rare I wear a backpack. I prefer a rear trunk.. I have a blinkie off of my trunk and on my helmet.. But, if I were to wear my backpack, the backpack has a secure loop for a blinkie.. If I were to find the backpack low enough on my bike, I'd still put the blinkie on my helmet.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?? I had a similar situation to the one described by the OP on a heavily driven road in my hometown. The rider in this case had no reflective gear, no bright clothes, no front light, and of course a backpack and a partially hidden blinky light. The time of day was past dusk and extremely dangerous.

I'm sure folks will disagree but riding in the dark is asking for trouble. Yes I hate the days are shorter - it sucks. BUT a life is more important than riding in the dark.

I'm sure folks will disagree but riding in the dark is asking for trouble.

The rider you used as an example is certainly "asking for trouble," but if one is equipped for the circumstances, it may be just as safe or safer to ride in the dark. A recent demo video I shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwjZ6j11mc I go out about 1/2 mile, then turn around. You wouldn't be likely to see me from nearly as far in daylight as you can in the dark.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?

I think it's mainly stupidity and lack of imagination. People can't foresee the consequences of their actions, or inactions . And this doesn't just go for people riding without lights.

A.

I've seen the opposite, where a cyclist had a rear light on the seat post and was blocked by his low slung back pack. I follow one cyclist, every so often, with a rear light on his helmet and it can be observed from a great distance, and it's not so much where the light is positioned, but where it will not be obstructed by certain items one may wear or have on their bike.

I mount my lights behind the back of my rear rack, far enough back that nothing I carry on the rack ever obstructs them. My commuter also has a large reflector on the rear mudflap, even further back where nothing obstructs it.

I don't use a helmet tail light, but I do have my helmet thoroughly reflectorized.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?

I can think of lots of reasons... in the past week I've ridden in the dark to (a) get to a destination without paying bus fare, (b) get my workout in after work, and (c) test adjustments when working on a bike at night.

The dark isn't an excuse not to ride, but like any other situation you need to dress/prepare appropriately for it.

This is getting scary, I'm less then half a mile from my first siting. Another guy in a 45mph zone, rear blinker (one of them) same type of water poof roll up back pack, this one red, sun has been down for over 2 hours, blinky on helmet cover FULLY by bag. Nice, this is giving me a bad name. I'm getting one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Reflective-Triangle-Cyclists-Pedestrians-Backpackers/dp/B000M2K358), to go with my two blinkies. The one I'm getting looks more like the triangles on farm vehicles.

I rode ~50miles today 25 were at night, 15 were with ~15mph head winds. Good times:) This was just to go to the gym in the AM, then to work, then home after picking up some brews to have with dinner. ;)

i am cyclist i love to wear chovle helmet that makes me comfort and fits to the head .

Good point. A jacket collar can also hide one's helmet blinkie if it's clipped to the occipital-lobe crossbar thingie, especially if the rider's in a lower riding position, e.g. a road bike:

http://www.mechbgon.com/visibility/helmet_blinkie.jpg

Also, bike blinkies tend to be quite directional, other than the DiNotte which is more of a flood beam, so it's good to have at least one mounted to the bike and aimed carefully. If a helmet blinkie can be mounted up above collar/backpack level, that would be a solution. My helmet's not very conducive to that, unfortunately.

Thank you immensely, for the picture. It gives me a frame of reference. Because I have always wanted to do that but, wasn't sure how.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?? I had a similar situation to the one described by the OP on a heavily driven road in my hometown. The rider in this case had no reflective gear, no bright clothes, no front light, and of course a backpack and a partially hidden blinky light. The time of day was past dusk and extremely dangerous.

I'm sure folks will disagree but riding in the dark is asking for trouble. Yes I hate the days are shorter - it sucks. BUT a life is more important than riding in the dark.

Are you talking about riding in the dark in general, or doing it unsafely?

If I couldn't ride in the dark, I'd have to drive to and from work for the next 3-4 months.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?? I had a similar situation to the one described by the OP on a heavily driven road in my hometown. The rider in this case had no reflective gear, no bright clothes, no front light, and of course a backpack and a partially hidden blinky light. The time of day was past dusk and extremely dangerous.

I'm sure folks will disagree but riding in the dark is asking for trouble. Yes I hate the days are shorter - it sucks. BUT a life is more important than riding in the dark.

You are not an avid cyclist. Riding in the dark is safe and fun. All you need is Lights..

You are not an avid cyclist. Riding in the dark is safe and fun. All you need is Lights..

+1

In the 26 years I've been commuting (equally in light and dark), the only times I've been hit by cars is when it's been light out (and all the drivers said they saw me coming)

Happy riders ride at night.
I did this for 12 dark early morning rides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNL16aNqOwE&feature=related

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark??

hmmm.... It's winter here. 5 AM, it's dark out. 5 PM, It's dark out. Dress warm.

One steady light plus reflector on the rear fender is all I use, driven by a dynamo. Blinking bike lights aren't allowed in Europe, I assume for good reason. I suppose it's hard to track where someone is riding if the light is blinking or moving.

One steady light plus reflector on the rear fender is all I use, driven by a dynamo. Blinking bike lights aren't allowed in Europe, I assume for good reason. I suppose it's hard to track where someone is riding if the light is blinking or moving.

Based on my own observations, I don't buy the hard-to-track hypothesis, and they do catch the eye and send the "not-a-motor-vehicle" signal, which I think is of great value because the motorists can then react accordingly, if they actually have their brain switched on ;) The UK has now explicitly OK'ed blinking taillights for bikes, or so I hear.

I'm an avid cyclist, love the sport. But for the life of me, WHY do folks want to endanger their lives while riding in the dark?? I had a similar situation to the one described by the OP on a heavily driven road in my hometown. The rider in this case had no reflective gear, no bright clothes, no front light, and of course a backpack and a partially hidden blinky light. The time of day was past dusk and extremely dangerous.

I'm sure folks will disagree but riding in the dark is asking for trouble. Yes I hate the days are shorter - it sucks. BUT a life is more important than riding in the dark.

Thinking about this a bit more, I think that one can reasonably argue that a well lit cyclist is more visible/noticeable in the dark than during the day since he/she might have more contrast with respect to the environment.

The rider you used as an example is certainly "asking for trouble," but if one is equipped for the circumstances, it may be just as safe or safer to ride in the dark. A recent demo video I shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwjZ6j11mc I go out about 1/2 mile, then turn around. You wouldn't be likely to see me from nearly as far in daylight as you can in the dark.

And I thought I was lit up like a Xmas tree at night! Recently I have raised the amount of lights/ reflectors on me and the bike to about double what they were after getting clipped by a cadillac cts (pearl white) while riding in the bike lane on a WIDE road at 5:15 in the AM. I think it was deliberate but the drivers excuse to the cop (if they got caught) would probably be something, "like I couldn't see her". And my excuse for riding in the dark is, It's winter and I work from 5-5. I ride to and from work in the dark. Of course I could walk but it takes longer....
Donna