Commuting - When drivers aren't paying attention

On my way home yesterday I was keeping an eye on traffic behind me and noticed a pickup truck coming up behind me and not moving over. I don't think the driver saw me till he got rather close. Any idea how to get drivers attention if they are coming up behind you and not moving over? This guy did move over and gave a long honk as he passed, but it was close enough that I was checking how much room I had to my right. Would waving my left arm have helped? I had two red blinkies going (probably not much help during the day) and wearing a bright yellow/green jacket and riding near the right wheel track.

You did your part. Idiots will be idiots. There's only so much one can do. Was this at night? I use lights fore and aft, day or night. If you use panniers, do they have reflective material on all sides? Presenting a larger profile could help.

On my way home yesterday I was keeping an eye on traffic behind me and noticed a pickup truck coming up behind me and not moving over. I don't think the driver saw me till he got rather close. Any idea how to get drivers attention if they are coming up behind you and not moving over? This guy did move over and gave a long honk as he passed, but it was close enough that I was checking how much room I had to my right. Would waving my left arm have helped? I had two red blinkies going (probably not much help during the day) and wearing a bright yellow/green jacket and riding near the right wheel track.
Make sure you are taking enough of the lane so that he doesn't try to pass you in your lane. That is actually the worst... I try to stay right in the middle of the lane. I used to go for the right tire groove, but I found that even there it will let some cars think I'm yielding the lane.

If you want to retaliate for the honking, you could consider an Airzounds, but a thick skin is what you really need. Just try to ignore it.

What kind of blinkies? Some I've come up on aren't visible till you are too close. A good blinkie (I use Planet Bike Superflash Turbos) can be seen from a good distance even in brighjt sunlight. But nothing will work every time.

What kind of blinkies? Some I've come up on aren't visible till you are too close. A good blinkie (I use Planet Bike Superflash Turbos) can be seen from a good distance even in brighjt sunlight. But nothing will work every time.

Good points. Also make sure they are mounted properly. I.e. High enough...on the seatpost would be best. Also aimed well...not clipped onto a bag that's sagging thereby flashing more towards the ground.

Good points. Also make sure they are mounted properly. I.e. High enough...on the seatpost would be best. Also aimed well...not clipped onto a bag that's sagging thereby flashing more towards the ground.

Neither should they be pointed towards the sky. LEDs have a narrow visible angle; sometimes as little as 30 off center axis and you lose most of the light.

I also put a blinky on the back of my helmet which is closer to a truck driver's level than on a rear rack or seat post.

I don't think even airport landing lights wouldn't have made this motorist move over, sounds like a deliberate action taken by this particular motorist, and the horn honk was just an exclamation point to his statement.

Presenting a larger profile could help.

AWESOME!!!! An excuse to eat more pie :D

I don't think even airport landing lights wouldn't have made this motorist move over, sounds like a deliberate action taken by this particular motorist, and the horn honk was just an exclamation point to his statement.

I agree, this driver probably seen you just fine but wanted to "teach you a lesson" or "show you who's boss". When I see this behind me I move even farther left. Then as the JAM is just about to overtake me I'll move right into my buffer zone. Pedal On!

On my way home yesterday I was keeping an eye on traffic behind me and noticed a pickup truck coming up behind me and not moving over. I don't think the driver saw me till he got rather close. Any idea how to get drivers attention if they are coming up behind you and not moving over? This guy did move over and gave a long honk as he passed, but it was close enough that I was checking how much room I had to my right. Would waving my left arm have helped? I had two red blinkies going (probably not much help during the day) and wearing a bright yellow/green jacket and riding near the right wheel track.

If you haven't already, you can mount a powerful light on your helmet and
as you look back - doing a check; you could light up the offender(I mean
motorist) directly in the face to get their attention.

I have two blinkies, one on the seat post (Mars 3.0), and one on my backpack (Nathan clip on 'runners' light). They work good in the dark, even had coworkers comment how well they could see me. I'm planning on updating all my lights here soon. I also agree that one could be towing a carbon arc search light and someone would still claim they didn't see you!

I don't think even airport landing lights wouldn't have made this motorist move over, sounds like a deliberate action taken by this particular motorist, and the horn honk was just an exclamation point to his statement.Plus One on this and the comment from AlmostTrick, this guy knew you were there and wanted to teach you a lesson. The horn honk is the biggest clue.

my 2 cents....

The best you can do is wear hi-vis clothing, have a daytime visible tail light and ride defensively. If you haven't caught the driver's attention with that equipment and he isn't giving you room, be ready to bail.

my 2 cents....

The best you can do is wear hi-vis clothing, have a daytime visible tail light and ride defensively. If you haven't caught the driver's attention with that equipment and he isn't giving you room, be ready to bail.
Agreed. I would have been looking for driveway entrances/sidewalks etc. One thing this story brings out is the need for excellent mirrors so we can monitor drivers coming up behind us - Don't have a mirror? Go get one

The best you can do is use a mirror and a Dinotte tail light.
It is well worth the $120.

http://store.dinottelighting.com/dinotte-aa-powered-taillight-140r-aa-o-ring-mount-p5.aspx

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Lights/9000miles002Dinotteone.jpg

Reflective triangle on your bike and a safety vest should help. That's about as visible as it gets, if a driver can't see that then they shouldn't have a drivers licence and be operating a vehicle.

If he didn't see you then he wasn't looking far enough ahead I had that same thing happen to me a few times I have also had them cut in front of me just to make a right or left hand turn.

Reflective triangle on your bike and a safety vest should help. That's about as visible as it gets, if a driver can't see that then they shouldn't have a drivers licence and be operating a vehicle.

Agreed, last December as I was riding home I had a gal pull up alongside me in the left turn lane and say to me "You know you're hard to see, right?" The irony is that I was wearing a reflective vest and had two Cateye 3-LED blinkies going.

I'd like to know how I was "hard to see." But as has been noted we could be towing a carbon arc spotlight and motorists would still claim not to see us.

If he didn't see you then he wasn't looking far enough ahead I had that same thing happen to me a few times I have also had them cut in front of me just to make a right or left hand turn.

The move that they make that I don't understand is when they have to swoop around us and "race" us to the stop sign/red light.

The best you can do is use a mirror and a Dinotte tail light.
It is well worth the $120.


+1. Dinotte tail lights are expensive, but worth it. They are very visible from far away, even in bright sunlight.

Maybe a paintball gun mounted on the rear of the bike, pointing at the offenders.




j/k

Based upon what I see everyday, I think that going through intersections is the most dangerous part of cycling.
I've had too many close calls with red light runners.. and the only reason why I am still alive is because of extreme awerness of what's happening around me. You can have the best most expensive lights in the world, but they won't help you when somebody nails you running a red light. If a driver is not aware of an intersection with a red light,then they won't see you, no matter how much lights and reflective clothing you have.

Dinotte!!
After riding with a red rear and amber front for the past year I would not even think about riding without. Worth every $

Agreed, last December as I was riding home I had a gal pull up alongside me in the left turn lane and say to me "You know you're hard to see, right?" The irony is that I was wearing a reflective vest and had two Cateye 3-LED blinkies going.

I'd like to know how I was "hard to see." But as has been noted we could be towing a carbon arc spotlight and motorists would still claim not to see us.

What kind of vest are we talking about here and are these lights daytime visible? The only daytime visible light I'm aware of is the Dinotte. Maybe you aren't as visible as you think.

I had a guy almost take me out in broad daylight on a low speed street. I followed him to his condo just down the street and stood there and he never saw me behind his car. He was a real old guy and was struggling just to get out of the car and I thought saying something to him would do no good as he was in bad shape. One week later found out he died. I am sure he never saw me - scary to think you can be as visible as you want, but there are drivers out there that just don't see you.

Also, another time I just finished gassing up my Ducati (was waiting for someone that was riding with me to come out of the gas station) and was sitting with helmet on ready to go, but bike off. Was looking down for some reason and saw a truck fender under my right arm heading towards me (2 feet away). I looked up and yelled LOUD and the guy looked up from whatever he was unwrapping and jerked the wheel back to the right - missing me by about 6 inches. Friggin' IDIOTS. That would have been a bummer, ride thousands of miles in all types of weather, terrain, traffic, night and day - and get taken out in a gas station while I'm just sitting there!

I agree, this driver probably seen you just fine but wanted to "teach you a lesson" or "show you who's boss". When I see this behind me I move even farther left. Then as the JAM is just about to overtake me I'll move right into my buffer zone. Pedal On!

I do something similar. If I don't see them start to move over I wobble and move into the lane more. They usually scoot over to get around. Then I drop back to the tight right and straight line.

+1. Dinotte tail lights are expensive, but worth it. They are very visible from far away, even in bright sunlight.

Properly-aimed Cygolite Hotshot trumps it. $40. They're a good value. And for daytime, also go with the ANSI neon-lime outer layer, whether that's a jacket or a $5 vest or whatever. That color's hard to ignore in daytime.

Maybe a paintball gun mounted on the rear of the bike, pointing at the offenders.




j/k

I know you are, but I'd love to do that.

What kind of vest are we talking about here and are these lights daytime visible? The only daytime visible light I'm aware of is the Dinotte. Maybe you aren't as visible as you think.

It's a standard orange safety vest, it has LEDs in it, but the first one(s) or so have been burned out. They're Cateye TL-LD130-R (http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/TL-LD130-R/). I also have the Cateye TL-LD150-R (http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/TL-LD150-R/) taillight now.

This was just after sundown.

ANSI neon-lime outer layer, whether that's a jacket or a $5 vest or whatever. That color's hard to ignore in daytime.

An example of that is next time you're watching a professional ball game, look for the bright neon green shirts, it's the vendors. They stand out like a sore thumb. Orange or yellow won't do that.

Based upon what I see everyday, I think that going through intersections is the most dangerous part of cycling.
I've had too many close calls with red light runners.. and the only reason why I am still alive is because of extreme awerness of what's happening around me. You can have the best most expensive lights in the world, but they won't help you when somebody nails you running a red light. If a driver is not aware of an intersection with a red light,then they won't see you, no matter how much lights and reflective clothing you have.Agreed!! "Extreme Awareness" especially at intersections will keep us alive.

Cateye LD1000 on the seatpost and on the rack a home meade flasher. It uses a section taken from an old highway patrol rooftop flasher. It has forty amber LEDs. Overkill? Maybe. I use the ANSI lime green shirts and/or a vest with reflective stripes as well. Had close calls before I used the extra lights and safety colors.

What kind of vest are we talking about here and are these lights daytime visible? The only daytime visible light I'm aware of is the Dinotte. Maybe you aren't as visible as you think.
I've had coworkers and cyclists comment on how far away my PBSF Turbos are visible in flash mode even on sunny days. And seeing a cyclist going in and out of shadows on a sunny day while wearing a yellow safety vest is why I added one of those to my wardrobe. I was surprised how everything except the vest "disappeared" when he went into shadow. I will say the standard 3 or 5 LED blinkies are nearly worthless except in really dark conditions and then only if mounted properly.