djudy

A few days ago I had close call with a bus. I have to share this with you guys because ,we are all in similar situation(s). It was not a close call, in matter a fact,it was a hit. Two lane road plus separate traffic lane for right turners. One bus passed me (slow speed because of the queue) and another closing behind him. As firs one passed I sow another on mirror and was sure he noticed me, but few second after I was hit, my bike just gone under me and I hit the tarmac. I think at this time he noticed me and brake, his bumper pushed me little bit and stopped. I was thinking I am goner.
Driver later was telling me that he did not see me, he had been having sun mirrored to his eyes and I was in shadow .
I am buying front flashlight now. I will install it on back and use it night and day. Do everything to be noticed ,in this traffic conditions it is never enough.

mcours2006

Glad you're okay. Yeah, I'm of the mindset that you can never have too many lights, hi-viz, or reflective materials.

highrpm

Well I'm glad you're OK. It's a crazy story!

Excellent idea on the front light.

mcours2006

I'm curious if that even legal.

djudy

I don't know is it legal here, but nobody care about bicycles here anyway

spivonious

Wait, so you were in the same lane as the bus and he hit you from behind? I hope you reported the incident to the bus company and the police. A driver who can't see things in front of him shouldn't be on the road.

downwinded

Glad you're ok. That could have been much worse! Get a hotshot and flash baby flash!!!

rumrunn6

yup busses and trucks are killers for sure. avoid them at all costs. glad you are OK

PatrickGSR94

So, you were in the regular traffic lane going straight, and the bus passed you on the left in the oncoming lane, correct? You were not in the right-turn-only lane? Or were you?

hooCycles

Sorry mate, I didn't see you...

or whatever you'd say in Croatia

I'd like to see a diagram. Make it on MS Paint. It doesn't have to be museum-worthy.

Dave Cutter

I hope you and your bike are OK. I hope the light(s) work out for you. I have a couple blinkys I sometimes use. Any route taken to and from anywhere, morning and evening, runs a decent chance of sunrise-sunset problems a couple times a year.

People who drive long distances to and from work.... particularly driving east in the morning and west in the evening are painfully aware of sun problems. But often times city commuters can forget about how the changing season (and position of the sun) really makes big changes in the driving/cycling risks. I've been hit at a traffic-light myself due to sun-blindness from a driver behind me. Fortunately... I was driving a truck at the time.

I refuse to bicycle into the sun. The reason being is that even a competent professional driver can easily miss me. So sometimes in the late summer/early fall I alter my cycling routes. Sometimes that means stopping for a nice coffee. Other times it means zig-zagging my way home and riding primarily through well shaded (with trees) residential areas where the sun isn't such a problem. And... because I am retired it means doing yard work (or something else) during the low but strong sun evening periods.

vol

Thanks for sharing your experience. Why would you use front flashlight (white color?) for the back, and not red taillights?

CliffordK

There are some extremely bright flashing taillights designed for daylight use (please dim them at night).

I'm still a bit confused about where the rider was with respect to the rest of the traffic moving around him. Usually a vehicle can see the one in front of themselves pull around bikes or pedestrians.

I try to stay as far right as possible, but turn lanes can cause problems.

kickstart

I was wondering that myself. Using lights in a manner opposite of their normal position could cause confusion.

joeyduck

A bright light rear facing is an awful idea. It can blind motorists/fellow cyclist behind you, that's fun personal experience of being blinded by the light.

It is deceiving to approaching traffic; here's what I think that they might think: oh look a really bright headlight, it must be a car with one light of so I'll move more right.

It's a bad idea. The only time I think it's acceptable is if your taillight is out and you have no other option.

djudy

Ok ,this is approximate positions sketch.

I know what some people say about about confusing people with white light ,I might use it for a day time.But you should know that here drivers are racers and anything irregular is possibly getting them out of "Shumacher" mode.
And thanks everyone for opinion.

Tundra_Man 

The closest call I've ever had was when I nearly got run over by the para-transit bus. Years later the irony still amuses me even though the incident doesn't.

PatrickGSR94

So it happened where a new lane appears on the right, where there was none before, that lane being a RTOL and the next lane allowing either straight or right movements.

I know traffic and driver behavior is different in different parts of the world. But in that scenario in my area, I would have been in the middle of the right lane, which becomes the second lane. That way the first bus would have to either wait behind you to get to the RTOL, or pass you in the left lane then move back over to the RTOL (much safer to wait for the RTOL). Then the 2nd bus driver would have seen you earlier and possibly been able to brake sooner.

When dealing with large vehicles like buses you really have to be towards the left side of the lane to ensure that the bus drivers can see you.

myzamboni

I had almost weekly encounters with the Google busses on my commute (I go right past part of their campus on my commute). Over time I've had 'conversations' with some of the drivers (I catch them at the stops), and word must have gone out to warn the drivers of unhappy cyclists on this section of the commute.

Jim from Boston

Bus close call

FWIW, just his week I posted to another thread about a crash,

@rumrunn6, as a fellow Metro Boston subscriber may be aware that in the past couple years in the vicinity of my neighborhood of Kenmore Square and Boston University, there have been at least two cycling fatalities between large vehicles, buses and trucks, making wide right turns. Avoid the righr side of large vehicles at all costs, and don’t get pinned in.

kickstart

That's not entirely correct, when directly in front of the driver a cyclist is presenting their smallest profile. In low light levels the headlights of incoming traffic can effectively obscure a cyclist in that position.

That's coming from 25+ years experience of driving semis.

PatrickGSR94

All the more reason to run bright flashing lights, or pulsating lights (not flashing) in low light conditions.

kickstart

With the intensity of the tail lights on many cars, and the natural tendency to look away from oncoming headlights, it doesn't make much of a diffence. Away from oncoming lights and lots of reflective material make the biggest difference to someone in the cab of a truck.

rumrunn6

on Comm Ave Boston I right the left lane cuz the busses are in and out of that right lane and right shoulder not to mention all the parked cars. they even put in a left side bike lane closer to the Public Gardens

justadude

thanks for sharing your story, because now I will use the blinking lights near sunrise / sunset and not only in low-light conditions or night