CB HI

So I had to hit you.
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canklecat

Good grief. Good enough reason for the Mercedes driver to be sentenced to a year of taking the bus, a cab, walking or riding a bicycle.

B. Carfree

I guess the motorist never heard of the 1/r^2 rule. If the light is too bright for your comfort, back off and it will be less bright in a hurry. Double the distance and the light is only one-fourth as bright, kind of like that driver's intelligence.

CliffordK

What is going on with those lane markers? Painted by a drunken sailor?

A daylight light during the day/dusk? Hmmm....

I have followed super bright flashing lights after dark and they are extremely annoying. They need some option to dim them to about the output of an ordinary vehicle taillight.

But... for daylight riding lights before sunset... bright is good.

CB HI

They indicate you are approaching a pedestrian crossing. Used in EU and even in Hilo, Hawaii.


It is a bicycle light. Have you not insisted cyclist are the ones responsible for ensuring they are seen. Now again you take the motorist side and blame the cyclist.

As B. Carfree notes, back off a little and the light gets much dimmer by the inverse square law of your distance from the light. Not really that hard to figure out.
Properties of Stars
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Cyclist0084

I guess for some it really is hard to figure out.

genec

OK so the motorist is an absolute idiot... "can't see" Uh, back off jack! I mean sheesh.

But consider the cyclist for just a minute... 3 cameras... is this really what we need to be able to cycle in traffic these days? Oy!

I guess that is what it takes if we have to deal with that class of driver, eh.

Worknomore

Something about Mercedes drivers??
Probably the same guy who ran over Social Unrest.

genec

May not be a Mercedes thing... could just be an ah*le thing... the guy appears to be jockeying for position just prior to coming up behind the cyclist... that in my book is a sure sign of an idiot at the wheel... the guy that changes lanes twice to get back to his own lane due to impatience.

Whenever I see someone on the road change lanes, then change back, then change lanes again... it's a sure sign that they perceive their road needs as greater than everyone else.

Cyclist0108

deleted by mod

catgita

Yes, tail lights can be too bright, especially at night. No, it is not an excuse: you hit someone, it is your fault.

CliffordK

That certainly didn't appear to be much of a bump.

Sometimes one has to wonder if the video was actually a setup, with plants as actors.

As I noted, it appeared to be bright enough out that it would be difficult to blind someone with the strobe. Although, it had to be quite bright as it was reflecting off of the vehicle during the daylight.

When I was in school, we had a strobe light in science class. Whew... Anyway, it is actually possible to get too bright.

genec

But the "solution" is NEVER to simply keep going... and hit whatever it is that one cannot see. This is like being "sunblinded" so you step on the gas... clearly not the right solution.

The number one rule for drivers is DO NOT HIT WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. And this driver violated it.

CliffordK

True, something is odd about the whole encounter.

But I've also had bumper taps when driving. You'd think someone could see a pickup in front of them. But, no damage, no foul. & keep going.

genec

Apparently that slow speed rear end collision is quite common... folks just don't pay attention.

canklecat

It's a bit worse than a tap, no damage, no foul instance. The driver took off without stopping to ensure the cyclist wasn't injured, to exchange identification, insurance as necessary, etc. In most of the US that's a crime. While it isn't necessary to call the police for non-injury accidents it is required to stop and exchange information. Leaving without doing so is a crime.

One should never assume that a "tap" is harmless to a bicyclist, motorcyclist or even another vehicle driver. A neck injury could result but the effects may not be immediately apparent. Some people may experience symptoms of shock and dizziness -- not everyone reacts with the same alertness and justifiable anger as the cyclist shown in this video. It's always more considerate, responsible, and often legally required, to stop and assess the situation and render aid or call for medical help if appropriate. But just taking off without doing so is simply fleeing responsibility.

FBinNY 

The too bright excuse might (MIGHT) have some validity if the driver had moved over and hit something to the side of the bicyclist. In that case, he might argue, maybe even rightfully (strictly a possibility, not necessarily a valid excuse) that the bright light obscured the surrounding area.

However, hitting the light itself, or even pulling close and misranging the rear wheel, which may be what happened, isn't excusable. I might buy it if the light had been on a seat post of a bike pulling a trailer, but it's ridiculous in this instance.

I'll venture that the car might have "parking assist" or whatever they call it and the driver is used to creeping up to cars in front of him until the alarm sounds. The collision detector might have read the cyclist, and not the rear wheel itself which is why it didn't alarm.

Of course, none of this excuses the driver, who's bound by the simple rule of being responsible for his front end.

So, IMO, this is a simple case of driver error, and need not be a jumping off point to argue about lighting.

TenSpeedV2

Get brighter lights - drivers can't see you.
Your lights are too bright - driver hits cyclist.

Oh the world in which we live in.....

Moe Zhoost

Just the excuse - not the real reason

Daniel4

Bicycle tail lights should be mounted in pairs four to five feet apart horizontally.

B. Carfree

Yeah, I got the feeling that the driver either hit the bike on purpose and only half-apologized because he was surprised to be called out, or he was distracted by his hand-held vibrator and made up the blinded by the light excuse. I'm leaning towards the former because of the low speed and the fact that the car stopped instantly upon impact.

FBinNY 

I give the driver slightly more credit than you do, not that it makes a difference.

Fender taps while waiting for lights are very common. Folks relax the pedal pressure and the autotrans pulls the car forward until "bump". So, IMO this was just one of those, all too common, lapses.

As for the light. I suspect that the light had nothing to do with the event, but had been bugging the driver, and he took the opportunity to lash out when given one.

CB HI

It was pretty clear that the driver blaming the binkie light was stupid. I know I should not have been, especially in A&S, that some actually supported the idea.

But I do think the driver will make the top 20 list for stupid driver excuses.

Chris0516

Bike lights, are not brighter than vehicle lights. The motorist is just making an excuse for rear-ending the cyclist.

79pmooney

If this happened in many states of the US, seems to me you could have some fun and press charges of hit and run. That driver's license is very visible. There is full documentation.

Ben