I was hit a few days after you. I was at night I was in a very well lit area at night didn't have my light. I was most of the way thru the intersection the driver cut the turn short across my lane and hit me almost head on. I was rushed to the emergency room with multiple injuries. And I got sited even thought he turned into me. Smh I'm fighting it. Drivers only look for cars had I been walking I would have got hit just the same.

So many people only look for cars, don't worry about cyclist, pedestrians, animals, things just laying in the road. Since my accident I have been in a vehicle driving down the road in the same direction as the driver who hit me, I can easily see at least a few hundred feet, I've had cyclist, a cat, and a pedestrian dressed in all black coming in my direction and noted them all even in poor weather conditions.

im sorry all of this happened to you.

Are you eating any reflective gear when you're riding? It might sound or look funny but wearing a reflective vest at night is a real cheap investment. My philosophy to commuting in the rain, snow, fog, night or early morning is to be lit up so if someone does hit me, I can ask them if the saw the big Christmas tree riding a bike.

Add me to the list, got nailed by a van trying to jump out into traffic. He's at the stop sign and I am crossing the intersection when I look left and get a face full of grill.

Minimum damage age to me besides tissue issue. Bike is gonna need some wheels. Just now beginning the claim filing.

Long time commuter, first time being hit.

keep safe out there !

If you switch to a recumbent you are more likely to be seen

Who wouldn't notice a cat dressed in all black? Probably on his way to one of his funerals.

This.

This youtube motorcycle safety video "SMIDSY" (sorry mate, I didn't see you!") covers the invisibility of motorcycles to a quick glance from the driver. It applies to bikes too.

Especially the part starting at 2:30 here. The motorcycle with lights and a safety vest is not that easy to see at a glance.

I got (lightly) hit a few years ago by a driver rolling slowly out of a parking lot entrance as I approached at about 8-10 mph up a grade. I think we were both moving about the same speed at 90 degrees, so I was in the same position in the driver's vision the whole time. And I wasn't watching the car, expecting it would stop at the end of the driveway.

Night visibility

I think bright headlights and taillights are the most important. At least 300-400 lumens on the headlight. And less light is needed on dark country roads, since your eyes adapt. In the city, you are competing with all the car headlights. The roads go bright and dark between streetlights, which also makes it harder to see and be seen.

And one of the brighter taillights. I like the Cygolite Hotshot 2W (my BF review). In bright mid-day sunlight, the blinking caught my eye when the rider was a few hundred yards ahead on a recent group ride. I have it aimed slightly downward and it makes a pool of red light on the road behind.

At REI: Jogalite Wide Leg Band. I have two.
Some of the local group riders have these reflective ankle bands. Reflective from all sides of the bike. They really show up at night, and the leg motion helps a lot. Very comfortable to wear too.

Of course, the car headlight has to reflect off these, so they don't fix the problem of cars pulling out from a side street. But they should "wake up" an overtaking driver or an approaching driver turning left across my path.

This is why I often feel safer taking the lane on my commute when there are no bike lanes. Drives tend to ignore things on the shoulder or off of the road. They see moving objects in their lane. I know they see me, because they flash their lights, move over to the other lane, and yell things as they pass.

I'll bet you haven't done this yourself. Recumbent tandems and velomobiles are the only recumbents that get this protection. The rest, the VAST majority (of the minority) of recumbents are considered very hard to see by drivers. Whether or not this is actually true, is of course open to debate, but drivers perceptions trump any objective scientific observations. It at least one account I have heard of, a judge refused to cite a motorist for killing the rider of a recumbent, because in his legal opinion no one should be out riding such contraptions in public. So that's what you're up against. Thought you (and others) should know.

I don't know... if drivers were flashing their lights and yelling things at me, I would wonder what I was doing wrong. Why is this not your reaction?

Any possible benefit of this is purely imaginary. There is only one light designed to be used this way. Yours is not that model. You are diminishing your safety by using the light in a manner contrary to its design. If that's what you want, fine, but it reads like you are promoting it as a practice others might like to follow.

It's a lost cause trying to fathom the logic of those who believe they're safer from inattentive drivers by being in their line of travel rather than off to the side of it in a bike lane or shoulder.

Drivers will see it better is the back light is aimed a little to the drivers side. I commute only in the dark and this has been my experience. I often ask drivers if they see my lights and how they reacted and if it was bright enough. But I do not go cheap on ANY of my lightening systems.

It's not my reaction because I know for a fact I'm not doing anything wrong. A motorist who might be annoyed but otherwise passes safely is worlds better than the inattentive motorist who doesn't see me, drifts over and takes me out.

It's a lost cause trying to fathom the logic of those who believe they're safer from inattentive drivers drifting off course be being off to the side, rather than having the best chance of being seen by even those distracted momentarily by being directly in the driver's line of sight.

Nearly all distracted motorists looking down at a phone, stereo, whatever, looks up every few seconds to at least check that they're still in the lane or make minor corrections. Those who don't drift off to the right. I've seen it plenty of times on both interstate highways and surface roads. They're distracted and start drifting off towards the shoulder, the curb, or even dropping off the pavement altogether. Would you like to be a cyclist right there when that happens? Not me. I don't want you to be over there either, because I don't want more people (especially cyclists) to die.

Because, I ignore the yelling of people who don't know what they are talking about.

They yell things such as:

• "Get a car!" (Not going to happen anytime soon.)
• "Ride on the sidewalk!" (Illegal where I live and unsafe.)
• "Get off the road!" (I hear this when I'm in left turn lane.)

I often think, but don't yell back:

• "Stop ruining the earth."
• "Learn how to drive."

I get yelled at when I'm in a bike lane (where they exist), on the shoulder (when they exist), or on the protected bike path as well. Bike commuting isn't accepted as a legitimate form of transportation where I live. It isn't as if I'm in the middle of the lane, but I'm not going to ride on the line on the edge of the lane when there is an abrupt transition from paved surface to mud. I'm a vehicle too, and I have every right to be on the road.

I rode around downtown Atlanta and surrounding areas for several days back in May, and I never had anyone yell at me, no one ever honked at me, nothing. I controlled the lane by default at all times.

Well except for the short distance I rode in the new 2-way monstrosity on Peachtree Center Ave. That thing was so bad I had to get in the travel lane for the remainder of the ride on that road.

On the contrary, I did indeed make the switch, and I did so mainly for purposes of safety. My primary commuting bike is now a two wheel recumbent - not a tandem or velomobile. I am far more seen than I ever was on my upright bike. I am given a lot more respect on the road than I ever was before. Close passes are a tenth of what they were before, and this without even using a safety flag.

I proved to myself that all vehicles on the road, small or large, are in fact seen but unfortunately taken for granted. A recumbent makes you stop and take notice, and with that comes the perk of a little bit of extra space. If at all recumbents become ubiquitous then I suspect that perk would vanish.

You would not be the first BF poster willing to bet their precious *** on junk science and anecdotal wisdom. Rock on. But know this. Even the makers of recumbents don't think they are safer from being hit than DF bicycles. That's why all come with the provision for mounting a flag. Any perceived increased "respect" from other road users is completely in your own mind. If you are ever hit, the driver is going to say they didn't see you. That's just what they say. Always. However, in your case, the judge and/or jury will believe them without ANY evidence being called into consideration. The driver that killed that recumbent rider was 84 and should probably not be driving. Nevertheless as a result of the judges ruling she is free to continue driving until she tries it again on a road user with more standing in the community than the rider of an ungainly 'contraption'.

He is far more seen and receives far fewer close passes when on the recumbent. But it's all in his head apparently, like he's imagining the whole thing. Yeah, sure thing buddy.

The people I've talked to about recumbents say they generally give them a lot of leeway because they're so weird and they have no idea what to make of them. I guess whatever works. I don't think they'd work for me because a lot of my route is over gravel which can be loose, potholed, washboarded, etc and my wheels can slip around a lot.

Anger.... is half of the fight or flight response. The accident was over and you had nothing to fear. No fear, no fight (anger).

Glad your OK!

This is incorrect. The idea that recumbents are less seen is a myth. Many recumbent manufacturers discuss the visibility issue on their webpages and say exactly what I've said, i.e. they are as visible, if not more, than regular bikes. Just do a google search. If you can't find anything I'll PM you links.

Other safety benefits:
1. Faster bike - better able to match motorist speeds more easily and hence reduce relative speed differences
2. Better rider position for looking forward - as opposed to looking down at your front tire all the time on a DF bike
3. Comfortable seat (for whatever that's worth)
4. In a head-on accident your head is further away from the point of impact and your legs would could do some damage mitigation. If you've got a crank, chainrings and heavy bits upfront that'll help do some shock absorption for you as well.

Ungainly?


Apologies if I've gone off topic.

'BentRider Onlineģ Blog Archive ģ RANS Alterra 29

There's a bent for everyone.

The other day, I was driving. As I sat at a light, I was looking at my right hand mirror, watching bikes pass me on my right. A recumbent went by, which I totally failed to see in the mirror, and didn't notice until he rode past my window.

Think about that. I was looking for bikes, and I didn't see him. He had a flag.

When the light changed, and I passed the line of bikes in the next block, the guy was pretty hard to see. he's lower than other cyclists, and just a totally unexpected thing.