A near miss tonight
 

I was going along in the middle of the city commanding the lane, maybe going 15mph or so with cars all around passing me at times. A car coming in the opposite direction decides to take a left turn and cut right in front of me narrowly missing me by about 2ft. I hit the brakes hard when I saw the car proceed to make that turn and locked it up with the studs scratching away at the ice until I came to a stop just in time. I noticed the vehicle pulled into a gas station and I know we shouldn't confront people but I just thought I had to let him/her know what they did. I approached and this guy rolled down his window and I asked him if he saw me back there when he made the turn. He said no and I explained that he almost hit me and he apologized several times stating that he just did not see me at all. I had lights on, helmet light on, reflectors in front and on wheels, high visibility safety reflective vest and other reflective parts on my tights and boots. I asked him to please pay attention and be careful and have a good night. He apologized again. I really believe he didn't see me. I am starting to think drivers do not notice us with general lighting and reflectors with all the other lights of cars and everything else around. What do you guys think about a taillight blinky up front? Other than that, I am proposing to install another high intensity LED light in strobe mode adjusted straight ahead about eye level to drivers and I think that would get their attention.

For your helmet

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10000911/1189403

Glad it was only a close call. I have had a few cases where drivers clearly didn't see me and I have had to stop, etc. Happened the other night at a 4 way stop. I started to go through intersection when a car that got there after me started to go as well. In this case I was just accelerating so stopping was easy, but the drive clearly didn't see me till the last second when she looked genuinely shocked/sorry. I had a bright light up front on solid plus a solid light on my helmet.

I am realizing most drivers don't seem to be LOOKING for bikes so even with all the things we do to be noticeable its not registering all the time.

I am not sure about a tail light blinky up front...could be confusing as to which way you are going to drivers. While I hate bright flashing white lights up front, particularly when dark, I am starting to think they might be one of the best ways to get a drivers attention if they aren't thinking about looking for bikes. I may start using a brighter one to supplement my solid headlight on my handlebars and helmet, or make my helmet light blink.

Took a Motorcycle Safety Foundation riders course and the instructor made the comment that the driver who ran over the motorcyclist and says "I didn't see him." is the same driver who hits a school bus and utters the same thing. The instructor was also a Boise Motorcycle policeman of many years. All the lights in the world are not going to help in the end when the steering wheel actuator has inferior programming and limited response outputs. As I found out the other day when a driver cut me off and I had my re-purposed 4 inch led aircraft taxi light on.
Justin

Someone else posted this video a while back, but I think it's pertinent to your near miss:

One more in a very long list of examples of why I mostly ride only on paths and cycletracks and push to get more segregated cycleways installed.

Yes, add a flasher and an Airzound air horn! But even when I'm driving I encounter other drivers who seem oblivious to other cars and trucks, too.

I think you nailed it. I was in the car with my wife driving and we came across a jogger with a reflective vest and a head lamp. I saw him right away. My wife saw the light but wasn't able to distinguish it from the oncoming cars farther up the road and only realized it was a jogger once we got about 100 feet away.

A blinking light may have helped in this case, but it's no guarantee that drivers will see you.

I'm glad you were able to stop in time to avoid a collision

Under certain circumstances, it can be very difficult to distinguish a cyclist (or pedestrian), especially if it's in a "busy" environment. A good example is a well lit urban road within a shopping district, especially during the Christmas holidays where you have light pollution from storefronts and roadside decorations.

On quieter urban settings, I always prefer to have steady AND flashing lights on both ends of the bicycle. The flashing light should get the attention of the driver and the steady (bright) light will be a constant point of reference which helps the driver judge the distance (in theory).

I posted the video above because in dangerous situations, I've noticed that it helps to have a larger frontal profile through weaving, but I do understand that in your case it would have been difficult because of the icy road conditions.

I think I see all the cyclists when I'm out in my car since every time I'm in my car I'm thinking about how much I wish I was riding my bike.

Yeah, I you are right. I am still thinking about a strobe up front pointed directly forward which should certainly grab most drivers attention.

That doesn't count! :thumb:
Sometimes i catch myself looking over nice bicycles at red lights, which seems to get mixed reactions from the cyclist! :p

I bought a super bright Serfas light (250 lumens?) for illuminating my way at night. I bought it more for some dark roads, but I find it's bright enough - definitely much more so than a typical bike light - that it does seem to make a difference for oncoming traffic. Mind you, it does cost 6X the regular light...

On the other hand, it was in broad daylight on a clear, calm afternoon with little traffic, I was wearing a bright yellow reflective jacket, had the right of way on a residential road, and a car still couldn't see me and nearly cut across the road in front of me from a side street, and only stopped when the driver saw me about 8 metres away. Go figure.

Nice video. I learned a few things: will have to review it again in more detail.

Good job on the evasive action, and I'm glad it was a miss.

The taillight in front doesn't immediately strike me as a good idea. The red color could cause confusion or indecision in intersections, which is contrary to what you want. I'd stick with white. Or perhaps a different non-red color if that is legal in your area.

I know it can be hard, but try not to let it rattle you to the point that it is distracting your current ride. Learn what you can, make any appropriate changes to your ride, but keep your concentration 100% on the current ride when you're on the road.

Again, good job on the evasive action.

I run 300 lumens on the helmet, 300 lumens on the bar blinking and 1000 on the bars steady, what is your setup? I find my helmet light very effective at getting drivers to notice you.

350 lumens on the bars, 250 lumens on the helmet. Several reflectors and all the reflective clothing.

Thanks, for the comments. I think I will get another light, around 700 lumens for my bars and set the present one on strobe and adjust it pointed straight ahead.

Another thought on the left hook. I find that cars can see you better if you get some space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

A big part of it is always being alert and watching out for those who might make stupid moves like this. If I'm riding along and see a car trying to pull out from the right, or in the center lane oncoming trying to turn left, I pay CLOSE attention to them as I get closer to make sure they don't try to pull out in front of me, or so I can get on the brakes quick if need be.

my guess ... he saw you, he just thought he could beat you to the turn. afterwards he regretted how close a call it was for you. motorists don't understand certain things like our speed and he couldn't imagine having to stop and wait for you to pass before turning. we don't warrant the same respect as cars (in their eyes). adding the strobe is a good move! it will cause drivers to think about you a little bit more.

I tend to check out other bikes and the gear cyclists have all the time. My wife must think I am looking at the cyclist and I am sure I will get in trouble soon.

Ditto. He may well have hit you if he really didn't see you.

Helmet lights are often too high to be noticed.

Nice video.

When I was riding a motorized two wheeler, I liked to move around in the lane to attract attention, rather than being a static object from the viewpoint of the drivers. On a bicycle, you usually have less ability to do this, but it is a good idea when possible. I think the helmet light is sort of a substitute, instead of weaving the whole bike, you weave (wave) your light, including across the driver's windshield. If you're 50 or 100 ft away and have a sane light (a few hundred lumens) you won't "blind" anyone.

I am in Singapore and had a similar encounter, but the driver saw me and tried his luck to get ahead. We don't get any ice so the situation was not so perilous. Also we drive on the left hand side of the road. Here is a video of what happened:


That's an Airzound horn you hear btw - it was mentioned earlier on this thread.

I wear a hi-vis vest and quite powerful Niteflux lights, as demonstrated here:


I think that there are drivers who see but don't really comprehend that the object in their vision is a cyclist. I think some drivers just look out for the large steady lights of vehicles and pass over everything else. On this basis the safest approach is to make like a vehicle as much as possible. Maybe steady bright lights are the way to go, sort of like a motorbike.

Maybe also it's a good idea to consider bicycles that look different, like a recumbent. I may buy one of these. A tad bit expensive though.