It was one of those people who walk their dog early in the am down the road past my house. No light, no reflective clothing, dressed in black, even the dog was black. I was moving into the bike lane to let a car pass, and as I entered the bike lane, surprise there she was. After an oh, s#%t, I yelled at her to get a light. This is the third close call on this stretch of road. If I had brighter lights I would have seen her, if there wasn't a car I would never have seen her. moral of the story is I need better lights. At least then I can see them farther away and not be surprised. I'm thinking 3000 lumens what do you guys think?

I know people don't like the super-bright lights, but I gotta say they've been a revelation for me. The number of people wandering around the MUP in full darkness with nary a reflector or blinky to be seen is staggering, and when the inevitable accident occurs, I don't want to be a participant. I wear 3200 lumens (advertised, probably quite a bit less in reality) on my helmet now, and I can pick those ninja pedestrians out of the gloom at about 100 yards. I recommend it.

I run a dyno 3 watt headlight on the fork crown, a 1 watt LED on the axle, and another 1 watt helmet light. I aim them in a way that they light up a reasonable area in front of me but don't shine with high intensity into oncoming cars. I have to say that they are pretty much useless to spot pedestrians more than 25 ft in front of me; not enough for avoidance given my closing speed.

The thing that works for me best is to just anticipate that there will be a few on my path every morning and watch for clues to their presence. You can see their moving shadows in the street lamps or car headlights at considerable distance allowing you time to prepare for them. Occasionally you can get a tapetum flash from their pets, but that's often a possum, fox, or raccoon.

Hm, no... I think the moral of the story is that people shouldn't be walking (or running) in a bike lane, least of all when it's still dark out.

The OP can't change the other people. But they can get a better light.

3000 lumens is probably overkill. Half that should be sufficient, but many are less than advertised. I got one of these and it works great. Look for a US seller and you'll get it a lot faster.

This time of year.... there is hardly any daylight. Just a handful of hours in the middle of the day. It's a good time to review lighting needs in time to drop hints before Christmas (for some of us).

I hardly get to ride much at all in the winter months. But thanks for the reminder... I do need to check my bicycle lights.... because the weather may be favorable for cycling this weekend.

The one thing I don't like about helmet mounted lights is that it is tough to keep from blinding other trail users. I was ran off the trail twice in less than a mile stretch of a local MUP because oncoming fellow commuters had flame throwers mounted on their helmets. The second commuter's light was bright enough shining in my eyes I almost hit a bike ninja riding up the wrong side of the trail coming at me.

That's not a moral, that's reality. The op needs to deal with reality and getting better lighting is a sensible way to do that.

I share your frustration. Although there is only one short stretch of bike paths on my commute route, I frequently encounter joggers and walkers on the streets while riding to work. Most of the time, they are dressed in black with no lights or reflective gear, and often they have a dog on a leash.

One day this week, I came around a corner off a busy highway, and a pedestrian was starting across the street in my lane. I had to hit the brakes and swerve to avoid him. The guy has the nerve to tell me to "watch it" when he was jaywalking and crossing the street 20 feet away from a crosswalk. I am lit up with 2 headlights, 3 taillights and fluorescent yellow gear at the time. Seems like he should have been the one watching it.

Though I can't be certain, you seem to have misinterpreted my tongue-in-cheek comment as somehow being meant as literal advice to the OP. The point is that regardless of how many lumens their light produces, if they were to accidentally collide with some dingus walking their dog in a bike lane (on a road, not a MUP), in the dark, because they couldn't see said pedestrian, then it's not the OP who would be at fault. I was merely trying to point that out so they wouldn't feel guilty about not having "bright enough" lights. At least they had lights!

I do agree that reality can be a pain in the butt, and that, for safety's sake, we all have to be aware of the possibility of other people making stupid mistakes. It stinks, but c'est la vie. A good set of lights is certainly a must-have when riding at night, as are visible/reflective clothing or accessories. 3000 lumens seems pretty excessive, however, unless you're doing some nighttime mountain biking. I've found that a 500-700 lumen headlight works well enough for me (of course, YMMV). Then again, I once encountered a jogger running against traffic in the bike lane who refused to move the two feet over to the sidewalk even as I rode straight at them at speed, in the daytime, ringing my bell, waving and shouting, with headlight flashing, and cars immediately to my left, and they had the nerve to tell me to "watch out!" Sometimes, there's just nothing to be done about people being dumb...

IMO, pedestrians should always have right of way wherever they are and whatever they are doing. I believe it is always the responsibility of drivers and cyclists to not hit, injure, kill, and maim pedestrians even if this means cycling or driving far more slowly and cautiously. I vehemently favor making cyclists liable by default for any collision with a pedestrian.

In decades of cycling I have yet to shout at a pedestrian and I honestly can't recall the last time I almost hit a pedestrian. And this is coming from someone who routinely rides at high speeds in and around motor traffic while largely ignoring silly motorist-specific traffic laws. I will lay my bike down and take a hit to avoid a pedestrian that illegally jay walks. Why? Because in my view pedestrians should always have priority on our roads. Pedestrians are, in my view, far more entitled to the road than cyclists (just as cyclists are more entitled to the road than motorists). And if you disagree...well...you can kiss my pedestrian @#$.

Wherever? Whatever they are doing!?. Well, I'm not surprised you think so.

FYI- I was going slow, she wouldn't have been hurt to bad , me on the other hand......... I disagree with your comment, pedsetrians need to take some responsibility for their safety and the safety of others around them, just like a cyclist or a driver. Your nuts, if you take a hit from a car and you might not ever ride again but then that might be for the better.

I once had a ninja ped startle me as I was biking into Falls City. He was walking toward me, there's no road shoulder or sidewalk so he was in the correct location. I wasn't outrunning my sightline (My generator powered light advertises 400 lumens, usually enough) so while I was startled, I had time to move left and go around him. Had there been a car behind me making that move unsafe, I had time to stop without hitting him. We were both fine.

+100

Other road users are required to use lights (cars and bikes); if I'm walking my dogs on or near roads, I have lights and reflective gear - it just makes sense.

Lights - 700 lumina Nite Rider is my favorite, rarely use it on the 700 setting. NiteRiderLumina 700 - NiteRider

laying a bike down means crashing intentionally. taking a hit can mean hitting pavement.

and that's not an argument against my point since i also believe that peds should walk responsibly. peds pose little risk to anyone. cyclists and, to a greater extent, motorists pose risk to other people and should be held accountable for this increased risk. strict liability works well in europe and it's high time that we instituted some of these humanizing legal protections here in the usa.

So why the drama?

Maybe walkers should use helments and wear high viz clothing too! A safety flag back pack might not be a bad idea either.

Bwahahahahahahhahahaha! Bicycle drivers crack me up.

your humor fails me, but that could just be my day/week/month...

My point: When using the road at night, you must make yourself visible to other road users. For clarification, I live in suburbs without sidewalks, walking my dogs means walking on the roads.

Are you suggesting that people should go out for a jog at night on the roads in all black without any reflective elements? 'Cause if you are, please give it a try and post your results, assuming you can still type in the body cast ...

Sure. I and many others do this all the time.

Driving and cycling is a privilege. Walking is the default mode and should always be given legal and funding precedence. We need cities designed for human beings, not drivers (or bike drivers).


My sympathies. (It's actually been years since I set foot in one of those godforsaken places.)

I'm not going to get drawn into a senseless argument with you. I value my life and I dress and ride accordingly. If I get killed because a ped forced me into traffic and I get hit by a car I would hope the PED is held accountable.

Good day
mike

Enjoy your time in Shangri-La, I'm sure the weather is lovely this time of year.

And don't be a d-bag - I like where I live. Not all suburbs are created equal, neither are cities. Some cities totally suck as livable communities and some suburban areas great.

Have fun trolling it up, I'm outa here.

Well that's your prerogative but I'm not going to stop defending pedestrians from this kind of "othering". It's ironic that this happens on BF because motorists treat cyclists in the same manner: i did not see them; they came out of no where; were they wearing a helmet; did they have lights/hiviz/reflective bits etc.



This was probably the most amusing part of the OP. Should dogs also wear hi viz and safety lights? I'm not sure whether a dog helment would work but maybe some sort of dog body armor...

Since your being an a#% hole, I decided to reread your statements to fully understand were the hate comes from and based upon what you said its my responsibility to protect the PED (nice derogatory term for the people your defending). Since I'm liable for their injuries, I can up with a list of potential solutions to this issue:

1: get better lights
2: don't ride at night
3: don't ride at all

since Im stuck riding in the dark and I dont want to give up riding I decided to get a better light. I just ordered a 5000 lumen head lamp. Now I will be able to see the pedestrian with enough time to avoid them or drive them off the road either way they are safe. Thank you for enlightening me. Just do me a favor the next time you ditch because of a jay walker, thank him for me.

Mike

i'm a ped and i love peds...even the jaywalkers.