Bushman

You know when your driving or cycling in the city and you see the red and blues of police lights reflecting inthe road signs way down the road? ever notice how even though you might not see the actual police/fire/EMS vehicles, that you or other motorists instinctively slow down?

Ok...now put on your Dinotte taillight on strobe, and look behind you . The city signs LIGHT UP (reflect) just like they do with Emergency lights. Now look at traffic coming towards you (from the front). even though they cannot see you tail light per se, they can see a gazzliion road signs reflecting the red strobe light, and they slow down....

tsl

Works with their headlights too.

gear

I find the lights from police/fire/EMS vehicles to be so impolite.

2manybikes

That happens with lots of good tailights. From a distance behind, motorists can see it reflecting off of trees and houses etc. Have someone ride your bike and ride behind them, even a lesser light will do that.
It depends on how much ambient light there is where you do it too.

rule

Yup...along my commute route that's the way that it works a lot too.

wrafl

And most traffic sign as well as any reflective material will reflect the light specially when it's on strobe mode.

Bushman

????

anyways, me thinks we should get a royalty from the insurance people, for making people slow down

gear

I just thought I'd add that for the people who have stated that pointing a tail light at a driver is impolite.

Bushman

ah. I think you and i can agree to disagree. I personally think the EMS vehicle lights and sirens should be even brighter and the sirens WAAAY louder, to wake up the inattentive drivers that are soundproofed in their cars, with their boomboxes thump thumping away.

gear

We don't disagree. I just can't believe some riders are more concerned with politenes than their saftey so they eschew pointing a light towards a driver. I was being sarcastic about it (hence the rolling eyes).

I have noticed the politeness camp seem to be living in Europe and when I traveled (and rode) in Europe I felt there was much more concern for riders' safety (by drivers) than I have experianced here, so maybe that explains the concern for the drivers on the part of the European riders. They get respect so they give it back.

Bushman

my mistake

Cyclist0383

As this is directed at me, I'll state that intentionally pointing a 140 lumen light directly in the eyes of drivers is rude and dangerous. Blinded drivers equal dangerous drivers.

Having a flashing light light that isn't aimed with the intention of blinding drivers is a great idea. I do it myself.

It has nothing to do with geography. I live in a country with extremely aggressive drivers and the highest road death rate in Europe, and one of the highest in the world. I also was born and raised in the States, so I'm well familiar with commuting there too.

I don't want some pensioner, drunk, or distracted driver being blinded by my taillight and running me over. Period.

You seem to want drivers to respect you, but you seem the only way to get respect is through being aggressive, just like the drivers you so despise. You can make yourself noticed with a bright light without being confrontational. You get back what you give out.

Bushman

Ok now i will COMPLETELY disagree. If anything, the effect of aiming my Dinotte (or Nightsun with twin 35 watt bulbs and red lens) 90 degree vertical and straight back, has resulted in motorists, truckers and buses to CHANGE lanes WELL before they come up behind me. Its almost like a buffer zone 40 feet back and 10 feet out to my left (or right if i'm in the left side of a One Way).

Night after night after night i get this as i ride.

I even got a friend to ride my bike on a deserted road and i drove up from a KM away. The light (on strobe) was VERY visible, but NOT in any way dangerous, i could CLEARLY see the road, my buddy, and thats with CRAPPY old style rectangular headlights .....

Cyclist0383

Do you ride in urban city traffic or outside the city? My comments were for city traffic where there isn't an open lane to quickly more over into. If you are on a county road without a steady stream of cars it's a totally different matter.

Also, the comment that started this whole whoo-ha was this one in which a poster wanted to blind drivers.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...11#post5069711

Not cool at all.

Bushman

Both (freeway, rural, logging and city roads). 99.9% of the roads int he city here are dual lanes, with plenty of room to move over into the next lane.

Cyclist0383

Not so here, it's bumper to bumper or very narrow single lane roads with fast traffic in both lanes.

Scorer75

I guess it's more geography than anything else but I live in NY and I don't get this whole search for mutual respect thing.

THERE IS NO RESPECT FOR RIDERS HERE, PERIOD. Every car treats you like a nuisance that is keeping them from their couch and TV dinner for an extra 30 seconds.

To me it's about being on the defensive and doing everything possible to MAKE SURE to the best of my ability I am seen. If I felt I was safer by putting anything short of a laser on the back of my bike, I would do it.

Cyclist0383

Are you a cretin to cyclists when you drive? Is your/spouse/mother/father/son/daughter/friend a cretin when they drive too?

If you don't understand the concept of mutual respect for your fellow citizens I truly pity you.

Scorer75

No, I am very respectful of riders, but I am part of the .0000000001 percent of the population that is that way.

Have you been to NY? If not, come visit sometime, I bet your feelings will be different when you leave.

I do understand the concept of mutual respect, but when I am on a bike, every car is a potential threat to me, that's how I ride.

Bushman

allright, back on topic " the reflective "slow cars down" quality off of road signs, of high powered bike blinkies"

thank you.

Cyclist0383

You aren't as special as you think you are concerning driving. If drivers were nearly as bad as you say we'd all be dead or seriously injured.

I've been to New York plenty of times. In fact I have friends from NYC who will drive there with no problems but are afraid to drive here in Riga do to the aggressive drivers.

CameraMan

This light has completely changed my attitude to winter commuting.
The Dinotte tail light projects a visible force field and forces drives to pay attention.
I was so astounded by the change in drivers behavior - I smiled all the way home on the first night I tried it.


Another 'phenomena' is running 2 of their 3W front lights, spaced apart, in flash mode - the non-synchronised left-right flashing is superbly attention grabbing, especially when reflecting off signs (and more even more so when coupled with a flashing tail light ).

This year I've just ordered a pair of the 200 lumen fronts to run as beams - I think I will also keep using the older ones as flashers :-)

gear

I started using the Dinotte this past spring and noticed the buffer zone thing too. I talked with a couple of drivers who regularly come up from behind me; both said they see me better; and one told me he sees me with enough time to change course now (I was using two Cateye T-1000 lights before). I think we were overestimating the usefullness of blinkies. They are bright when you are close but the Dinotte is bright from a distance and thats' what makes the difference.

Having said all that, I still like the Lupine headlight best. I went from the Hallogen Passibuio to the newest (LED) Wilma. I never thought a LED headlight would be powerful enough but the Wilma is amazing. I can't imagine what the new Betty must be like.

mulchie

works for me...

Bushman

I think i just wept a little, that is so beautiful....