Also an accident.
 

I was riding last night and I was leaving the bank and driving across 2 lanes, then a median (that had a break in it( and then turning left into the flow of traffic. So I did and I left the eclipse coming up on me plenty of room to 1. slow down or 2. go around me. I had my HID on and my tail light on flashing mode. The eclipse proceeded to slow down and just stick behind me and then out of nowhere *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECH* the car behind him did not realize he had slowed down, the eclipse was a few feet from my back tire, I was just waiting for the THUD! Luckily nothing happened....I think I'm going to add another BRIGHTER blinker so it is better viewable further back.

Scary! It makes me want to wear a flashing light on my head.

Bah! I've determined that I'm going to use my original flasher on my pack, my new cateye my dad just got me on my seatpost as a solid , and then a TDL1000 or w/e, the stupidly bright one as a flasher on my seatpost also.

Go for it !!

Don’t think an extra light will help you out (unless it's brighter). If the guy wasn’t able to see one he’s not stopping for 2. Sounds like someone was sleeping at the wheel to me.

That's not a bad Idea, I might see if I can rig one to the back of my helmet.

like this? :D just did it

It's not how visible you were on the bike. This could have happened even if you were driving a car instead of bicycle. About 6 month ago, I was rear ended by another car at the intersection where I was making left turn at green light, I stopped because I saw a person walking on a cross walk. The guy behind me wasn't paying attention or something, then boom. In your case, it didn't matter the driver saw you or not, he wasn't 1)paying attention to the car in front of him possibly busy talking on the phone or, or 2)keeping safe distance. Maybe both.

That's true...but there is a chance that if I had been lit up like a xmas tree he would have seen me way before I merged in...I figure dropping 30 bucks on another tail light and possibly making more visible can't hurt.

Do you also wear a safety vest?? Why throw $30 buck at yet another dinky assed blinky light**********??

Safety vest's work,mate, they really do.

I agree.this is probably how a lot of riders feel.

The way I think about is like this...There is a good chance that driver did something very wrong like fell asleep or was drinking etc... Agreed, very likely. However there is almost nothing you can do about that scenario, it's (mainly) out of your control.

But, you do have a lot of control how your bike looks to cars coming up on you. So, you work on what you can conrtol and not what you can't control. So why not light up the bike? It must stack the odds in your favor in some situations.

I wear all black on my black bike, that way the cars can't see me therefore they cannot hit me.

Just activate the cloaking device and they.....oops.....wrong forum, sorry. ;)

Actually my rain suit is completely black, which does decrease my visibility, but hopefully the blinkers will help, I am also going to get some reflective tape for my seatstays

... something I've already done.. it looks like crap, but it adds visibility since it's reflective. Plus I have reflective tape on my helmet and of course my blinky. I've not gone so far as to wear a safety vest yet, though.

Amazing!!!!!! There is a PROVEN product on the market that has been
shown to save lives and people here are more worried about making
a fashion statement!!!!!!!!!

So if this ticks you off, sorry. If just one person decides to start
wearing a SAFETY VEST because of it and lives another day
it's worth it.

Did any one say I refuse to wear a safety vest? I always wear a bright yellow jacket with reflective tape on it I am very visible. Sometimes I wear an orange vest. I analyze my visibility carefully.

I have top of the line taillights too. If a safety vest is good, is the taillight not worth it in some way?

How is putting reflective tape and red lights on a bicycle, a fashion statement?

Please show me the proof about the safety vests, it's very interesting. I think posting real statistics is always more effective that saying "it's proven".

Is this study done on safety vests on cyclists, or pedestrians or people working in the street? You should share this so others will be convinced !!

If it was the car behind the Eclipse then how would an extra light have stopped this situation from happening? I'm not certain an extra light would have helped.

Off topic: I have a couple of question for the Knoxville folks. I perceive TN to have a higher percentage of rednecks than say a more Northern city, so I'm wondering if you get a lot of harrassment and if it seems to come from a particular type of vehicle? I suppose with the University being in town the population mindset is probably not like the average TN city but I would still think that you get harrassed a lot more than I do here in Cincy.

personally soda I like knoxville ALOT better. Rednecks ride their dirt bikes, four wheels, etc. They don't mind a bike being on the road. It's the rich snobby *******s most of the time who raise hell. As far as more rednecks...not really. Minnesota had more "rednecks" than Knoxville. And Ohio I cannot stand... Ohio is a crime state out the ying yang.

I had a blinkie zip tied onto my helmet earlier this fall but after about 6 weeks, the tie broke dumping my light onto the road behind me. I looked back just in time to see the little blinker get flattened by a truck. I think the tie was defective to break so soon but a 2nd zip tie would have been cheap insurance. Don

First, I mentioned no names. Second, safety vest are REQUIRED equipment for: traffic cops, EMT'S, hiway
workers, crossing guards, and many other public employees that are in the same danger of getting hit
by some brain dead vehicle driver........just as bicyclist are.

If you use both a vest and lights then you are doing all you can to help drivers see you. My concern is
the younger set (and some stubborn older idiots) who seem to think that drivers see them because
they "are there". The younger folk's are still bound , to a large measure, to what their peers think of
as fashion wear with little or no regard for real personal safety gear. They get hit as a result of relying
completely on dinky assed blinky lights or nothing at all. Bicycles are not toys when ridden for
transportation but some riders carry over the toy mentality of their childhood when they ride as an
adult.

I, personally, would welcome laws that require vest's , helmet's, lights and testing for bicycles used
for transportation & utility because in those roles they serve as vehilces the same as car,trucks, busses.

OK, I did not understand what you mean about fashion statement. That was my mistake. I really did not think about younger people who do really do exactly what you say. I really do agree with everything you just posted, I just did not understand. Sorry.

I do think anything reflective is an aid to safety. I am a always thinking about a way to get others to use safer equipment and also to ride in a safer manner. For both points, I find that I am convinced by looking at statistics, instead of someone telling me it's better. I think if there is some way to show others statistics that show how something was tested and shown to be safe it may make more believers.
I am reading about the statistics that show it is safer to ride in the street correctly right now, and it is a way to make me a believer. The odds are better. Are there any study's or anything on the internet that you know about, that help support the safety vest ? If I did disagree with you (I don't) that would probably convince me to agree with you on the vest.

I've not done a study of the numbers for vest as I see no need to when you consider
that the reseach has already been done by state & government agencies prior to
spending of state/govenment funds on safety vest. They would not buy a product
that didn't work at least a little bit due to the legal repercussions of requiring
this type of safety equipment.

Like I said, If I can convince just one person to wear a safety vest while riding
so they can live another day then my efforts will be a success. I'm very
dissapointed that there is so much "Poo-Poo"ing of the real measurable
value these vest have here among people who should be adult enough
to know better. I am amazed at the distance drivers put between me
and them now that I wear a safety vest. Amazed!! Ain't no damn
blinky light any better or as effective.

Just another thought about vests. I ride across a two lane huge suspension bridge most of the time when I go for a ride. I usually come back over it after dark. There is room to ride a bike safely next to a car, but no way to allow extra room if a car is too close. I was riding across one night and a cyclist was going the other way. As we were about side by side I looked over at him. A car was coming and the lights were on him. He had no lights at all. He had a safety vest, bike reflectors, reflective ankle and arm straps and possibly some on his helmet too. I remember thinking WOW that guy is bright! I think I have seen him during the day. He uses his bike as transportation, I think he has no car. He has no worries about buying batteries either. The gear he has is not expensive and will almost never wear out. It was incredibly good, I was amazed. I wish I had a picture to post, it might make a few new vest wearers. Also he was clearly a rider on a bicycle too, no confusion about what he was.

If you have not seen the newest brightest LED taillights you may be surprised. I have a couple that are MUCH brighter than car or truck taillights. They are much more visible 1/2 mile away than a car. They stand out in traffic among the car taillights from 1/2 mile away. They are very bright during the day too. They help drivers give me more room during the day than anything reflective that I have tried yet.
But only the newest and the best are that good, there are many LED taillights that I consider almost useless. Unfortunately most riders probably have older weaker lights. Also the angle is important, the light has to be horizontal to be visible, and most of the older style lights are not highly visible from the side.

My vote is not vest or light. It's vest and light. They each have a benefit.

I wear a reflective armband around my left elbow area. One of those Jaand things. I figure it is good to outline the boundaries. Also, don't forget to change those tailight batteries before they go dead. Don't get hit trying to save 60 cents on batteries. I've been wanting one of those vests and I'm gonna 'git one next time I'm in a bike shop.

That's a good pont. Check the tailight, and the reflectors once in a while too. Just in case.

I ride with a guy who will not put new batteries in his tailight untill I tell him I'm
going to break into his house at night, and put the batteries in myself. :rolleyes:

This is one of the main reasons that I dis-like blinkies so much. THEY ARE NOT SET AND FORGET...
as many think they are. However, Lights & a vest are the hot ticket available today.