"Day rated" lighting has been heavily abused into the dusk and dark by consumer grade cyclists, each flash burning a point of your retina out of service until adequate refractory time has allowed it to normalize.
A drivers field of vision in the daytime is a vast image with lots of complexity that can be data overload. A point of light, flashing or solid, being noted, recognized and acknowledged by action in that setting is not the best bet. Presenting a larger area of contrast is the best tool for getting drivers to see you in that image. The nominal brain function they demonstrate at the wheel is on what they are driving (their lane) and what they do not (the lines, the grass, objects, etc.). You want to graduate to the latter by your choices. That driver's image processing of you in the roadway, recognizing something they do not want to drive on depends on their processing that image with either your nearly laser pointer tail light or a neon Hi-Viz vest. If it's daylight, I'm going with the vest. One situation not fully aided by high visibility or reflective "safety" vests is fog. I had a near miss event with a soldier directing traffic in full "safety" garb along a public roadway at a vehicle recovery scene. I came immediately to assess and as I pulled up I saw how the reflective vests on the soldiers were invisible, headlight output was so diffused by the fog and what little reached the reflective cloth was diffused with nothing defining returning to my eyes. I could only make out the vests in the growing ambience of dawn's light as the sun neared rising. After that, if fog was present we added cyalume light sticks in an elastic band sewn like a bandolier for bullets around the vests. Light having to go one way was a more visible precaution and was seen from greater distance than the highest level reflective material, even if local buffoons drove past multiple vehicles with flashing four ways parked both to provide alert to oncoming vehicles and provide cover to the dismounted. There is a waiting room in Hell with a bench reserved for cyclists who ride in the dusk or dark of night with daytime flashing lights, reservations made with the intently redeemable bad karma their harm did to other cyclists trying to follow them. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 6:58:14 PM UTC-4 campyo...@me.com wrote: > Joel: > > There are many lights out there that will make you more visible to > vehicles, but I wouldn’t bet my life on any of them. I believe there’s more > safety in being aware of what’s happening around you at all times, wearing > brightly colored/contrasting clothing, and assuming that motorists don’t > see you. > > If you *do* use lights bright enough to be seen in daylight, I beg you to > think twice about using them at night. The new super-bright taillights, > when used at night, make it impossible for anyone to ride behind you > safely. All the person behind you can see is a bright red glow. > > I’ve ranted about this before, so I won’t go on much longer here. But … > please be considerate of anyone behind you—and people coming at you on the > bike trail and end up getting blasted by your daylight-bright headlight. > > I recommend a taillight like the PDW “Daybot,” which offers a bright > daytime option and a less bright (but still bright enough) nighttime > setting that also provides longer runtimes (because no taillight will work > with dead batteries). > > --Eric Norris > campyo...@me.com > Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy > YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy > > On Aug 20, 2020, at 2:55 PM, Joel <jrst...@gmail.com> wrote: > > 2 close calls in one day. My red blinking cateye is useless in daylight. > I a interested in front and back lights to help me be more visible, your > thoughts and experiences are welcome. > > Thanks > > Joel > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/dba2cf2f-39e3-4796-a5bd-94f89d3762dao%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/dba2cf2f-39e3-4796-a5bd-94f89d3762dao%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/70f449b9-199b-402b-8a48-e03c0f1babb7n%40googlegroups.com.
