Good Read (safety)

[Medina]

Stats, undeniably tell the truth.
Like left turning autos kill more cyclists than almost anything else.

I assumed this was a no-no, but from NHTSA.gov, ride in the day time- ALWAYS with your brights on.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/00-nht-212-motorcycle/motorcycle49-50.html is the main page

I love stats

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/motorcycle/00-nht-212-motorcycle/motorcycle49-50.html
About being seen. I was searching to see what the 'norm' was on using hi-beams in the day, figuring, no was the answer and found the above linked site.

[bajakirch]

I love stats

Geek 

Some very interesting stuff in that second article. I like how it talks about most cruiser riders, for fashion reasons, wear the most inconspicuous color -- in terms of safety. Sort of runs counter to the whole flashier/louder/bigger mentality of many of those riders.

I also liked the idea of redundant tail lights. It makes sense when you think about it. I actually wondered if anyone ever invented a red light that could attach to the back of the helmet. Technology-wise, it probably couldn't be that hard to develop one that activated, wirelessly, when the brake light is activated. Hmmmm...

As far as running in the daytime with brights on -- is that legal? I don't have time to check our state statutes now, but I don't recall there being an exception to the rule that says you have to dim your headlights when within (I think) 500 ft of an approaching vehicle. I guess you could use the brights and dim them with approaching traffic, but I don't guess it seems like that would be easier to forget during the daytime.

[Munkey]

I've always run with my headlight on bright during the day.

[Burgi]

Not for a helmet but you could add one of these to the rear. No wiring required.
http://www.brakeflasher.com/cycle.htm#
Not sure what Honda used in the NH's but I would assume it is the same headlight bulb as the cruisers get. I replaced them with a brighter, white bulb. An easy task that had pretty good results.

[Bumblebee]

Stats, undeniably tell the truth.

They sort of do more or less. The stats indicate that I haven't crashed since I started doing serious slow school riding practice on a regular basis to remain proficient therefore I'm safe. Right? Right? There are lots of variables and the intent of the data can be altered to prove points...

I assumed this was a no-no, but from NHTSA.gov, ride in the day time- ALWAYS with your brights on.

I use to do that because everyone I ran across kept saying to. Motorcycle+high beam+daytime=visible=safe. Then after near miss #431568461 I started thinking for myself and observing other motorcycles objectively from an anti collision/survival point of view. The plan was, and still is, to figure out what works and what doesn't based on real world environment observations. Bright lights do stand out most of the time. Beyond that though, the high beam is hiding essential information to oncoming drivers. It overpowers position and velocity information by being excessively obvious of it's presence. Determining it's velocity and position became more difficult. The closer the motorcycle gets, the more the blinding light overpowers useful information.

Is the hurt report and nthsa right? Or am I right? I don't have as many data points as they do however when I started running with low beams in the day, my specific datapoints indicate a considerably reduced number of safety buffer incursions by oncoming and crossing traffic.

Bright helmets are good right? Think further and about the environment it's in as well. Fire engine red is a bright color. It's also a heavily saturated color. The background of a typical street environment at eye level is heavily saturated with background shadows. To make the bright color stand out, there also needs to be high contrast, like yellow against black, not deep red against black. IOW, a red helmet is a dark color against a shaded background and doesn't stand out as well as other colors.

As the big long 15 foot long sign over my old philosophy/practical psychology instructor's office door said: Question Authority.
Take general rule information that has potential for variation in an extremely dynamic environment as a good start reference point then think objectively about the information beyond the sentence and about the other variables not listed in the specific set of criteria.

Just something to think about...

[happycommuter]

I actually wondered if anyone ever invented a red light that could attach to the back of the helmet.

They exist, but you have to keep a battery charged up there.

I'm kind of opposed to lights during the day because it is harder to estimate the oncoming speed of a light as opposed to a shape - dang, Bee beat me to it!

  I do very much like the front marker lights though.  Wish they were in the back too.

[Brittles]

I do very much like the front marker lights though.  Wish they were in the back too.

You can do it......... http://www.badlandsmotorcycleproducts.com/2008/Products/BETCSM.htm

[Medina]

Flashing yellow light on back, you'd never see it, therefore, cool.

I tweaked my low beams up the the point of almost being too high on some midsized car in a parking lot. No more bright for me.
head on a swivel, eye contact, they dont look at you, assume they dont see you.
Keep your hands on the grips, not fingers resting on levers.
I dont use mine to commute, so no rush hour, no school zones, no games. And hope for the best.
I'm trying to come to grips with a neon jacket and open pipes.
Read the pro's and the cons, and loud bikes you hear- unless its some moron with the radio blasting, and they are likely not paying attention anyhow.

[Bumblebee]

head on a swivel, eye contact, they dont look at you, assume they dont see you.

If they look at you and even if they acknowledge your presence and wave you through in front of them, STILL assume they didn't see you.
Their eyes tell you nothing. Watch their wheels, body posture and driving behavior.


Don't allow anyone within your safety buffer. If they penetrate the perimeter, get them out immediately.

Total situational awareness at all times. Don't just look and see - Actively observe. What was the color of the last moving vehicle near you and what was it doing? Can you remember? Ex: My last potential hostile was a bright white spendy new looking SUV with silver lettering on the front of the hood (Unless I or a friend owns it, I don't know cage types makes and models beyond general external physical description because cages are uninteresting and boring) about 50 feet behind and one lane left, two occupants in the front, good driving behavior. The one before that was a faded red pickup circa 1980ish right turning away from me opposite direction, in a hurry and I'm pretty sure his power steering was either out or non existent.

[bajakirch]

I actually wondered if anyone ever invented a red light that could attach to the back of the helmet.

They exist, but you have to keep a battery charged up there.

Well, there goes THAT million-dollar idea...

[Soupskin]

I actually wondered if anyone ever invented a red light that could attach to the back of the helmet.

They exist, but you have to keep a battery charged up there.

Well, there goes THAT million-dollar idea...

HJC makes a wind driven one.

[happycommuter]

HJC makes a wind driven one.

Dang, they did, the HJC Windlight!  Just a taillight, no connection to brakes... On sale cheap now!
http://www.newenough.com/street/helmets_and_eyewear/head_wraps_helmet_liners_other_accessories/hjc/windlight_led_helmet_light.html