b_twill

On my way home yesterday I was keeping an eye on traffic behind me and noticed a pickup truck coming up behind me and not moving over. I don't think the driver saw me till he got rather close. Any idea how to get drivers attention if they are coming up behind you and not moving over? This guy did move over and gave a long honk as he passed, but it was close enough that I was checking how much room I had to my right. Would waving my left arm have helped? I had two red blinkies going (probably not much help during the day) and wearing a bright yellow/green jacket and riding near the right wheel track.

skijor

You did your part. Idiots will be idiots. There's only so much one can do. Was this at night? I use lights fore and aft, day or night. If you use panniers, do they have reflective material on all sides? Presenting a larger profile could help.

gerv 

Make sure you are taking enough of the lane so that he doesn't try to pass you in your lane. That is actually the worst... I try to stay right in the middle of the lane. I used to go for the right tire groove, but I found that even there it will let some cars think I'm yielding the lane.

If you want to retaliate for the honking, you could consider an Airzounds, but a thick skin is what you really need. Just try to ignore it.

CACycling

What kind of blinkies? Some I've come up on aren't visible till you are too close. A good blinkie (I use Planet Bike Superflash Turbos) can be seen from a good distance even in brighjt sunlight. But nothing will work every time.

skijor

Good points. Also make sure they are mounted properly. I.e. High enough...on the seatpost would be best. Also aimed well...not clipped onto a bag that's sagging thereby flashing more towards the ground.

jsdavis

Neither should they be pointed towards the sky. LEDs have a narrow visible angle; sometimes as little as 30 off center axis and you lose most of the light.

Easy Peasy

I also put a blinky on the back of my helmet which is closer to a truck driver's level than on a rear rack or seat post.

dynodonn 

I don't think even airport landing lights wouldn't have made this motorist move over, sounds like a deliberate action taken by this particular motorist, and the horn honk was just an exclamation point to his statement.

Ratchet

AWESOME!!!! An excuse to eat more pie

AlmostTrick

I agree, this driver probably seen you just fine but wanted to "teach you a lesson" or "show you who's boss". When I see this behind me I move even farther left. Then as the JAM is just about to overtake me I'll move right into my buffer zone. Pedal On!

1nterceptor

If you haven't already, you can mount a powerful light on your helmet and
as you look back - doing a check; you could light up the offender(I mean
motorist) directly in the face to get their attention.

b_twill

I have two blinkies, one on the seat post (Mars 3.0), and one on my backpack (Nathan clip on 'runners' light). They work good in the dark, even had coworkers comment how well they could see me. I'm planning on updating all my lights here soon. I also agree that one could be towing a carbon arc search light and someone would still claim they didn't see you!

Mark Stone

Plus One on this and the comment from AlmostTrick, this guy knew you were there and wanted to teach you a lesson. The horn honk is the biggest clue.

daredevil

my 2 cents....

The best you can do is wear hi-vis clothing, have a daytime visible tail light and ride defensively. If you haven't caught the driver's attention with that equipment and he isn't giving you room, be ready to bail.

Mark Stone

Agreed. I would have been looking for driveway entrances/sidewalks etc. One thing this story brings out is the need for excellent mirrors so we can monitor drivers coming up behind us - Don't have a mirror? Go get one

10 Wheels

The best you can do is use a mirror and a Dinotte tail light.
It is well worth the $120.

https://store.dinottelighting.com/din...-mount-p5.aspx

wolfchild

Reflective triangle on your bike and a safety vest should help. That's about as visible as it gets, if a driver can't see that then they shouldn't have a drivers licence and be operating a vehicle.

John_1961

If he didn't see you then he wasn't looking far enough ahead I had that same thing happen to me a few times I have also had them cut in front of me just to make a right or left hand turn.

Digital_Cowboy

Agreed, last December as I was riding home I had a gal pull up alongside me in the left turn lane and say to me "You know you're hard to see, right?" The irony is that I was wearing a reflective vest and had two Cateye 3-LED blinkies going.

I'd like to know how I was "hard to see." But as has been noted we could be towing a carbon arc spotlight and motorists would still claim not to see us.

Digital_Cowboy

The move that they make that I don't understand is when they have to swoop around us and "race" us to the stop sign/red light.

woodway

+1. Dinotte tail lights are expensive, but worth it. They are very visible from far away, even in bright sunlight.

DX-MAN

Maybe a paintball gun mounted on the rear of the bike, pointing at the offenders.




j/k

wolfchild

Based upon what I see everyday, I think that going through intersections is the most dangerous part of cycling.
I've had too many close calls with red light runners.. and the only reason why I am still alive is because of extreme awerness of what's happening around me. You can have the best most expensive lights in the world, but they won't help you when somebody nails you running a red light. If a driver is not aware of an intersection with a red light,then they won't see you, no matter how much lights and reflective clothing you have.

brumskee

Dinotte!!
After riding with a red rear and amber front for the past year I would not even think about riding without. Worth every $

daredevil

What kind of vest are we talking about here and are these lights daytime visible? The only daytime visible light I'm aware of is the Dinotte. Maybe you aren't as visible as you think.