Rear Light - Flashing or Steady?
#51
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#52
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I use steady if in a group ride, flashing if riding solo. Personally I find flashing a bit distracting if in a group. Also I use double lights front and rear if I know I'll be riding into the evening or on a busy road route. While driving I've actually watched cyclists with their lights on and I've counted at least 5 big city blocks of visibility. It makes a big difference both night or day. I'd even recommend using a rear light that flashes both red and white. I've even seen cyclists use blue lights which I think make drivers a bit more aware since they might think it's the police ahead of them.
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#53
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Since bikers seem to like to bicker, the standard you speak of is really not so much of a standard as you indicated. Arizona and Hawaii couldn’t care less, a large number of countries don’t fiddle with their clocks. And soon many more states in US will no longer be doing it.
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I really don't see a problem with using both.
#55
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Since bikers seem to like to bicker, the standard you speak of is really not so much of a standard as you indicated. Arizona and Hawaii couldn’t care less, a large number of countries don’t fiddle with their clocks. And soon many more states in US will no longer be doing it.
BTW, before Standard Time, "Noon" was locally determined, so you could have a significant difference in what time it was across a large city. But you can't run a railroad that way! When Standard Time was adopted, there were a number of folks who protested it, things like putting the railroads before God, etc.
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#56
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It is a very good idea to make yourself as visible as possible.
Once I was told by my son when he was still young that probably a car will aim for me deliberately, if for nothing else than to kill my annoyingly bright blinky light in the front!
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Did that driver "see" @eduskator ? Almost certainly
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Cop cars are often not painted in hi-viz (not talking about undercover cars). Kind of a US thing.
Flashing tail lights at night are Always visible way before the headlights illuminate the riders, in my experience. Flashing headlights in the day are also very visible, but only head-on, which is sort of useless because the riders are on the other side of the road and in no danger from me. From the side, flashing daytime headlights are invisible.
Last edited by njkayaker; 01-08-24 at 04:23 PM.
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I'm not using them. Though if a cyclist is using them for safety reasons, I won't judge them if they opt for this type of lighting. Especially where I live, there have been way too many cycling deaths due to the lack of awareness on the part of drivers.
#62
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Mimicking police lights is illegal in our state, and I imagine most states.
We do have police on bicycles around the city and on bike paths.
Once they asked me to show my trail pass, which I don’t carry but I have its photo on the phone and they accept it as a valid proof that I paid my annual fee.
I’m sure if I had blue/red flashing lights, they will issue a citation.
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Your not judging is irrelevant.
Mimicking police lights is illegal in our state, and I imagine most states.
We do have police on bicycles around the city and on bike paths.
Once they asked me to show my trail pass, which I don’t carry but I have its photo on the phone and they accept it as a valid proof that I paid my annual fee.
I’m sure if I had blue/red flashing lights, they will issue a citation.
Mimicking police lights is illegal in our state, and I imagine most states.
We do have police on bicycles around the city and on bike paths.
Once they asked me to show my trail pass, which I don’t carry but I have its photo on the phone and they accept it as a valid proof that I paid my annual fee.
I’m sure if I had blue/red flashing lights, they will issue a citation.
#64
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There are so many other crimes happening in the big city that a cyclist trying to use any means possible to increase visibility so they don't get killed is small potatoes. I'd rather not get doored to death, shot by gun point or run over during a high speed chase all while just trying to enjoy a bike ride. Not everyone rides in some backwater hick town.
Fascinating non-hick attitude!
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Look ... I don
't care about riders using blue lights .... I do think blue lights Should be illegal, because I like to know if it is a cop or not .... and one reason for blue lights being illegal for civilians is to stop people from pretending to be cops (or to charge them afterwards, actually ... )
And sure, there are a lot of crimes doing a lot of property and human damage happening all around all the time ... but seriously, how many people use flashing blue lights to advertise they are doing a crime?
Not a lot of logic there.
't care about riders using blue lights .... I do think blue lights Should be illegal, because I like to know if it is a cop or not .... and one reason for blue lights being illegal for civilians is to stop people from pretending to be cops (or to charge them afterwards, actually ... )
And sure, there are a lot of crimes doing a lot of property and human damage happening all around all the time ... but seriously, how many people use flashing blue lights to advertise they are doing a crime?
Not a lot of logic there.
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Really? Red (for instance) appears to be a common (maybe, the most common) color for fire trucks. They are painted in a wide-enough range of colors to suggest that the color doesn't matter for fire trucks very much. Maybe a US thing. (Note that what applies to fire trucks might not apply to cyclists.)
https://www.firehouse.com/apparatus/...paratus-safety
https://www.firetruckmall.com/Blog/B...F+Red+or+Green
https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-pro...D8duhAuHGPo1x/
https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork...your-ambulance
It is called "google."
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No flashing blue lights in California:
(b) No person shall display a steady or flashing blue warning light on a bicycle or motorized bicycle except as authorized under subdivision (a).
(Subdivision A is about bicycle cops.)
I've seen some lights that alternate red and blue. Not sure whether they violate any rules.
(b) No person shall display a steady or flashing blue warning light on a bicycle or motorized bicycle except as authorized under subdivision (a).
(Subdivision A is about bicycle cops.)
I've seen some lights that alternate red and blue. Not sure whether they violate any rules.
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Not sure why someone would want to use blue light as a rear light, but whatever. I mean, you don't see cars with blue brake lights...
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I'm not really surprised by the result. In any case, that red is still very common suggests that it doesn't matter much (that many people see the differences as not important). That is, if it "mattered much", there wouldn't really be any red fire trucks.
I was more making a comment that you've never ever seen a red fire truck.
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Last edited by njkayaker; 01-09-24 at 10:00 AM.
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I use steady if in a group ride, flashing if riding solo. Personally I find flashing a bit distracting if in a group. Also I use double lights front and rear if I know I'll be riding into the evening or on a busy road route. While driving I've actually watched cyclists with their lights on and I've counted at least 5 big city blocks of visibility. It makes a big difference both night or day. I'd even recommend using a rear light that flashes both red and white. I've even seen cyclists use blue lights which I think make drivers a bit more aware since they might think it's the police ahead of them.
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No flashing blue lights in California:
(b) No person shall display a steady or flashing blue warning light on a bicycle or motorized bicycle except as authorized under subdivision (a).
(Subdivision A is about bicycle cops.)
I've seen some lights that alternate red and blue. Not sure whether they violate any rules.
(b) No person shall display a steady or flashing blue warning light on a bicycle or motorized bicycle except as authorized under subdivision (a).
(Subdivision A is about bicycle cops.)
I've seen some lights that alternate red and blue. Not sure whether they violate any rules.
Either way, using any sort of blue light would seem ill-advised if one was concerned about the legality.
Last edited by njkayaker; 01-09-24 at 09:38 AM.
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Interesting discussion. One thing I can say with confidence is that what works in isolation on an empty road gets lost in light clutter when there's traffic. This may be one reason the cops use blue and why a contrasting color might make sense for cyclists. I experienced this one evening at a busy intersection, when an oncoming driver made a turn on red while was I making a left and nearly nailed me. We had a brief discussion after I stopped screaming, which made it clear that he missed the pinpoint of my fancy, high-intensity LED headlight in the mass of oncoming traffic. I assume the same thing can happen with red tail lights.
Anyone who has navigated a boat into a busy, lit-up, port at night will also have experienced this. One can miss huge ships at short range and blinking navigational lights can be simply invisible, even when you know exactly where they should be.
Anyone who has navigated a boat into a busy, lit-up, port at night will also have experienced this. One can miss huge ships at short range and blinking navigational lights can be simply invisible, even when you know exactly where they should be.
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Your original comment implied that they might be a good idea. But made no mention that they were illegal. Did you even know?
It needs to be clear that they are illegal.
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Re: fire trucks .... trucks Not painted red were involved in a lot fewer collisions. Maybe that doesn't matter to some folks but ...
By the way three separate studies were mentioned, for those who think all the articles were referencing the same study .... and all found that red and orange can disappear in low-light conditions, and that fluorescent green vehicles were in the fewest accidents (per capita.)
This was not a case pf people watching video and pushing buttons,. This was an actual count of accidents involving emergency vehicles, and it was found the adjusted for proportion, red vehicles got hit a lot more. Three studies addressed the issue of emergency vehicle color starting int he late-'60s /early '70s and the latest in the past several years ... all had the same conclusion. Red and orange are least visible---invisible---in low-light conditions. People still paint fire engines red due to tradition .... because people are stupid.
Sorry some people think science doesn't matter ... but a lot fo people don't. Oh, well. Darwin still has a job, passing out those awards.
As MoAlpha notes, color, flashing lights, steady lights .... no guarantee someone will see you. if there is enough going on, and particularly in urban areas, or even downtown/business districts in suburbia, there are so many lighted signs, lights, cars with lights .... you could ride past a strip mall wrapped in multicolored Cchristmas lights and still blend into the background.
My takeaway is ... wear what you like, use the lights you like, do what makes you feel safe ... but a swivel neck, open eyes, attention, and a dollop of luck are what keeps us as safe as we can be on the roads.
#75
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Re: fire trucks .... trucks Not painted red were involved in a lot fewer collisions. Maybe that doesn't matter to some folks but ...
By the way three separate studies were mentioned, for those who think all the articles were referencing the same study .... and all found that red and orange can disappear in low-light conditions, and that fluorescent green vehicles were in the fewest accidents (per capita.)
This was not a case pf people watching video and pushing buttons,. This was an actual count of accidents involving emergency vehicles, and it was found the adjusted for proportion, red vehicles got hit a lot more. Three studies addressed the issue of emergency vehicle color starting int he late-'60s /early '70s and the latest in the past several years ... all had the same conclusion. Red and orange are least visible---invisible---in low-light conditions. People still paint fire engines red due to tradition .... because people are stupid.
Sorry some people think science matters ... but a lot of people don't. Oh, well. Darwin still has a job, passing out those awards.
As MoAlpha notes, color, flashing lights, steady lights .... no guarantee someone will see you. if there is enough going on, and particularly in urban areas, or even downtown/business districts in suburbia, there are so many lighted signs, lights, cars with lights .... you could ride past a strip mall wrapped in multicolored Christmas lights and still blend into the background.
My takeaway is ... wear what you like, use the lights you like, do what makes you feel safe ... but a swivel neck, open eyes, attention, and a dollop of luck are what keeps us as safe as we can be on the roads.