flangehead

Remember that your shadow points at danger around dawn and dusk. Many motorists drive into the glare assuming there is nothing in their way.

For those of us west of the Mississippi, we have a lot of roads aligned east/west and the sun is rising and setting directly on the road ahead. Today’s a good day to remember this hazard.

FBinNY 

+1 this is a hazard all year around, except that this time of year it's more likely to be a problem for commuters.

I do have a quibble with how you delivered the message. Shadows are an unreliable indicator because when you see yours you're safe, and not seeing something isn't a useful reminder.

So, let's keep it simple. If the low sun is blinding you, it's blinding the guy behind you.

JoeyBike

Don't be surprised if you get flamed here for suggesting that a low sun in any way affects motorist's vision. I'm not joking.

I fully agree with your sensible warning!

Troul 

As always, I appreciate the PSA that you bring upfront into the temporal lobe.

livedarklions

Here's the deal, stop asserting people are going to say stupid things until they actually do.

livedarklions

You're actually getting his point wrong. You're not necessarily safe if you see your shadow because it might tell you that oncoming drivers are blinded (important if you're contemplating a left turn), or if you're on a north-south road, the drivers on the cross streets might be blinded at the intersection.

flangehead

I believe I first heard the "shadow" heuristic (there's your 25-cent word for the day) from Steve Averill of DFW Point-to-Point, and it was in the context of crossing traffic as LDL mentions.

It isn't really helpful in the direct-behind situation as FBinNY points out.

It's wordy, but my first stab at an improvement is "Your shadow points at danger. When you're looking into the sun, where's your shadow?"

FBinNY 

Let's not get the delivery obscure the message.

The low sun is a problem all year, but uniquely now because it syncs with our commuting schedule.

Keep it in mind (however you prefer) because you're ilalready nvisible enough before drivers are additionally blinded.

Paul Barnard

I'll give you my perspective as a motorist. A low sun dead ahead does not affect my ability to see and react to cyclists or any other road users. I can put the bottom of my visor so that it is touching the road far ahead. That means that the sun is completely obscured by the visor. There's no way that I would drive if the sun made it so that I couldn't see the road ahead. Other drivers may use a low sun as an excuse for not dealing with it appropriately/safely, but it is just that, an excuse not a reason. If a near car is visible given sun conditions, so too is a cyclist

On rare a occasion a low sun combined with moisture on the windshield can create serious issues, visor or not. I drove out of a rainstorm one day. I had shut off my wipers, but there was still moisture on the windshield. The sun came out from behind the clouds and in an instant I could see nothing. I braked gently, put the wipers on full speed and was back in business again within 2 seconds.

Paul Barnard

Now from the cyclist's perspective. How do we mitigate this risk? First, we have to establish at what angles the sun may be an issue to motorists. I honestly cannot answer that question as I do not let it become an issue for me. When the sun is less than _____ degrees above the horizon and within_____ degrees of dead ahead, it is a risk? When it is a risk, what risk mitigation tools to we have at our disposal? I think moist of us use bright color and lights as a matter of routine. Avoiding certain routes if possible may be an option. What else?

livedarklions

I'll give you my perspective as a motorist--there are places in the country where this is a bigger factor than others. The Great Plains states are really bad for this, and desert areas can be absolutely horrific.

I live in a part of the country where the orientation of the streets is somewhat random--the proverbial "plate of spaghetti" is the norm, rather than the NSEW grid. I honestly don't care whether it's an excuse or a reason, I do know that there are times when I have suddenly taken a curve on a road at this time of year and have my eyes momentarily blinded in a place I drive through the rest of the year without a hint of it. This time of year, low sun roughly correlates with evening rush hour, this is a situation I need to be wary of as a driver and a rider.

livedarklions

I do avoid riding west at evening rush hour this time of year.

Extra caution at entering intersections if I suspect the sun might be in the eyes of people crossing my path..

I don't think it's a matter of classifying the degrees, you know the issue when you see it. I suspect that your area is just not very susceptible to it.

Paul Barnard

I drive all over the country. When the lower edge of my visor is touching the road well ahead of me, it obscures the sun completely, no matter if I am in Utah or Mississippi. I have posted pics here before of me driving directly into the sun 5 minutes before sunset. I asked where on the road ahead a cyclist could be where they wouldn't be visible. Nobody was able to tell me.

livedarklions

All I know is I can't do that with the visor in my car. I'd be a fool to assume everyone can.

jon c. 

There's one road near me where the sun glare is brutal at the right time of day. Sunglasses and the visor are of minimal assistance. I've often thought of how easily a cyclist would disappear. Pretty sure I'd see one, but only because I'm specifically looking for them.

I don't ride that road at that time of day.

livedarklions

This is where local knowledge comes in handy. I have one particular street I drive regularly at rush hour that is horrible for glare this time of year. I am extremely careful on it because I know it's coming.

Paul Barnard

They make extenders for visors. I highly recommend them.

Paul Barnard

If 50 motorists driving into the sun successfully pass a bicyclist in a short period of time, and the 51st hits the cyclist, what suddenly made the cyclist hard to see?

livedarklions

Cataracts? Dirty glasses? Out of wiper fluid? Where you going with this?

JoeyBike

Right on time.
.
.

livedarklions

If Paul wants to go out on this limb, feel free. Waiting for someone to post something stupid before you argue with it is still good advice and I stand by it.

Frankly, I do think Paul is claiming he has a super power and insisting that everyone else does as well. I didn't see the photo he referred to, but anyone can tell you that a camera really doesn't see things the way an eye does, and looking at photos is definitely not a simulation of real-time visibility.

livedarklions

Great, please post the brand you use as there's a lot of crappy ones out there. I'd still be a fool to assume that most drivers have them when I'm riding in low sun conditions.

The issue where I live is that the curvy nature of our roads means that it's fairly unpredictable when the sun is going to suddenly get in our eyes either as drivers or riders.

A related problem that visors actually make worse is that there are several overhead traffic lights that get backlit by the sun at certain times of day. It's very hard to read them under those circumstances, and blocking them with a visor really isn't going to help.

Paul Barnard

Not at all my friend. Quite the opposite. There is nothing special about minimizing or eliminating the effects of a low hanging sun. It takes little more than a willingness to hold yourself accountable. Keep those glasses clean, fluid in wiper reservoirs, get a good coverage visor, wear or keep sunglasses handy and focus 100% of your effort on driving safely.

No way we should ever give a motorist a pass on "the sun was in my eyes" when the sun is 30 degrees right of dead center and sunrise occurred an hour and a half earlier.

FBinNY 

I'm always impressed by how fast a thread can make a turn into the twilight zone.

This was a simple post about a natural thing that increases risks on the road.

Amazingly, nobody vilified the Ra for his anti-cyclist antics. However, one chose to explain that there was no added risk if drivers were hyper diligent. I'm not sure how true that is, but won't argue because it's irrelevant anyway.

It's simply too big an IF. Are we expected to look over our shoulders to check whether drivers have visors down, or a hand properly shading their eyes?

Staying safe isn't about dealing with what should happen, but what could happen.

Paul Barnard

I dunno, best I can tell, I am the only one who discussed mitigation strategies for cyclists. It seems that since most of us drive that discussing mitigation strategies for motorists is meaningful as well. Where the safety and advocacy value if we simply say "hey, this risk exists." I also touched on my belief that giving motorists an automatic pass is counterproductive. Take a moment, if you will, to share your vision for how the thread should have gone.

I'll say this while I am at it. I mentioned lights and bright colors earlier. Bright colors don't show up very well on the shaded side of a cyclist during low sun angles. Lights do show up better on the shaded side.