can we be more visible

[mother]

after reading yet another post on someone killed by a cage making a left in front of a motorcycle, is there anything that we can do to our bikes to make us more visible.

 

my bike has the 55 watt silverstar headlight, also two 50 watt foglights and the lady that pulled out in front of me said " I DID NOT SEE YOU ".

 

i now also run a couple of bright blue LED lights on the front of my bike under the front cowl to try and make myself more visible. been running them for two years now and so far so good.

 

i have seen a lot of new cars with Halo lights and they do catch my eye. (where can you buy them? i want to add a set.)

 

lets see if any of you out there have tried something that you feel makes you more visible while riding.

 

ride safe

[Bummer]

I run a modulator on my high beam. I also put a modulator, activated by the horn circuit, on my passing lamps.

 

Once run over, twice shy.

[Brake Pad]

Travel IN Packs

[SilvrT]

Sometimes the "I didn't see you" makes no difference what a person is riding/driving ... that person who "didn't see you" wouldn't have seen you anyway because they just weren't paying attention. I think it's also a "scapegoat" to shirk responsibility.

 

There's only so much "we" can do... the rest is up to things we can't readilly control... such as awareness.. better driver education... strickter laws and enforcement... the list goes on. It's very frustrating.

[Yammer Dan]

Yep the first words out of their mouth would still be........ A lie to try and cover their a**!!!

[Gray Ghost]

I have seen cars pull into the middle of group ride formations on more than one occasion. It sounds like you have pretty much got the front lit up as much as you can. I have reflective tape on my saddlebags as well as extra running lights and a reflective flag decal that can be seen from a long way off on my helmet. But no matter what you do, some folks are not going to see you.

[gscbertrand]

I have a bright blue light on mine and my friends. On a trip I could see her among the cars almost 1 mile behind us. Motovan used to sell them for $13.95, they have a 65 watt low and 100 watt high, Bright blue but at night you can't see any beam in front of you and that was a little hard to get used to.

[CMIKE]

Being visible is what it is all about on a bike. People are not acustom to looking for a motorcycle. They look but most of the time they do really do not see US. I have done some studies on this...

Of all our senses, visual gives us the most data....most of the time to much data so we learn to filter out what we need to know...is a car coming? We look for a car.

For example...you look across a across the room that you see for the first time...you see the floor, the wall, the door, the furniture in the room...but did your mind register what color the floor is and that it is square tile instead of a single sheet of lanolium. You saw the color and the square tile but you discounted it. Our eyes bring in tons of information to our brains... and our brains get the information we want and discount the rest.

 

Watch this example...

See attached video on Utube. Count how may times the kids in the white make bounce passes to other kids in white. I counted 4...what did you get?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HLbC4jB6_k]YouTube- Basketball Test[/ame]

 

IT is simple...folks do not look for motorcycles on the road.

 

Did you see the Gorilla walk across the screen? Most folks don't cause they are looking so intently at the kids in the white shirts to count the bounce passes they make.

Did you notice the S wrote on the wall in two places? You saw it but your brain filtered out just like a motorcycle is filtered out in traffic. WE have to learn to look for things other than cars or trucks that can kill us while we drive cages.

 

 

I wear a vest like the photo below to try to wake them up to see me. It does not look COOL but I had rather be alive than COOL.

 

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/nova/nova01.jpg

Edited November 26, 2009 by CMIKE

[MiCarl]

I've had them pull out or turn left in front of a group.

 

I've had them pull out or turn left in front of my Yukon.

 

I've seen them cut through a group to get to an exit ramp or passing lane.

 

The best defense is between your ears. The only time I ever got hit was when that one wasn't turned on.

[loehring]

Personally, I think if they can't see an RSV with 5 lights on the front they need to be removed from the gene pool.

[Guest Swifty]

Travel IN Packs

...the problem with that approach is that in short order I'm at the FRONT of the pack!

[LilBeaver]

...

The best defense is between your ears. The only time I ever got hit was when that one wasn't turned on.

 

:sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that::sign yeah that:

 

 

Oh, and I wear a High-viz jacket (so does my passenger), have headlamp + Passing-lamps, 32LED tail-lamp with 15" light-bar mounted between helmet holders and always always always always drive like everyone is going to cut me off, pull out in front of me, run me over, and/or cannot see me. I always make sure I have a 'way out' of any situation - and if I find myself in some setup that I do not, then I get there as quickly as possible. NEVER drive tired, distracted or inebriated. Etc... Most of all, I try to plan on taking the safest routes to places (where I know there will be lots of traffic)

 

My methods are far from perfect, but I have not had an incident with another vehicle for the 10 years I've been riding

 

When the day comes that I do have an incident; I pray that I'll be on 1-up and that I can walk away from it

 

NOTE: Picture 1 was right after sunset, Picture 2 was about noon - note that it is still reflective.

[texasrices]

My system is simple. Assume that everyone else is a blind idiot.....then pray.

[Yammer Dan]

Personally, I think if they can't see an RSV with 5 lights on the front they need to be removed from the gene pool.

 

Problem with that is that it is you they will be removing from the pool!!

[muffinman]

Well yes Scott I actually feel more cofortable that I am seen when I wear the Pink Chaps Beer 30 made me.I am dead serious people take notice of me on the bike when I wear them.I also got a strobe light and installed it in the vent under the headlight and it strobes all the time the bike key is in the on position.Now this strobe is only on Minis 92 but I want to install one on all the bikes as it does make people notice you as well.

You can ask Beer about the chaps but his business is busy as all get out at the moment so it might be a while and not to mention Sherry might want her own.LOL

Yall take care out there and look forward to seeing me again next september in Asheville

Jeff

[Yammer Dan]

September?? Be sooner than that? I'm up at 3 in the morning. It daytime over there?

 

And I'm RETIRED!!

[ablumny]

DEFENSE

 

I ride like everyone around me is going to cut me off, move into my lane, run a red light or a stop sign.....everyone is out to get me and/or I am invisible.

 

I'm constantly scanning ahead as far as I can see. Unfortunately I presume the person in the giant SUV is a jerk and is going to cross the double white line to get to her kids soccer game faster (sorry SUV folks and mom's). I assume the person in the expensive import is a bigger jerk (again, sorry) and wont see me when he/she runs into my lane while illegally yakking on their cell.....I assume this things because more often then not they are true, especially on Long Island.

 

Anyway (off on a tangent there ) I'm covering the brakes when Im in traffic or about to cross a major intersection. When I cross intersections or am riding on a road with lots of opportunity for cars to pull out of parking lots or make lefts in front of me, I ride next to a car or tail the car in front of me closely ....... plus all the lights, the reflective piping on the jacket and my AIR HORN!

 

I am in defense mode 100% of the time. .....yet I still LOVE riding

[GunnyButch]

It has already been said and I truly believe it, Ride like you are invisible and everyone is trying to run you down.

Recently the Marine Corps deleted the reflective vest from the required personal protective equipment to ride aboard installations and for active duty personel at all times. A lengthy study determined that in motorcycle/car collisions the reflective vest had no impact on the accidents. The drivers that hit the motorcycle didn't see the bike much less the vest. My point being if the study changed the USMC view on this it must have been very compelling. Nothing wrong with wearing the gear but the guy that sees it would likely see you anyway. It's the people out there that drive like Mr Magoo that are killing motorcyclists.

[barend]

Let me throw a slightly differetn angle hear. Americans (and possibly in my native country now as well?) are taught from a young age not to pay attention, so why are you surprised?

 

When I was a kid, I was taugth to look left, right and left again before crossing the road as a pedestrian. Here, cars have to stop for school busses, i.e. cars will stop when you are a child/pedestrian; you get in the car to go to the neighbor, folks live in Cul de Sac's where there is no through traffic so you can play in the street with impunity.

 

And when you get older there are cell phones and texting and I-pod's with 1000 song playlists and DVD players or 'puters to show movies while driving, not to mention a lifestyle which condones eating and drinking and farding and shaving and reading and ... while driving. And if you really want to get me going lets talk about the idiocy of allowing 15 year olds to drive while being taught by the worst possible teacher, a parent! (I used to be a flight instructor, voice of experience)

 

There are warning labels everywhere and on everything, because by God, you might use some common sense and suing someone else may get you some undeserved income ....

 

I'm going to get of my box now .....

[BOO]

Well I don't know what you can do to stay out of danger. Even riding in your car you have the same problems with other drivers you do on the bike. The problem is, on the bike you are in more danger than the cage.

I have been riding a lot of years, LOT. I'm almost afraid to say I've never been hit by a cage for fear it might jinx me.

What I have done is stored all the scenarios in my mind that might happen on the bike so I know what to do automatically when a situation comes up. I'll guarantee you especially when I am on a trip someone will do something that I had not thought of or I will get into a situation I didn't want to be in. What really gets me is I can see these situations evolving but can't do anything about it.

I am more concerned about getting hit from behind then from the front. I can see things happening in front of me and can control that more. Just me I guess.

Ride safe,

BOO

[Mike G in SC]

Use "PI",,, Polite Intimidation.

 

The whole idea is to get them to look at you. Don't have to get them mad, but put them "on-guard".

 

I use PI when coming to any traffic that may present a problem.

When you see someone from leaving a side road or a gas station or one of those people headed towards your lane or center lane,,, turn on your brights and even better, wiggle your handle bars towards them like you are going to get unpredictable. Get their attention before they create the situation.

Someone 30 years ago told me to "make them think you may be crazy, that will get their attention".

(Oh, Make sure your rider knows you do this so they don't freak.)

 

Never stay in someone's blind spot. Got Throttle, use it.

 

If you are going to turn and traffic is behind you, don't break late, start slowing early. This will force them to start slowing before you get on the turn. Works in a car too.

 

If someone is in the lane beside you, riding too close to your side, when you get past the driver window, come back towards them (cautiously) to "herd" them back to their lane.

 

Also, when leading a group, I always have my BRIGHTS on (at daytime).

 

Yep, and a air horn.

 

And, use hand signals all the time, along with signal lights. You really do get respect from most cages when you do that. (It's not just a group thing.)

[RandyR]

Always be thinking about what you would do if the unexpected occurred.

 

Is there a soft grassy median or one with barriers. ditto on the shoulder.

 

How long will it take me to stop on this pavement?

 

Can I swerve left or right if needed?

 

What are the people around me doing? anyone acting in an unsafe manner?

 

Am I giving the other drivers time to react if something goes wrong?

 

and so on.

[LilBeaver]

...

 

If you are going to turn and traffic is behind you, don't break late, start slowing early. This will force them to start slowing before you get on the turn. Works in a car too.

....

 

This also gives your some more space and time, just in case they do not see you soon enough, you can accel a little and still have an out.

[Sailor]

There is only so much you can do. When I was driving ambulance I was amazed at the number of drivers who did not see a big white van with lights and siren going. I know a number of firemen, they have the same complaint. Being defensive and acting before the situation gets out of hand is good. There is a real blitz in the media each spring warning car drivers to watch for kids going to school and bicycle riders. I think it does raise their awareness somewhat but there is never a word about motorcycles. The government needs to include motorcycles. I have noticed that when I put a couple small Canadian flags on my antennas it does get their attention a bit more. It is something that is unusual and the motion catches their eye. Public education is the final answer.

[gidzhome]

I picked up a First Gear Kilamanjouro (sp?) 3/4 jacket this year. The optic green color borders on obnoxious, but I'vce rec'd numerous thumbs up from passing motorists !!