[SDCBC] Bike mantra: If it's night [or there's traffic then anytime], use...

[Serge Issakov]

Good discussion!  One of my favorite questions, perhaps my favorite,
is to ask: What problem are we solving?

So, in this case, with respect to the question of using lights during
the day, what problem are we solving?  William seems to think that
daytime headlights are useful for being noticed when the only way you
can be seen is through the windows of parked cars.  I'm having a hard
time picturing when and where this might be relevant.  William writes,
"If a vehicle enters the street with one or more cars between you and
them, ..."  If there are one or more cars in between me and them, how
are they entering the street?  Wouldn't they be hit by the cars in
front of me?

I suppose it's conceivable to have, say, 3 cars in front of me, and
the motorist intendending to enter the street sees the 3 cars but not
me, waits until the 3rd car goes by, and then enters the street, right
in front of me, or right into me.  If I understand WIlliam correctly,
he is suggesting that a headlight will help the motorist notice me and
prevent this.

What strikes me is that I've never encountered such a situation, nor
even thought about it.  So I have to wonder if it's an actual threat,
or one that is only conceivable in theory.  And even if it's an actual
threat, is the risk significant enough, and the preventative effect of
the light significant enough, to warrant the cost, weight, hassle of
using a daytime light?  I use lights on my commuter this time of year,
but frankly I can't wait until I can ditch the lights and ride my
lights-free and fenders-free racing bike to ride to work when the days
are long enough.

In our hypothetical scenario, is the cyclist moving the same speed or
slower than the traffic in front of him?  In other words, is he
keeping up with the car in front of him, or is it pulling away and the
gap is growing?  And unless the vehicle in front of me is a large SUV
or van, I can usually see over it, even on my road bike with drop
bars.  In any case, I like to manage the gap such that either I'm
close enough to the car in front of me that I would not be vulnerable
even if I was literally invisible or far enough back that I'm not
blocked.  There is also lateral roadway position to work with in terms
of improving sight lines, as Jon described.   In other words, for you
to be vulnerable to this type of collision, I think you would have to
be in a particular sweet spot that should be easy enough to avoid.
Personally, I'd rather pay the attention required to do this (and
required to avoid many other types of vulnerable situations) then rely
on a daytime headlight to protect me.

And as far as lane positioning goes, I have a hard time believing that
"there are frequent situations where riding as far to the left of your
lane still makes you only visible through parked cars' glass".  If
these situations are so frequent, why can I not recall ever
encountering one?  With all due respect, this strikes me as coming
from someone who does not spend much time riding in the left tire
track of his lane.

Same goes with avoiding left crosses.  Yes, bicyclists are much slower
than motorcyclists.  Being conspicuously positioned near the center of
the lane, combined with monitoring the behavior of oncoming traffic,
adjusting lateral position to move across the oncoming driver's field
of view, as well as adjusting speed in order to avoid simultaneous
entering of the intersection, are all techniques that I find to be
more than enough to mitigate the risks to a level so low that any
additional protection offered by daytime lights would be
insignificant, and not worth the cost, weight and hassle.  YMMV.

Asta la vista, 2007!

Serge

On 12/30/07, William McHargue <William at mchargue.org> wrote:
>
>
> On Dec 30, 2007, at 9:50, Jon wrote:
> A couple of thoughts:
>
> - Bright head lamps require batteries.  I need the battery for the ride home
> in the evening.
>
> Yes, they are battery operated. We can discuss implementation apart from the
> importance of using them. If one rides on a regular basis then rechargeable
> batteries are a must. I keep a charger at work. I recognize that the typical
> front light sold today for bikes borders on useless except for being seen at
> night. But if more people demand better rechargeable lights then better
> products at lower price points should follow.
>
>
>  I like to be seen but I am not depending on it.  I think the key to being
> seen is road positioning.
> - If I am riding along a street with Park Cars, I position myself in the
> roadway so that a car entering the road from the right can clearly see me
> and doesn't need to be looking through the windows of the parked cars to see
> me.
>
> There are very many factors in riding safely. When I (and I might assume
> others) post suggestions here for a safety-related tip, it is not at the
> exclusion of all the other common sense suggestions that have gone before.
>
> This thread was on lights. Of course road positioning is important, but
> there are frequent situations where riding as far to the left of your lane
> still makes you only visible through parked cars' glass. (Washington Ave. in
> Hillcrest for example). Drivers often inch their way out into the lane to
> try to see through, then around, parked cars and any advantage is a good
> thing. Unless they are driving a VW bus or one of those driver-over-wheel
> short trucks, it is impossible at times to not have to look through windows
> to see oncoming traffic even while your vehicle is protruding into the lane.
> Panel vans parked near intersections are extremely hazardous. (There should
> be much longer red-curbs adjacent to alleys and cross streets.)
>
> And this was only one example situation. Just because one is in the "line of
> sight" of another driver does not mean they register in their split-second
> decisions. When riding motorcycles--with headlights blazing--cars frequently
> make left turns into your on-coming traffic lane. I would love to see some
> statistically valid numbers relating how many of such accidents involved
> motorcycles with and without their headlights on. If I were to guess, fewer
> with headlights on. Bikes are slower, yes, but I believe lights are still a
> great help.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Bill.
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NOTE: Any opinions expressed above are mine and not necessarily shared
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