Dark Early Morning Driving & Cycling Commuters

[22blades]

The AM commute is now getting darker and darker so as a car commuter and bike rider I have a favor to ask cycling AND car commuters; Please take the time to aim your “headlights”.

Cyclers: Your proud acquisition of the NiteRider Pro 3600 is great for those early morning commutes when used as intended; to illuminate the road. If you know flashlights, you know what 3600 lumens is like in your eyes. They are not intended to be anti-collision lights in either pulsing or steady mode making them visual stun-guns to drivers AND cyclers alike.

Drivers: Your proud acquisition of your 7000 lumen 60 watt headlights are great for pulling the sunrise an hour and a half earlier but if you must, please aim them properly. Routine maintenance like inflating tires and aiming headlights seem to have gone the way of hand-crank starters. The searing blue-white 6000 Kelvin beams are worthy of welders glasses for watching the eclipse… for cyclers AND drivers alike.

P.S. Ever wonder why you see perfectly good tire treads sitting detached by the roadside? They came from underinflated tires. The bowed sidewalls overheat and separate.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by 22blades.

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[grog]

“perfectly good tire treads sitting detached by the roadside”

I would guess a majority of those detached treads are from semi-trucks (mostly) who use ‘re-tread’ tires to help save money.

Under-inflated tires tend to wear-out the sidewalls and eventually rip apart vs have their treads fall-off.

However I have to agree with you re the aiming of lights and the use of the flashing lights.

It appears most riders aim their lights straight-ahead instead of towards the ground.

Those lights are still going to be seen just as well if aimed down a bit, AND they’re going to greatly reduce the strain on on-coming eyes when aimed towards the ground.

A flashing light is very easily picked-up by the human eye so they really don’t need to be that bright.

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[mark47n]

FYI, the RCW only permits flashing red lights on the rear of a bicycle. Flashing headlights are prohibited.

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[newnative]

I have to stop walking and cover my eyes when they approach, especially when they ride on the sidewalk. When I regularly rode in a dark city (that had limited street lights) I had my headlight point towards the road.

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[22blades]

I have to just stop for on coming lights on a very narrow road on Capitol Hill all the time because of the lights. I think it fuels driver – rider animosity. (Cue up “Why Can’t We Be fiends?” by Sly & the Family Stone)

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