2009-05-05

Just Say No--To Being a Bike Ninja

I really don't know what they are thinking. I'm talking about the cyclists that go out in low light and night conditions with no active or passive (read reflectors or reflective clothing) lighting. In Portland a bus driver has spoken up in a local paper about the improvements he has seen in the past year with cyclists lighting up for visibility.


Motorists are conditioned to look for large fast moving objects. To compete for limited attention span cyclists need to stand out and when light conditions diminish lights are the best way to get attention.


When twilight has passed in the evening then reflectors and reflective clothing become very effective as they perform a sort of "light judo" using the power of the motorized vehicle headlights to reflect back to the source. But don't be fooled into thinking reflectors alone will make you visible, they only work when a light source is aimed directly at them, a condition that might not occur until too late when rounding curves or approaching intersections.


On Yer Bike

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