Rider died on Olentangy River Rd tonight!

[swingset]

the thing i DONT like about the headlight modulator, is that a flashing headlight means "GO AHEAD", so you are just inviting the exact thing you are trying to avoid.

Yeah, I have real mixed feelings on the modulators. I think where they fail is that you're signaling to people who may very well not get the point of the flashing...if it were other riders in those cages that's one thing, but stupid people see flashing lights and they're not always savvy enough to understand what they're seeing.

I was way behind a rider on a NC group ride a couple years ago who had a modulator, he was way up ahead of me and had an incident in a curve where a driver in front of him very suddenly pulled off the side of the road in the curve, he went around her and then she pulled back out into the road and clipped the rider immediately behind him. He managed to keep upright but it skinned up his tank and panniers. When they stopped to swap info she said she saw the flashing light and thought he was a policeman or emergency vehicle.

Now, granted, his modulator did not cause the rider with the modulator to have an accident, he for sure got noticed, but it prompted a very stupid move by a cager and very directly caused a stupid chain of events.

I'm sure that's not the normal reaction to a modulator in fact I'd say it's quite rare, but it's worth mentioning. It may get you noticed, but it might confuse people too.

I have opted to run aux. lighting (3W LED's on my lower forks) to create the "triangle of light" effect...which I hope makes me more visible and gives oncoming drivers more of a sense of scale (to break up the single-point-of-light) effect.

[SWing'R]

...It may get you noticed, but it might confuse people too.

This is kinda why I've been undecided on the idea.

[fizzer]

Just talked to a witnesses to the accident.

Left hand turn for the SUV.

Rider had helmet and all gear and was not speeding.

Witness is pretty sure charges will be filed on the SUV driver from their point of view.

That is all.

NBC and the (s)Lantern have the car involved as being a VW passat, the witness said SUV?

[Strictly Street]

NBC and the (s)Lantern have the car involved as being a VW passat, the witness said SUV?

Thats what they said -IDK

[John]

IMO being vigilant is the most important thing you can do.

hi viz gear or more lights can help a little, but you gotta think, people still get hit by fire trucks.

thats a 30 foot truck, painted bright red with thousands of flashing lights and a 120 dB siren, and they still "dont see" it.

[Phatom28]

R.I.P to the rider and to his family I send my prayers........and to all riders be safe....

[hue jass]

the thing i DONT like about the headlight modulator, is that a flashing headlight means "GO AHEAD", so you are just inviting the exact thing you are trying to avoid.

This^word for word.

[ReconRat]

the thing i DONT like about the headlight modulator, is that a flashing headlight means "GO AHEAD", so you are just inviting the exact thing you are trying to avoid.

This^word for word.

Yes. In California (West coast) flashing headlights means "go ahead and pull out".

Like when stuck on side of freeway trying to re enter the traffic flow.

There are California drivers in Ohio.

[John]

i thought it meant that everywhere?

[ReconRat]

i thought it meant that everywhere?

Dunno. But in California it definitely means "pull out". Stuck on the side of the freeway, large numbers of people will flash headlights at you.

And yeah, I've seen flashing headlights at people to make them stop, actually cause them to pull out. And vice versa. To me it means someone is flashing lights to say something. What that message is, I don't know.

[John]

IMO the message depends on the scenario.

if they come up behind you in the fast lane it means move over pls.

if they are coming straight at you it means check your speed. could be a cop, could be a herd of deer, could be anything. check your speed and prepare for something.

if you are trying to merge, or turn out of somewhere, it means go ahead.

if you are driving a semi and just passed another vehicle it means "you are clear to get back over". flash your trailer lights to say "thanks".

this can work for cars as well. if someone is trying to get into your lane. but the typical response is to speed up so they cant get over and people wonder why no one uses turn signals... because the instant they come on, they speed up so you cant get in.

Edited April 17, 2011 by John

[ReconRat]

All things we are used to. None of which means stop or pull out. Scary.

And then there is the variety of "Michigan Left" turns...

http://www.michiganhighways.org/indepth/michigan_left.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left

And the confusing left turn lane flashing red or whatever, which is changing:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has recently begun replacing the old flashing red signals for left turn lanes at intersections with a new style of signal that incorporates four lights. This is what MDOT has to say about the new signals. "Those lights are a flashing yellow arrow which permits a left turn when oncoming traffic is clear (oncoming traffic has a green light), a steady green arrow allows you to turn left, a steady yellow arrow warns that the left-turn signal is about to turn red and you should prepare to stop, and a steady red arrow which requires you to stop. The steady red arrow will be followed by a flashing yellow arrow on the next cycle."

http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7-123-1586_27094-73839--,00.html

[John]

personally, ive always thought we should have a red arrow, which would mean you can turn after stopping if its clear.

i HATE when i get up to an intersection with a left turn lane that has its own light. the light is red for 2 minutes and NO ONE is coming the other way. wtf do i need to sit there for? why cant i just turn left?

it seems like our traffic system is designed to keep traffic stopped, not keep it moving.

we should probably start another thread about this, instead of keeping it going in here.

Edited April 17, 2011 by John

[SWing'R]

IMO the message depends on the scenario.

if they come up behind you in the fast lane it means move over pls.

if they are coming straight at you it means check your speed. could be a cop, could be a herd of deer, could be anything. check your speed and prepare for something.

if you are trying to merge, or turn out of somewhere, it means go ahead.

if you are driving a semi and just passed another vehicle it means "you are clear to get back over". flash your trailer lights to say "thanks".

this can work for cars as well. if someone is trying to get into your lane. but the typical response is to speed up so they cant get over and people wonder why no one uses turn signals... because the instant they come on, they speed up so you cant get in.

While all of this is true. You have to remember that a headlight modulator is not a single "flash flash" signal

like you'd give another driver in any of the above mentioned scenarios, it is a steady non-stop pattern of

"low to high to low to high" beam. I think even the most stupid cager would have a problem thinking this meant

"come on out or go ahead" but I could definitely see this being mistaken for an emergency vehicle in a rear-view mirror.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y7XIXvDL2s

[John]

^true, but i would never underestimate the stupidity of cagers.

theyd just think since you kept flashing it you REALLY wanted to them to go ahead.

[Scruit]

I use my modulator only when there is someone who is wanting to cross my path but I have ROW.

- Nobody has tried to pull out after I turned the modulator on.

- A few have started to pull out and stopped after I turned on the modulator.

- Nobody has acted like they thought I was a cop

- Almost everybody stares at me with a WTF look on their face. I guess that mean they noticed me.

The hi-vis jacket helps too. If I stop at a store during my ride I always get at least "I can see you for a mile in that jacket!" "That's the point!"

I want to add aux lights with a wig-wag effect. Highly visible and nobody is going to think it's an invitation to pull out...

But as has been mentioned - people pull out in front of emergency vehicles with lights and sirens going. That's wh you cover the brakes, have an out, and watch them like a hawk. I have caught myself approaching a car at a side street and thinking; "Are you the person who is going to kill me?" (followed by slowing down, coverign the brakes, watching my six and just generally being ready in case they do pull out.)

[ReconRat]

...The hi-vis jacket helps too. If I stop at a store during my ride I always get at least "I can see you for a mile in that jacket!" "That's the point!".

Out on a ride last year or so, I measured the high vis green on somebody to be visible at about two miles. Quite impressive. The high vis orange is less, about one mile. At two miles I couldn't see the tiny tail light or brake light. But I could see that high vis green.

I do have 20-15 or better eyesight and can actually see something at two miles. That has to happen also. My opinion: about 40% of the drivers are driving with 20-40 eyesight or less. They can't see as far as normal, nor see detail as well. And that also effects depth perception, something a motorcycle rider wishes all cage drivers have plenty of. Then add in people that won't wear their glasses, and people with little or no depth perception in the first place. It has to be at least half the people on the road. Think about it.

[bluboi22]

I want to send my Prayers and Condolences to the family of the rider.. Please be safe out fellow riders..

[SWing'R]

Out on a ride last year or so, I measured the high vis green on somebody to be visible at about two miles. Quite impressive. The high vis orange is less, about one mile. At two miles I couldn't see the tiny tail light or brake light. But I could see that high vis green.

Melissa and I have hi-vis yellow windbreaker jackets we wear over our mesh jackets sometimes, they are bicycle jackets we got at Performance Bicycle.

We had a couple on a trike following us on the Helping Hands poker run a couple years ago and they commented on our jackets and said they could see us for a long long way.

[hue jass]

i thought it meant that everywhere?

It does...to most people in reality. I've always thought the 'you got it' signal was low beams off then on at night, and on then off in daylight.

[rusty]

Ryan was great guy and friend.we all goin miss him

[Scruit]

This just in:

The accident report does not yet list any offenses charged or who was at fault, however it DOES show that the driver of the car AND the driver of the car tht was behind her BOTH stated that the car had a green left turn arrow and that the bike ran the red light.

[fizzer]

This just in:

The accident report does not yet list any offenses charged or who was at fault, however it DOES show that the driver of the car AND the driver of the car tht was behind her BOTH stated that the car had a green left turn arrow and that the bike ran the red light.

Where did you find the report? I've been watching the Columbus police site since this happened but I could be looking in the wrong place.

[Scruit]

http://www.dps.state.oh.us/OHCrashReports/

[Goldie]

For some reason I can select the report, but I am not able to view it. What am I doing wrong?

Edit: I'm such a dumbass. Fucking pop-up blocker

Edited April 24, 2011 by Goldie