Almost bought the farm AGAIN

"Gooserider" wrote in message
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Gooserider wrote:
This is the second time in a week I've nearly been run over by a
driver.
Last week a pickup turned left in front of me, and a nice deputy pulled
her
over. This morning I was pedalling the two blocks to the gym at 5AM.
I'm
pretty well lighted---two bright LED headlights and a reflective vest
with
blinking LEDs. I saw a car turn onto the road ahead of me and head my
direction on the opposite side. Suddenly, the car veered to my lane and
drove right toward me. It was dark and my eyes hadn't fully adjusted,
so
I
couldn't really judge the distance until she was pretty close. She saw
me
and swerved to her right---it was a newspaper delivery person driving
on
the
wrong side to fill paper boxes! Unbelievable. It's like they're trying
to
get me.

Weird events like that do happen, and it's weirder when you get two in
a row.

I wouldn't overreact with strobes, mega-lights, mega-horns and the
like. Your lights are probably fine. You simply had a little bad
luck. It's likely random - and two random events sometimes happen in a
row.

This is assuming, of course, that you didn't just start riding in the
dark, and aren't doing stealth cycling. From your description, that's
certainly not the case.

If it were me, I'd have a friend observe my bike lights & reflectors
from his passing car to see if he thinks they're adequate; then have
him ride your bike while you observe from the car. (Actually, since
I'm me, I've already done that several times with my lights.) You may
think of some easy way to increase visibility - like reflective strips
on the inside surface of your rims, or pedal reflectors, or whatever.

Then I'd remember that these kinds of things happen even in daylight.
You just have to stay aware as you ride and be prepared to react, day
or night.

- Frank Krygowski

Thanks Frank. I think I'm pretty well lit. I have Tireflys on my valve
stems
and Tirefly lighted reflectors on the spokes, in addition to the
headlights,
vest, and taillights.

You might want to consider some reflective strips on your crank arms - these
produce a noticeable left-right alternating "flash" that drivers will
instantly recognize as a bicycle. When I used to commute in darkness, I
applied some silvery, highly reflective 3M strips to my crank arms, and they
proved very effective (they're nearly the same color as most crank arms, so
they're not noticeable in daylight).

Night riding is inherently more risky than daytime, and I don't think you
can have too much light, or too many reflectors. I've had cars pull up
alongside me and comment that I was "lit up like a Christmas tree"...and
that's exactly what I want them to see.

GG


I think the driver was just not paying attention.