Seriously, get some lights and stop cutting intersections. Y'all're gonna get yerselves killed.
i hate this. i had some lightless, helmetless dillweed riding in circles on butler in front of me this morning. he then cut between me and the speeding cars at the doughboy intersection and blew through a red light only to hop on the sidewalk and get off his bike.
asshats are everywhere.
(Two of my favorites! asshat AND dillweed in one post. Bravo!)
i prefer assweed and dillhat
sounds like a 70's rock duo
Seriously cannot stand lightless people. You're just asking for trouble, and I don't like to see people ask for trouble.
The fact that you can ride after dark, without lights, without safety gear, in door zones, against traffic and running red lights AND SURVIVE is just proof that cycling in the city is a lot safer than people think.
Around 9pm tonight I almost hit some light & reflector less hipster assweed who was crossing against the red headed inbound on Penn at Negley when I had the left turn outbound green... shouted at him to get some f'n lights. Dillhat wasn't wearing a helmet either, probably so he wouldn't mess up his hair. Seriously... make yourselves visible in traffic at night.
this reminds me of the time i rode my bike on 28 outboud.
My brother maintains that a rear red light is more important than a front white light. I look at the requirement to have a front white light and the lack of requirement to have a red light, and conclude the opposite.
Clearly it's ideal to have both front and rear lights (and multiples of each) but if you had to pick, which would you say is the most important, front or rear?
You're less aware of things behind you, so that's a good place for a light.
But why choose? Do both.
Yeah, but when you did it, Steve, it was all about alleycat glory. Which totally legitimizes your situation.
The front is. There are no crossing conflicts from the rear. But like ahlir said, why choose.
I rode my bike on 28 inbound the first week I moved to pittsburgh, immediately got a flat, walked three miles home in cleats, and didn't ride again for a year. I almost moved back to boston but I couldn't face the 12 hour drive again.
to all of the bike light fans: have fun when you finally get jumped.
it's really not that hard to operate your bike without lights when you know that nobody can see you.
you should be assuming you are invisible, even with lights on. what, do you guys turn in front of vehicles at night because you *know* the person will see you? i don't even do that in the daytime.
The front light has a switch. Turn it off if you feel it's safer that way. But the two times I know I've barely avoided being hit were when my light failed or was missing and I was nearly left-crossed.
Lights on for Safety!
I run a generator on my front hub and currently use three lights, although I'm adding more.
I don't turn in front of moving vehicles, lights or no lights, and with lights, cars are a lot less likely to turn in front of me, people can see me, as far as getting jumped, I welcome the opportunity.
...but my brother might be coming the other way...
If you're on a major artery, turn em on. If you're on sketchy side streets, turn em off if it makes you feel safer. If you're a n00b and pedal with your heels, use lights for sure.
Lately I've been going blinkies all the time, ghetto front light (doesn't blink) when it's totally dark. Could use a legit front light - that said, anyone have any suggestions? I don't mean some $300 HID but something $20 or so, more for being seen.
@unixd0rk, I don't have the stats on this to back me up, but I would place a fairly sizable bet that one is much more likely to get hit by a car while riding at night without lights than being jumped by hooligans while riding with lights.
I have been riding in Pittsburgh for 10+ years with lights at night and have never been jumped. I've also never been hit by a car at night.
Seriously. I work in Oakland and take classes at night and the sheer number of lightless (often lacking in even *reflectors*), helmetless, etc cyclists drives me crazy.
Anyone here who drives a car knows that even in good conditions, even as people who LOOK for bicyclists, it can be hard to see bikes or pedestrians on dark streets.
Re: lights -- I'm a n00b, but I really like my Blackburn headlight. It's bright and has a solid and flashing setting. Also easy to take off/on.
I have an older version of the Voyager and the Mars 3.0 seen here:
http://www.blackburndesign.com/lights.html
It lists on Amazon at around $20.
http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Voyager-3-3-Bicycle-Headlight/dp/B001GAOR2K/ref=pd_sim_sg_1
While we're talking about people who are gonna get themselves killed: middle-aged guy without a helmet riding down the middle of the road AGAINST TRAFFIC on Schenley Drive at 7:15 this morning. Really?
Speaking of bikes, night, getting jumped, and Shadyside....
Oct 6, 2010 10:58 pm US/Eastern
CMU Student Mugged In Shadyside
SHADYSIDE (KDKA) ? A Carnegie Mellon University student making a midnight run to the grocery store on his bicycle was beaten up and mugged.
This happened on Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside late Monday night.
Thieves knocked the student off his bicycle, beat him up and stole his wallet and cell phone.
The robbery was surprising to some students.
"I know to take precautions, but this recent one has really been shocking that it was a person on a bike," Renee Pacella, a CMU Freshman, said.
Traveling alone at night can be dangerous. Campus police are asking students to take precautions, for example, using an escort service at night or taking a campus shuttle bus.
Police also have the following safety tips:
* Stay alert your surroundings at all times
* Stay close to friends and avoid strangers
* Avoid devices that impair hearing and sight
"Campus police are asking students to take precautions, for example, using an escort service at night"
cmu really does have everything huh?
They're probably robots, though.
Ya know, when I was in college, "escort service" had a very different meaning.
I bet CMU has robots for that, too.
...oh that's what I was getting at, Dan...
RoboPro
"to all of the bike light fans: have fun when you finally get jumped."
Agreed you cannot assume cars see you in the dark or light, but give them and your fellow cyclists a better chance anyway.
As far as getting jumped, I agree with the comment that you are much more likely to get hit or at least narrowly missed by a car.
@cburch
CCAC also offers escort services. It's like having your grandpa walk you to your car. You just hope he doesn't slip on ice and break his hip again.
@pierce
i wasn't talking about that kind of escort service, unless you are into that sort of thing.
Would the escorts being robots make it legal?
yes, but you have to be debriefed by darpa (after you are de-briefed by the robots!)
State law mandates only a front light and rear
reflectors.
It would be good press if cyclists were the ones
pressing politicians to mandate rear lights and
enforce that shit. that would be cool.
In LA at night I got warned for having red in the
front and white in the back. that is nuts.
They had bike light stings in Davis every fall. Cops would park on a popular bike corridors between the dorms and the rest of campus buildings the first week of school. They would round up the freshman by the 100s (at a time!) and issue them all fixit tickets. They had to bike over to the police station with their newly installed light and have a cop sign off on it, or pay a fine. Most lights are cheaper than the fine so it was a no-brainer.
We'll know cycling has become a concern when the police apply the man power to pull off that kind of sting around here. I'm guessing bike lights are waaayyy down their list.
I imagine it would be more of a cyclist sponsored event around here. Get some sponsors (performance, planet bike, etc.) Park a group of people at whatever intersections had the most commuters in the census, or around campus and start handing out lights to all the dim(!) riders.
I'm sure there are a few who are too cool for lights or whatever, and that couldn't be helped unless you had an officer there to issue a real ticket, but I bet there are a good number of clueless beginners that just haven't been told they need them.
Back in August, my neighbors son was going off to Penn State main campus, so apparently the college is strongly recommending that students bring bikes to get around, and that they be fitted with front and rear lights, and a lock. And this kid is a football player, so at 18, I don't think he had been on a bike in years. The dad had found quite a decent old Schwinn, and I was super happy to help him get it set up! I had forgotten about how kinda good that was.
What about a hangtag or other kind of flier that could be attached to bikes without lights parked at racks? It could note the law and other bike laws.
Speaking of which, was someone going to put together a "love your bike, lock it right" flier? I saw a bike outside the Pitt Law building last week that was secured with--get this--electrical tape.
Rear reflectors can be adequate. The law specifies a performance standard and I think that's the right approach for equipment laws to take. Though I don't see very many bikes around with any kind of rear reflector on them -- it's either a blinky or nothing.
Do you think the standard is too low, or do you think that there are more than a very few motorists driving without headlights?
There are a fair number of people driving (cars) without headlights, especially around dusk, or during rain. At least there are everyday when I'm biking home. There is a law against that, but I wouldn't bet my life that someone is following the law.
Doesn't have to be the majority either.. it only takes one without headlights to run you over.
When I was in Oakland CA last year I was warned by a number of locals to make sure I had lights front and rear at night due to people being stopped and fined. I use lights anyway, but good to know.
@Bricker it basically breaks down that some large majorities of fatalities are kids. 60%? The next largest is riding at night and then cars turning left in front of you.
You're better off with lights than a helmet, IMO.
put a light on your helmet
@dwillen, true enough. I am personally sensitive to the risk of riding at dusk and/or in the rain without a good taillight. I'd even consider the possibility of mandating a rear light when riding within a half-hour of sunset. But at midnight, reflectors are enough, and I don't want to create more unenforced laws that give police the opportunity to selectively enforce at their whim alone.
I've been running my planet bike rear blinky on most mornings lately, even around 9a, and definitely after 6p. With the sheer volume of gasholes txting or yapping on the phone or checking their facebook out there, I'd rather run the risk of catching someone's peripheral vision than worry about looking like a dork. About a third of the drivers I see are on their goddamned phone in one way or another... I'm just amazed that more peds & cyclists aren't being slaughtered on a daily basis.
I start off by looking like a dork, and then add the blinkies. If someone creams me, they've gotta be blind or stupid.
But wait, here's another Elbert Hubbard moment: "Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."
Still, experienced cyclists in full electroluminescent safety gear are being killed off faster than unlit helmetless hipsters. Not saying don't use the blinkies. Just saying don't rely on them to save your life. Assume all drivers are blind and stupid.
I interpret the (very limited) data a bit differently. The statistics have shown (since the 1970s) that rural roads after dark account for a disproportionate share of cycling fatalities. It seems like the only thing that has changed is that the rural areas have been suburbanized. I think lights may turn out to be a secondary factor, not a primary one.
edmonds59, in suburban areas, not PGH.
I use my lights in the morning and in the evening and of course at night. Rear reflectors are adequate but they don't give the same warning that a bright blinking light does. Someone driving behind me can see my rear light from at least a block away and can process that I am there well in advance of being behind me. When I am driving I appreciate the same thing.
I've found that with a front handlebar basket and a rear crate, my reflectors are all blocked or have to be removed so I can actually "use" my bike. I'm actually slightly worried that I'll get stopped by a cop for taking the lane ("blocking traffic") and then ticketed for that and not having reflectors (and anything else they can make up, because they're irritated). I'm normally a fan of cops stopping anybody breaking any law (the laws are not secret, we're all capable of following 99% of them, my municipality could use the money), and I'm all for paying the fine for any law I break... But the reflectors are just not going to save my life.
Solution is to have reflectors on crate and basket, I know. Just haven't done that yet.
But I do have ligths everywhere. New bike doesn't have a basket b/c with the basket, I couldn't mount light or reflector and I've managed with the rack on back instead (I'm less scared of stuff flying off my bike, it's happened and hasn't ended the world). I put lights on the rack, when the crate is on the reflector is blocked.
But I could see how a hauler would have difficulty complying with the reflector law - complying with the light law just seems like good self preservation (except in choice neighborhoods).
None of that applies to people who are too cool for school and seem to survive life anyway.
ejwme: PA code (and that of most states) permits the substitution of a rear light instead of a reflector. So you're legal on that score. Though you might be missing the "amber reflector on each side." I am 
But that's not precisely the issue at hand -- the suggestion was made that we should actually campaign for eliminating the minimal reflector standard.
I like reflectors and blinkies used together. The reflectors are great at giving several points of reference that help the driver determine how far away you are since the two pedals and a seat help define the object as a bike.
The blinkies are great at catching attention, especially when car lights aren't aimed at you. I especially like the addition of a helmet blinky
I have clipless pedals that have no place for amber reflectors. Am I an outlaw?
Technically, yes. That's why clipless pedals from the bike shop when sold with complete bikes come with those plastic clip-in reflector doo-dads.
Otherwise, I believe the pedals fall under user modifications that are up to you to be legal, much like car hotrodding type things.
hmm... eliminating the reflector minimum standard in favor of?
When motorcyclists successfully lobbied to eliminate their helmet law, I horribly thought that maybe it made sense, a chlorine in the gene pool kind of thing.
I could see this viewed as something similar - "Reflectors don't make a safe cyclist"... except it would never get the publicity the helmet change did.
My deceased father spent about twenty years lobbying for the repeal of the helmet law. I'm pretty sure that statistically, helmets aren't a big factor in motor cycle fatalities. Likewise, if somebody was hit by a car on a bicycle and wasn't wearing a helmet, you probably wouldn't say "man, that guy should have worn a helmet, he'd still be okay!"
Pierce - I've seen and been in bicycle accidents where a helmet made the difference between "man, that sucks" and what would have been severe head injuries - one in a place where the nearest medical help was hundreds of miles of no roads away. Granted, none involved cars, but not all bike accidents involve cars. And a car doesn't have to be involved for there to be severe head trauma. As a kid all the helmet PSAs I saw involved trees, sidewalks, the ground.
I've got no experience with motorcycle helmets, like I said, it was a horrid thought I had, but my point is I'd hate for motorists to have the same thought about a reflector repeal for cyclists. Repealing the law without any other contextual change will just eliminate the opportunity for law enforcement to point out to a cyclist "you're invisible AND you're breaking the law"... Cops aren't (typically) going to stop a law abiding citizen just to tell them they're suicidally stupid. They'd spend all day at it.
"repealing the minimum reflector standard" in favor a mandatory taillight standard. I think we're better off leaving well enough alone.
The advantage that reflectors have over taillights is - they never need batteries. I've seen far too many nighttime cyclists illuminated in their black gear by my headlights, and then realized they've got a blinky perched on their backpack, pointed at the sky, giving out a feeble dying gasp to the mothership.
Tabby: reflectors *and* blinkies, yes. Multiple solid points of reference, yes, yes, yes. It's impossible to estimate closing rate with only a single point of unknown size and intensity. But two reflectors of the same size which are both illuminated by an overtaking auto's headlights will get brighter MUCH faster than a blinky does, increasing the driver's perception of overtaking rate. (In fact... This just occured to me. I think that drivers are conditioned to estimate closing rates based on the increase in perceived brightness of materials in their headlight beam, in and along the roadway. The slower rate of increase in perceived brightness of a taillight alone might cause motorists to underestimate their closing rates, perhaps tragically so. It's probably worth doing a real study.)
Also, if you have multiple taillights, it turns out that the weaker one doesn't really help you very much. What I do is use a brighter one on solid, and a weaker one on flash.
I wonder if this is time for me to make my plug for solid-on mode instead of three blinkies of varying strength, all on flash...
If it were an either/or situation, I would take rear reflectors over rear lights, anyday.
There is the occasional car without lights, of course, but tail lights are neither particulary bright (usually) nor reliable.
@ejwme
The point of my comment was really that instead of insinuating that my gene pool be eliminated via fatal head trama, you look up statistics before making a judgment.
I was speaking strictly about motorcycle accidents, and then comparing it a cyclist accident, which you seem to be a lot more sympathetic towards.
Lyle - I think you're right on the tail lights...
Literally the way I see it when I'm driving behind a cyclist: Blinking gets my attention. Solid allows better depth perception.
Enforcing existing legislation is better than anything I've seen recommended here, though. There's no use in changing the laws if nobody's going to enforce them anyway.
The study you mention would be an awesome project for a college student, masters, intern, depending on scope. Could be nice joint project between psych, engineering, statistics, lots of opportunities. Students work cheap, but their work isn't typically cheap with good advisorship.
As both a motorcyclist and a bicyclist, the anti-helmet/safety-gear-is-uncool crowd's argument reminds me of this-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnGzl-OEyGE
Re the above: I saw a dude in the parking garage this morning parking his Harley. He had a stereo going at 100dB, just absolutely blasting the music out.
Frank Sinatra.
...anti-helmet/safety-gear-is-uncool crowd...
How about the pro-safety anti-bike helmet crowd?
http://www.bmj.com/content/332/7543/722.2/reply
For example, If you expand Nigel Perry's response, you will find this gem:
Let us not forget that during the 3rd International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control, Melbourne 1995, that delegates from Sweden stated, tearfully, that their helmet promotion activities had result in deaths.
