After spending an afternoon in the emergency room worrying and waiting to hear the extent of injury to a very good friend of the family, I felt it was worth revisiting our January 28, 2007 article titled “Being Invisible”. We previously posted a large number of email received by our readers on February 15, 2007.
Fortunately for our friend, a relatively new street rider, his injuries were minor. Ride safe, and read more responses to “Being Invisible” below.
- great site you got here. i have to agree with not running the high beam. i’ve tried it in the past and people still didn’t see me, the ones that did were just pissed cause i was blinding them. i’ve had bikes behind me with the brights on while in my truck and i can vouch that it’s really annoying, if not down right blinding if your eye looks at it directly by accident. low beams on newer bikes are bright enough. you’ll get noticed more with brighter colored gear than with a high beam.
- About high beams and low beams. I had an experience once where I was in my car about to make a left turn when I saw two motorcycles coming towards me. One had his high on and the other his low. I instinctively judged their distance by the bike with the hight beam, which seemed much closer than the othere bike, and thought I had enough clearance for the turn. Well it turned out that the bike with the low beams was in front and much closer than the high beam bike. Luckily I was able to abort my turn in time.
When riding in groups I would suggest that only the lead bike have the high beam on and the rest use low beams. That way it will be easier for oncoming traffic to indentify the start of the group.
While I’m yacking I’d like to say a word about dirt riding and track days. No question that would be helpful, but In my neck of the woods, and I think a lot of other places, they are just not a reasonable option. To experience dirt riding you’d have to start with bike and trailer or truck. Then try and find the very few places where dirt riding is permitted, and these might just be fire or farm roads. Track days mean traveling hundreds of miles and spending hundreds of bucks for one or two track days a year. I just don’t think its feasible for the average biker to do these thing under these circumstances.
- Ironic that so many riders are concerned about “annoying car drivers” with their high beams, yet so few are concerned about “annoying car drivers” with their loud exhaust pipes.
- for your article on being “invisible.” Something I’ve long wondered in the debate over hi-beam vs. low-beam is why the concept of automobile DRLs (daytime running lights) hasn’t spread to bikes.
It strikes me that the disadvantage to a low-beam during the day is that in theory it is aimed so it does not shine directly in to the eyes of oncoming drivers and so it stands a good chance of not being seen at all, resulting in the dreaded left turn in front of the motorcycle. The high beam is aimed so as to illuminate the entire road but it’s so bright it bothers or blinds other drivers. DRLs are simply high beams run at 50% power so they throw a broad beam that can be seen from a wider set of oncoming angles but at a lower intensity so as not to blind or bother oncoming drivers. In the absence of Federal safety standards being rewritten to require DRLs on motorcycles it seems the aftermarket folks that currently provide headlight modulators and the like could whip something up in an afternoon that would work like a charm. For that matter, I didn’t see any comments about headlight modulators at all among your reader responses( I could have missed it…) but it too might be a reasonable solution to the hi-beam vs. low-beam debate.
As for high-beams throwing off the depth or distance perception of other drivers, while possible, I’m not sure that is the most important contributing factor in bike/car accidents. So many cagers report that they never even saw the bike in the first place – rather than mis-judging the bikes speed or proximity…
- You and your readers provided good advice, and I was glad to see several people mention the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. However, I was a little surprised nobody mentioned the other essential resource for new riders: “Proficient Motorcycling – The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well” by David L. Hough. I believe every rider should own a copy of that book and should review its lessons regularly.
- Really good article on Being Invisible and I also enjoyed the other Reader’s comments you posted.
It’s February so here in Canada that means we’re not out riding, but good things to keep in mind when getting back on our bikes come springtime. Which brings me to an important point – for those of us that don’t live in parts of the world where we can ride 12 months of the year, I think all of the points you raise are doubly important for us to keep in mind for our first rides in the spring. Even those of us that have been street riding for years should use the first few rides in the year as an opportunity to tune our minds to the art of riding again. That means going through all the points you raised, plus a bunch more (like checking the bike carefully before the ride, taking it easy even on roads you know well due to debris on the roads left over from winter etc.). Would be good perhaps for you to do a follow-up article on pre-ride mental tune-ups and checklists, especially for springtime.
- There is a firm in Denmark that makes something they call vibra-lys (vibrating light). It has got a website it is www.vibra-lys.dk
- One small comment…..
…..a great majority of motorcyclists seem to think that there is some level of malice in four-wheeled motorists not seeing them. They get angry and upset while riding at this seemingly asinine occurrence. As if the motorist was out to get them. Think about that – the motorist didn’t SEE you, doesn’t know you’re there…..but yet…..he’s supposed to be out to get you?
This argument has raged since the dawn of motorized bicycles. It is a simple fact – motorists do not ‘see’ bikes as readily as they do four-wheeled vehicles. They NEVER have – not ever. Not when Harley and Davidson started their company and certainly not now. It’s high time riders got used to that basic fact of motorcycling.
This isn’t to say that I don’t get angry from time to time at the stupidity of some motorists. However – I do take part of the blame for allowing myself to get into that situation. You know they can’t see you – so you must act accordingly. Getting angry at someone who didn’t even know you were there is stupid. They aren’t ignoring you – they DO NOT SEE YOU.
- 1.) To you guys who say high beams annoy the cage drivers, GOOD! If I’ve annoyed them, they have noticed me. Goal achieved.
2.) Show your light to people, let them get a good look at you. For
instance:
Your riding behind a long line of cars, and notice a car on the right trying to pull out from a side road. I move over fully to the right, on the white line, and let them get a good long look at my approaching headlight. Then, as you approach the killing zone, move to the left side of the lane, giving yourself a cushion and also providing lateral movement within the lane. Works well. Left turning car in opposing lane? I ride the yellow line as far left as I can, let them get a good look at me, then move right, creating the cushion and lateral movement.
Actively try to help them see you.
- Hi there, a great article as they all are on MD…
Anyhow, just wanted to share a tip I got from experienced rider when I was starting.
When in city traffic I always keep my engine gear lower and revs up so my reaction (braking) time is shorter and the engine is doing a bit of braking as well…this is great because the rear wheel doesn’t slide and you can do minor corrections to your speed by just releasing the throttle!
To experienced riders this comes natural, but to the beginners it’s a usefull tip. It shure helped me a lot…
Thank you to all the readers who took the time to respond.
