Cyclists what's with the strobes?

usignuolo

We have a lot of new cycle lanes locally with a lot of cyclists using them. Others still prefer to take their chances on the main highway. But what they have in common is they are festooned with lights like a Christmas tree - this is a brightly lit urban area round here - but they all have clusters of winking red lights and many the pernicious strobes.


I am all for keeping motorists safe but on a wet night like tonight with the rain causing a lot of reflections, as a motorist I feel quite disoriented. This does not make me safer as a driver, So while I can see the point of the winking red lights why the strobes which are very disconcerting - maybe more so when viewed through the safety glass of a car window on a wet night.


Motorcyclists don't seem to need them. Cyclists what's with the strobes?

richj

for visibilty - blinking to get attention, solid to show drivers where we are

tripled

As a driver, one solid red light can take a moment or two before you pick it up. In poor weather conditions, perhaps if the light's not very bright, and you have oncoming headlights dazzling you, it can take even longer - and that's even before you've worked out what it belongs to (a car with one back light, motorbike, pushbike, horse rider, brothel window, etc).

A flashing back light tells me pretty much instantly it's there and it's a push bike and personally I'd prefer cyclists had them. With regards to flashing front lights though, the brighter flashing ones do need to be angled down a bit or they can be distracting.

jb66

It means batteries can last 50% longer

Marco_Panettone

It's important that cyclists can be seen, and also identified as vulnerable road users. Flashing lights do both of these - you can pick them out against a backdrop of headlights/tail-lights, and show you that it's a person on a bike, not a car in the far distance. This means you should drive more carefully around them ESPECIALLY in poor conditions.


If you feel disorientated when driving in bad weather you should slow down and drive to the conditions. That will make you a safer driver.

HappyMJ

They might be annoying but it makes them more visible....pretty much everything that's been said so far.

Strider590

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5077860

OP didn't get the response they wanted.

lisyloo

Motorcyclists don't seem to need them.

Pretty sure they are only legal on pedal cycles.

[Deleted User]

I once did an experiment: I counted what proportion of overtaking cars crossed all the way over to the other side of the road as they passed. More drivers were leaving more room when my light was flashing than when it was steady.

Indie_Kid

They give me a headache.

dotdash79

When i get back riding I will have one solid light on my bike, A flasher on my backpack and i will have a solid on my helmet. At the front I will have a flasher and a solid on my bar and a solid on my helmet.

To be honest some drivers miss you in when is light and the weather is sunny and in the middle of the day, when you are in the middle of the lane.