thirdcrank wrote:Even worse than motorists driving along are those who keep their headlamps on when waiting in the vehicle at night. No matter how sophisticated the beam diffuser, if it's on the wrong side of the road and probably with two wheels up on the pavement, everybody gets it straight in their eyes.
I fear that is standard in new vehicles when the key is inserted even if the motor is off. It is disgusting
Lights on, brain off
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120 Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
they don't even need a dipping feature, if you can fashion some sort of shade over the top half of the light, then the rider could just dip them by hand. on coming cyclists would see a beam aimed at the ground but the source of the light would be obscured.
it seems silly to type it really... but so many light designs are simply a circle of light that just kicks out the heavens in the general direction it's pointed.
i'm often blinded despite the best efforts of the rider, because the source is still very much exposed
i shouldn't be posting about it... it should be the only commercially viable design for lights.
On a general note, I see a lot of cyclists in the morning with incredibly bright lights I can't believe that it's giving such a superior vision of the obstacles ahead that it's worth the alienation they will encounter. Sure thing a bright light is great for all reasons but there are plenty that are over the top and give drivers another chance to have a pop.
thirdcrank wrote:Even worse than motorists driving along are those who keep their headlamps on when waiting in the vehicle at night. No matter how sophisticated the beam diffuser, if it's on the wrong side of the road and probably with two wheels up on the pavement, everybody gets it straight in their eyes.
I agree - I very nearly smashed the door off/into the prize plum who was parked on the wrong side of the road, door open, head in the footwell in an unlit village, with a black Audi, headlights on. I like the "can't educate pork" quote - very apposite.
Reactions not bad for an increasingly aged one, I realised.
Rather than "dip" the issue is the actual light beam shape
Most lights simply have a cone that delivers much of the light above where it is required and as a result wasted... this is the part that causes the issues
A few lights like the B&M Ixon break this trend and do have a shaped and focussed beam
The best way to describe this is to look at two beam patterns: Ixon beam:
see^^^^^ it's got a little flap! (if i googled the right light)
does that flap move?
even if it doesn't....i'm sure this advanced technology could trickle down to lower end "to see" lights, that are nowhere near as bright, but twice as dazzling to oncoming vehicles. clearly not everybody can be trusted to cup their 30 quid lights
Cunobelin wrote:Rather than "dip" the issue is the actual light beam shape
Most lights simply have a cone that delivers much of the light above where it is required and as a result wasted... this is the part that causes the issues
A few lights like the B&M Ixon break this trend and do have a shaped and focussed beam
The best way to describe this is to look at two beam patterns: Ixon beam:
Cunobelin wrote:Rather than "dip" the issue is the actual light beam shape
Most lights simply have a cone that delivers much of the light above where it is required and as a result wasted... this is the part that causes the issues
A few lights like the B&M Ixon break this trend and do have a shaped and focussed beam
The best way to describe this is to look at two beam patterns: Ixon beam:
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
jeremy1 wrote:What annoys me are not the 1 in 1000 cyclists like that as I have never seen one it is the cars driver who has full beam and will not dip for cyclists then I POINT my CREE CHIP light directly at them, sorry
Many motorists simply don't understand that they should dip their lights for ALL road users rather than just for other drivers. I don't think they are being particularly malicious but just ignorant. When I flash my light by waving my hand in front of it, the majority of drivers dip their lights, the few that don't are morons.
Unusually, I don't think anybody has mentioned head-mounted lights. Brilliant in the appropriate circumstances but a dangerous pita if shone directly in your face by somebody who sees eye-contact as important but is presumably too thick to understand it's dangerous and inconsiderate to blind others. I've recently been on the receiving end of this from a rider who thought that the flashing mode would be better still. I'm generous enough to put this down to a lack of experience rather than intentionally dazzling others as part of a misguided crusade.
It's pretty stressful riding home after dark on the new north south cycle superhighway in london, especially in the rain. The combination of incredible numbers of cyclists (which of course is a good thing) coming towards you at speed with flashing bright lights pointed all over the place, yet in a narrow space that's already too small for the volume of users, is really awful. I find I have to look to the left to avoid getting dazzled, and then run the risk of an accident becqause I'm not able to look exactly where I'm going!
And don't get me started on those ludicrous 'blaze' green lazer lights...
I have an identical experience when I drive. Cars fitted with dipped beams with compulsory MOT inspections and their lights are still pointed at my car's ceiling.
I'll confess, having finally got a fairly bright light at Christmas (the Cateye Volt 800 pictured earlier in the thread) that I hadn't originally considered that it might actually cause dazzle until I got flashed by a couple of drivers.
I did then realise that the combination of the height of the light on my handlebars and the angle could be shining it straight into drivers eyes. I have therefore lowered the angle. It does have variable lights but its not overly easy to change; especially when wearing gloves (which I normally am in the dark coz its cold) as the button is a bit fiddly. An easier way to dip might be a good idea for such lights.
I think since changing the angle I've stopped upsetting people but do need to find a way to be both on the bike and in the car at the same time so I can see what it actually looks like from the other side!
Mick F wrote:Our Fiat 500 has a photo-chromatic rear view mirror.
The brighter the lights behind, the more the light is attenuated. Absolutely excellent bit of kit, and I wonder why they aren't fitted as standard.
AFAIK, and perhaps more to the point, some cars are fitted with headlights which automatically dip if they detect a vehicle coming the other way. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be able to detect anything less that a Trinity House grade beam. Meanwhile, their drivers are happy to allow yet another "driver assist" feature do the job and abdicate any responsibility for avoiding dazzling others.
