The #1 thing: be seen
Nov 29 '00
From age 17-27 I didn't give a thought about motorcycle safety and I survived by pure luck. But after my three closest friends were killed in (car) accidents, I decided to get serious.
I enrolled in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation advanced rider course, and the first thing our instructor boomed was, "MAKE YOURSELF SEEN!! It's the #1 thing you can do!"
Following his advice and researching the topic over the last two years, here's what I've done:
(1) Bright upper-torso clothing. I so love rich, supple black leather jackets... But I so love life more. Some black leather jackets come with a reflective silver sash across the chest and back. You can buy reflective sash's made of high-vis green (www.branfordbike.com/reflect/reflect2.html#item1) that are AWESOME visually. They burn a diagonal line into the retinas of car drivers. I've never known a car to miss seeing me with one of these.
Also, you can get jackets with bright yellow designs. Even better, the high-vis green that bicyclists often wear. That color registers brightest to most human eyes and it does not naturally occur in nature, so it pops. Fire trucks painted that color are 300% less likely to be involved in traffic accidents. (www.aerostich.com/isroot/riderwearhouse/DirectPages/highviz.html).
(2) Modulated lights. Kisan makes a brake light bulb that flashes for the first six seconds you apply brakes. Safety studies show that if you pump your brakes, you'll more likely be noticed. These do it for you. And the bulb is brighter too. (www.kisantech.com)
Also, Kisan makes a headlight modulator that only operates by day, to pulse your light so it catches car driver's attention. It works.
(3) A second brake light. Studies always show that high rear lights are best (Volvo places them way up high).
Also, an extra brake light that's not even illuminated until you step on the brakes, like cars have in their back windows, are major attention-getters. You can get LED bars (they're bright) to place on top of your rear rack or luggage, as high as you can figure out how to place them. (www.signaldynamics.com)
(4) Driving and running lights. Amber running lights front and side, red to the rear. Works for safety vehicles and trucks. And any extra white lights like PIAA on the front throw more light on the ground and get you noticed by cars. And while you're there, you might want to pick up brighter bulbs, but watch that they're not illegal or high enough wattage to slowly fry your wiring harness.
(5) Scotchlite reflective tape. It's now required on semi-truck trailers because it adds so much to safety. They use alternating red & white, with 2" wide strips. You can get black reflective tape that you can hardly see on the black parts of your bike, and it's got AWESOME white reflecting power. Don't ask me how 3M did it.
(6) Mirror lights. Okay, this will sound odd but...You many have noticed that some sport utes (Ford Expedition is one) have red LEDs embedded in the side-view mirrors. They act as additional turn-signal indicators at the widest point of the vehicle, and they actually look very cool. They certainly catch the attention of motorists who are forward of your rear turn-signals, in your blind spot. (www.genxco.com/mirrors.htm)
Kisan (www.kisantech.com) is making a product to attach to the bottom of your bike mirrors which looks like a black stick of gum with amber LEDs to the front and red ones facing rear. They act as running lights--illuminated at low intensity full time--brake lights, and turn signals. It gets your safety lights up high and outside where they do the most good.
(7) Helmet light. Okay, we're getting carried away and you want me to stop. After this I promise I will. Troy Lee designs, makers of the coolest helmet graphics, also make an add-on light for the back of your helmet. It's small, light, and aerodynamic, it works off a regular watch battery that lasts 150 hours, and it's bright. You can set it to blink, constant on, or off.
(www.troyleedesigns.com/catalog_01/index.html)
(www.safedriving.com)
Those things ought to keep us out of the morgue for awhile.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
sweetmachine
|
|
Member: Chris MacAskill
Location: Mountain View, CA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.