Night Rider - Part II, Conspicuity
Sep 29 '01
The Bottom Line Lookit me!
Part one of this is in Highway Riding.
OK, let's say you have read Hula Rider's "Night Rider Part I" and you have turned your bike into a Christmas Tree. There is no way anyone on the highway could miss your rolling billboard. You reach the city limits and press right, lean right, and take that decreasing radius off-ramp into town.
All of a sudden, instead of the most visible thing for miles, you are one of many rapidly moving shining objects disappearing into a background of multi-colored flashing lights. If you tuck up behind someone, you look like part of his back end. If you hang back, people try to cut in front of you.
Ingrain this into your mind, your soul, and your very being: I MUST PROTECT MYSELF AND MY BIKE. If you thought you were on alert on the highway, go on Red Alert in town. Use your SIPDE every moment. Before leaving your parking spot at one establishment, make a plan for getting to the next one. Have a firm mental map so you can focus on the challenges of getting there instead of trying to decide where you are going.
Now, some specific things I have found helpful:
If you have not yet bought one of those gadgets that flashes your tail light, remember to flash your brake light before you actually start to apply the brakes. ALSO flash your brakelight if you will be using engine braking. That car cannot stop as fast as you can, so give him fair warning.
When you are sitting still - flash your brake light. Some studies claim that three short flashes followed by one long flash are the most attention-getting.
Also, when I am sitting still, I move around on the bike. The human eye is attracted to motion. So move. Sitting at a stoplight is a good time to stretch those cramped muscles, anyway. Scratch your neck, your leg, shift around. Flex your back - remember that reflective vest? It will twist and twinkle in the street lights as you move. Turn your head back and forth - this keeps your neck flexible so you can look through the turns, and it makes your Halo (covered in Part I) flash brightly.
Folks will give you as much room as they think you take up. They cannot see your little mirrors. So if, with mirrors, your bike is 3' wide, but it looks 2' wide, people will give you two feet - that's only 1' on each side of your spine. And, they can tap your mirrors or your handles - which are probably black, and you probably wear black gloves.
In the animal kingdom, critters which are being threatened often fluff their feathers, swallow air, raise their hackles, etc. to make themselves look bigger to scare away predators. Think of cars as predators, and try to look bigger.
I'm 5'3" - going by ol' Leonardo D.'s proportions, that means I can potentially make people think I am 5'3" wide. With reflective gloves sweeping out in a nice big curve, I can get people to give me at least 2-1/2 feet of space on each side - and since they don't want to get smacked by my hand, they'll generally give more. No, you can't really use the right hand except when sitting still, but humans generally assume symmetry, so if you obviously stick out a couple of extra feet on the left, they'll tend to give you the space on the right (but don't count on it).
Then, there is one of my favorite ways to add city conspicuity when I am shopping - I wrap my saddle bags and luggage in white garbage bags, bungied securely. People can't figure out what the heck that fluttering white thing is, so they stay back and away.
Works for me!
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hularider
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Member: Leilehua Yuen
Location: Hilo, Hawaii, USA
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About Me:
HulaRider is an author, artist, and educator who specializes in Hawaiian culture and arts.
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