Overly bright lights

Ray Palmer

It is something I have seen happen every winter but seems to be worse now is cyclists with mega powerful lights. I was stopped at some lights on my bike when two cyclist arrived and I was blinded by their lights as the approached and then as they waited.

Is their a regulation on how bright a light can be?

Yesterday there was a guy wearing a potholing light and the road was lit up for about 200m and that was with street lights in the suburbs. These things are certainly dangerous as high beams on cars but worse as they move around so much.

07Lapierre

IMO a lot of people simply switch on their lights and don't consider other road users. Even the brightest light should not blind other road users if its mounted with due consideration. Eg no lights above handlebar height and tilt the light slightly down and to the left.

Tenzor07

Not this again, been covered quite a few times on boards and elsewhere...

No one ever died or became seriously injured from a bright bicycle light, however those without them have...

We have bright lights everywhere, fog lights left permanently on with main headlights, dodgy boy-racer super bright badly adjusted lights, super bright led car brake lights..with much higher lumen's.. So maybe check on Motors forum about the regulations for those?

beauf

I've seen a few in the Park with lights brighter than a car high beam. Usually flashing, so when it hits you in the eye, even via the mirror you're blind for a considerable time. Same if your cycling into it.

mardybumbum

Tenzor07 wrote: »

No one ever died or became seriously injured from a bright bicycle light, however those without them have...

Nobody has ever died from having a profanity shouted at them while cycling either, but I tend to find it quite offensive, just like those scorching front lights the OP mentioned that will burn the retina from your eyeball.

Can people not just use common sense anymore?

If it can be used as a security light for your back garden then it's probably best to keep it off the handlebars.

beauf

Tenzor07 wrote: »

...We have bright lights everywhere, fog lights left permanently on with main headlights, dodgy boy-racer super bright badly adjusted lights, super bright led car brake lights..with much higher lumen's.. So maybe check on Motors forum about the regulations for those?

As a cyclist and a driver, I have to say the cyclists lights I'm talking about are waaaay brighter than most of what you are talking about.

Perhaps its because you don't generally get cars on hi beams, in your mirrors, or so close to you, or in the city generally. They aren't that kinda strobe flashes either.

Lumen

Tenzor07 wrote: »

No one ever died or became seriously injured from a bright bicycle light, however those without them have..

Strawman/false dichotomy. Nobody is suggesting that people cycle without lights.

Is "death or serious injury" the sole criteria for acceptable behaviour? If I spit in your face that would cause neither death nor serious injury, so would that be OK?

Tenzor07 wrote: »

We have bright lights everywhere, fog lights left permanently on with main headlights, dodgy boy-racer super bright badly adjusted lights, super bright led car brake lights..with much higher lumen's.. So maybe check on Motors forum about the regulations for those?

Whataboutery. This is a cycling forum so we discuss bike lights. Whether boy racers do or don't adjust their lights badly has no bearing on which bike lights we buy and how we fit them.

Tenzor07

Lumen wrote: »

Strawman/false dichotomy. Nobody is suggesting that people cycle without lights.
Is "death or serious injury" the sole criteria for acceptable behaviour? If I spit in your face that would cause neither death nor serious injury, so would that be OK?Whataboutery. This is a cycling forum so we discuss bike lights. Whether boy racers do or don't adjust their lights badly has no bearing on which bike lights we buy and how we fit them.

ok, um..thanks for that...

My point here is to inject a bit of common sense to people who claim they are being blinded by a new breed of cyclist with retina burning super-lights!

ford2600

Whataboutery.

Good post but can you stop using that word Fintan

Lumen

Tenzor07 wrote: »

ok, um..thanks for that...

My point here is to inject a bit of common sense to people who claim they are being blinded by a new breed of cyclist with retina burning super-lights!

That would be the same common sense missing from the 6000-lumens-or-cars-will-kill-me crowd.

It is really annoying to be cycling along minding your own business and be seriously discomfited by some mobile lighthouse coming in the opposite direction. Have you not experienced that?

Tenzor07

Lumen wrote: »

That would be the same common sense missing from the 6000-lumens-or-cars-will-kill-me crowd.
It is really annoying to be cycling along minding your own business and be seriously discomfited by some mobile lighthouse coming in the opposite direction. Have you not experienced that?

I doubt most people spend more than €50 or so on lights, so from the LBS all that will get you is around 300 lumens, which is probably the same as a car brake light for instance..

But yes, some people need to learn where the middle or low setting is on there lights, i would always lower mine when in a well lit area or a two-way cycle lane...

Though when I come across this guy then I will start to get worried!

Chips Lovell

Tenzor07 wrote: »

No one ever died or became seriously injured from a bright bicycle light, however those without them have...

As it happens, I started a thread on this topic recently because I'd narrowly avoided an accident after being blinded by another cyclist's light.

Overly bright or misdirected lights are at best obnoxious and at worst dangerous.

r27

I don't really think overbrightness is a problem , more where the light is going , never understood why other cyclist mount there's pointing above handlebar height / stem angle , making the path ahead less visible and blinding oncoming traffic

Ray Palmer

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Not this again, been covered quite a few times on boards and elsewhere...

No one ever died or became seriously injured from a bright bicycle light, however those without them have...

I wonder how you could possibly know this? If it interferes with somebody ability to see how do you know that didn't cause an accident.

I have had the image of cyclists lights burnt into my eye for a least 10 minutes at this point.

Any added distraction or impairment as a result of these light increases danger to all road users and very may well have caused an accident or will cause. As mentioned it is just plain offensive.

07Lapierre

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I wonder how you could possibly know this? If it interferes with somebody ability to see how do you know that didn't cause an accident.

I have had the image of cyclists lights burnt into my eye for a least 10 minutes at this point.

Any added distraction or impairment as a result of these light increases danger to all road users and very may well have caused an accident or will cause. As mentioned it is just plain offensive.

I find not looking directly at the light source helps. I meet cyclists (and cars) coming towards me on my commute with bright lights (especially the annoying flashing one's). Car's in particular, don't dip their lights for a cyclist until their almost right in front of me. In that situation I don't look at the light, I look beyond the light or slightly to the left. wearing a peaked cap helps too. Tilt your head slightly so the peak blocks the light.

quozl

07Lapierre wrote: »

wearing a peaked cap helps too. Tilt your head slightly so the peak blocks the light.

I find that wearing my peaked hat while tilting my head at on-coming cars gives me an overly jaunty appearance.

If there's one thing boy-racers hate it's a jaunty looking man with a cap. It's only asking for trouble.

Lumen

07Lapierre wrote: »

I find not looking directly at the light source helps. I meet cyclists (and cars) coming towards me on my commute with bright lights (especially the annoying flashing one's). Car's in particular, don't dip their lights for a cyclist until their almost right in front of me. In that situation I don't look at the light, I look beyond the light or slightly to the left. wearing a peaked cap helps too. Tilt your head slightly so the peak blocks the light.

http://wilderness-urban-survival.blogspot.ie/2011/11/night-vision.html

"one trick to help retain at least some night vision is to close or cover one eye when an offending light source is approaching...if you're hunting, or being hunted, and white lights (flashlights, helicopters, flares, etc.) are being used in the area, keep that trick in mind. It might save your night vision…or even your life."

I shall print that out and tape it to the wall of my bunker.

07Lapierre

Swap your Oakley Radars for these!

Ray Palmer

07Lapierre wrote: »

I find not looking directly at the light source helps. I meet cyclists (and cars) coming towards me on my commute with bright lights (especially the annoying flashing one's). .

I must get a magic head where it reacts before the light is seen. Some of us have wing mirrors and where do look when the bike is in front of you? The lights on the back are just as bright.

I am on a bicycle I can only imagine how annoying it is to have a light flashing on high beam into a mirror that points into your face. In other words it isn't possible to avoid

beauf

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I doubt most people spend more than €50 or so on lights, so from the LBS all that will get you is around 300 lumens, which is probably the same as a car brake light for instance.....

I think you're a little behind the times.

Look on amazon or similar and you'll find cheap cree lights with lumens of 2400~6800 for around that. Even cheap torches are putting out 600~1000.

beauf

Lumen wrote: »

..."one trick to help retain at least some night vision is to close or cover one eye when an offending light source is approaching.....

When driving the trick used to be to track the kerb line.

But you often have no warning with bikes in the city.

beauf

Thankfully you see these mobile search lights only rarely.

07Lapierre

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I must get a magic head where it reacts before the light is seen. Some of us have wing mirrors and where do look when the bike is in front of you? The lights on the back are just as bright.

I am on a bicycle I can only imagine how annoying it is to have a light flashing on high beam into a mirror that points into your face. In other words it isn't possible to avoid

Sorry, can't help you there. I don't have mirrors on by bike. I do have them on my car though and i'm fortunate that they are operated by a small button on the drivers door. A few times i've had a Truck or SUV drive too close behind me and I find there lights very blinding. In that situation I press the button and fold the mirrors in.

Tenzor07

beauf wrote: »

I think you're a little behind the times.
Look on amazon or similar and you'll find cheap cree lights with lumens of 2400~6800 for around that. Even cheap torches are putting out 600~1000.

I buy off my LBS rather than cheapo cree lights off the net.

For the majority of commuters then this one is all you need: www.niterider.com/lights-2/rechargeable-2/lumina-350/

Or maybe the 700 if you are on unlit roads..

I don't believe your average Joe-Commuter needs mega-lumens.

Though some dude on here even cycled up Sally Gap at night time with an Aldi torch Sellotaped to his handlebars!

shedweller

I remember having a set of cateye lights that had a wide beam and a spot beam. When a car wouldnt dip its lights i switched on the spot in the drivers eyes and they were quick to dim their lights!

beauf

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I buy off my LBS rather than cheapo cree lights off the net....

...

The point is price isn't a barrier to buying these retina wreckers...

Spook_ie

shedweller wrote: »

I remember having a set of cateye lights that had a wide beam and a spot beam. When a car wouldnt dip its lights i switched on the spot in the drivers eyes and they were quick to dim their lights!

Blinded cyclist and a blinded car driver, going to be an almighty crack up someday....

ROK ON

It's annoying but so what. Lots of inconsiderate folk out there.
I partly feel that this is an annoyance for city folk. For people that live and drive regularly in the countryside you sort of get used to being blinded by inconsiderate road users at this time of year.

I drove from Kerry to Limk a few weeks back at night and by the time I got to limk my eyes were sort of bloodshot from the constant glare.

People in this country haven't a clue - bithching on the web ain't going to change that.

When I am on a bike or in a car and am blinded I prefer to resort to the lowest common denominator and flash my lights to highest setting.

The lights of bikes no matter how bright are rarely as bad as guys in SUVs with the full beams plus fog lights on. The beam plus the height of the light is a killer.

TiBoy

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I doubt most people spend more than €50 or so on lights, so from the LBS all that will get you is around 300 lumens, which is probably the same as a car brake light for instance..

But yes, some people need to learn where the middle or low setting is on there lights, i would always lower mine when in a well lit area or a two-way cycle lane...

Though when I come across this guy then I will start to get worried!

Minus the lights thats a dux helm helmet with a built in visor, which can be got in clear. Anyone know if you can get them in the UK, Ireland or Euro region?

Sorry for the highjack but I'm desperate:p

tomasrojo

I've definitely been blinded by a bike headlight. It's worse on a two-way cycle track.

I think it's part of a larger problem of disbelief that there's a point at which you've attained adequate conspicuity and going any further has small gains at best.