To be seen or not to be seen...

As many of you know I recently had an incident with a vehicle that did not see me and I had to lay my scoot down to avoid a more serious melding of fenders.
As I have been preparing for the day that I get this cast off and will soon there after be given permission to ride again, I am considering options of additional safety to avoid a repeat of this happening againl
One item I am looking at is the modulating lights. Do any of you have any experience or know of others that have installed the lights and still had someone pull out in front of you/them? I know that I have met dozens and dozens of bikes that have the lights and thinking "wow, that would be hard to miss seeing". But I would like more empirical evidence from any of you about the actual safety history. I have not heard of anyone that has the lights being involved in any accident. How about you?

As a side note: I actually had a conversation with myself before I left the house that day about whether to wear my helmet and jacket. It was very warm and only two miles to town and two miles back. I was going 30 mph or less when I had to lay the scoot down. I know that my name is Gary. I know I love my wife. I KNOW many other things. This one thing I know as well .... if I had chosen not to wear the helmet... I would be dead. My head hit the pavement with the hardest impact I have ever had in my life. Let me repeat... I would be DEAD, if I had not had my helmet on that day. Will I ever have a conversation with myself again about whether to wear the helmet or not... nope.... will put my pants on... pull the zipper up and get the helmet. Jacket did its job too. Not one scratch or bruise above the waist. Will never know, but, if I had had on proper boots, may have got out of the whole thing with no injuries at all.

I know I am mostly preaching to the choir here, but the message is intended for any rider that might just try to push the envelope a little bit...

Opalsboy wrote:

As I have been preparing for the day that I get this cast off and will soon there after be given permission to ride again, I am considering options of additional safety to avoid a repeat of this happening again!

That is always a good idea.

Opalsboy wrote:

One item I am looking at is the modulating lights.
Do any of you have any experience or know of others that have installed
the lights and still had someone pull out in front of you/them?

I was traveling home on a 40 MPH back road and saw a car approaching the road from the right side. I flashed my headlight (non-HID) ONE TIME to get his attention to make sure he knew I was there. As soon as I finished my ONE TIME flash ... he immediately started pulling out across my lane. I had to slam on my brakes and was lucky I could stop in time. He mistook the flash as an OK to "go". It would have been better to turn on the highbeams for a second or two , then turn off the highbeam ... so it was not just a flash. Imagine the same type driver only seeing the modulating headlights flash once or twice and distracted or not paying attention ... thinking you are telling him to go ahead. According to the old Hurt Report, the T-bone accidents are the most dangerous.

Here is an interesting low speed side-by-side comparison of the modulating headlight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGmTrsyYQBA . When I watch the video, I watch for when the lights become visible (whether of not blinking) ... jump remember this is very low speed.

I have HID headlights and I drive with my highbeams on during daylight ... so my light would be even brighter than normal headlight. Anytime I am coming to car that will be entering/crossing the road I am on, I always counter-steer forcing my headlights onto the vehicle then I counter-steer away ... I try to do this at least two times. I really believes this helps in two ways:

1) Light visibility especially with my HIDs.

2) Not driving a straight line. There is a blindspot in each eye, if the person is looking with only one eye not both ... the blind spot could be a factor. In some vehicles, the front window or front column(s) produces a blind spot. By not driving in a straight line, the motion may help move out of any blind spot(s) ... as well as the movement maybe perceived because it not normal. I am sure my Hi-Viz reflective gear and stripes on my gear and SWing ... cause a lot of people think I would be a police officer.

If you ride at dawn, dusk or night, the modulator cannot be used during these times. I still use the same technique and the reflective white 3M Solas tape on the SWing and 3M yellow tape on my gear really jumps out at these times ... as well as the movement of the headlight.

Hi Gary,
Hope you're healing well and gettin' ready to go again. Just want you to know that I am certainly not one of the long-time expert riders around here. With that in mind, I just want to say that I have always been impressed seeing a bike coming towards me with a headlight modulator in action. I always point them out to whomever I'm with (usually the wife of course).

Having said that, I can't remember on which of the forums I "think" I read where someone with the modulator got smacked pretty bad even with hi-viz clothing on. And as even honda_silver mentioned his close call, I still would bet the modulator is one of the more "noticeable" safety devices out there. One of these days... I will have one. All of this, as they say, is just in my humble opinion. And once again, get well quick!

On the subject of lights and being seen.

Over here in the UK most riders ride with lights on and has been said in the day, main beam to add that extra be seen element.

A safety organisation called ROSPA commisioned a report on motorbikes and their visability. I.e. being seen by others. They concluded by saying that there is a degree of 'light blindness' by mototists. In that light from bikes can be ignored by the brain and literally not be seen.

What did they recommend? A mixture of light and hi visibility clothing as light alone can and does tend to be ignored. Which in my experience I have found to be true.

By far the most useful tool to our survival on the roads is our own built in survival instinct, don't let anyone too close and keep yourself in a safe configuration at all times.

Riding has a greater risk than driving simply because we are a good bit more exposed. I would say that the inattentive driver is just as much a risk to automobiles as to bikes.

While we most certainly should take positive actions to be seen, perhaps the most positive action we can take is to drive (ride) defensively. Those times I've experienced the greatest threat have been the times I've become inattentive and have dismissed the threat that traffic (other drivers) pose to me. All active and passive systems added to the bike or to the rider cannot possibly overcome the actions of a rider who is practicing defensive riding!

WELL SAID, DALE, Anticipation of ANY possible move by other drivers is the best "learned" way to handle safe riding. Equipment, Alertness, Weather Conditions, and ANTICIPATORY PREPAREDNESS all contribute to your saftey.
Then again, even with all the above in place, STUFF HAPPENS!! Ride Safe! billc.

I wouldn't dispute the studies carried out on HiViz wear but continue to think that I should make it as easy as possible for other road users to see me.
I guess that most bikers do look out for others, especially when behind the wheel rather than the handlebars.
I like to think also that if I am involved in a crash I can say I was making myself as visible as possible - little consolation but a point in my favour.