Best bicycle safety products on the market

Rick Onanian wrote:
:
: On 17 Sep 2003 04:09:34 GMT, David Reuteler wrote:
: i used a piece of bright orange plastic (very flexible, 1/4" or so)
: tubing i
:
: 1/4" tubing sticks out 3 feet? Not likely. What kind of
: tubing is it, exactly?

ok. 1/2" -- i didn't have my calipers at the time. it was the kind of tubing
you'd find supporting 4" orange plastic flags at a construction site. funny
that.

: i'm too much of a weight weenie to take that hit, tho.
:
: I suspect the aero hit from the tube and flag is worse.

yea, the aero hit from the child seat is insignificant, eh? a sort of
air scoop actually. the comparison wouldn't even be close. but even so
one is regular riding one is touring. i'm not too worried about aero
or weight when touring for what should be obvious reasons.
--
david reuteler

(ClueFinder) wrote in message . com...
A lot of former cyclists don't pedal any more due due to perceived
danger or accidents in the past. The rate of accidents seems to be
increasing due to the larger number of reckless drivers, distracting
cellphones, etc. Hence, there is a need for bike-safety products.
Imho, these are the best I've used:

(1) A $130 left-of-center Callaghan Creations cargo bike trailer. This
trailer is made of ultra-light aluminum and has a polymer type
connector that bends any angle without twisting the bike itself. On a
ride, without a load, it is hardly noticeable; unlike seatpost-mounted
trailers which often 'wag' my bike. It is amazing to see that, on city
streets, cars no longer try to squeeze me or run me off the road. It's
a small miracle. This trailer can carry a 100-lb. load, too. However,
I use it primarily for safety as I already have pannier-saddlebags.

(2) The $17 ultra-loud "Air Zounds 2" air horn. Weights about an once.
Filled with compressed air at any gas station, or air pump. Don't use
this on pedestrians! It is loud enough to get thru closed car windows,
preventing "dooring" accidents. Saves my life weekly, imho. Every
biker should have one. You'll still need a ding-ding bell, though, for
pedestrians. The Air Zounds horn stops 99% of drivers instantly -- it
probably works at a subliminal level on their brain. This is a "must"
item for any bike, motorbike, or motorcycle.

(3) Two $15 Lightman strobe lights, clipped to my left and right
sides, on my belt; along with a Trek "Disco Tek" red blinkie LED
light. With this combination, at night, I'm sometimes mistaken for a
police officer on a bike. The effect, from 50 feet, is so startling
that automobiles slow down instantly.

P.S. What is your favorite(s) safety product(s) for your bicycle?

i taught motorcycle rider education for ten years and we always
told our students the most important safety items were the rider's
eyes and brain. interaction between those is what keeps you alive on
two wheels, no matter how they are powered. the other thing that
immediately comes to mind is keeping your machine in good shape. i
also like to wear my high contrast jerseys when weather conditions
limit visibility. YMMV, of course!
smokey

"smokey" wrote in message
om...

i taught motorcycle rider education for ten years and we always
told our students the most important safety items were the rider's
eyes and brain. interaction between those is what keeps you alive on
two wheels, no matter how they are powered. the other thing that
immediately comes to mind is keeping your machine in good shape. i
also like to wear my high contrast jerseys when weather conditions
limit visibility. YMMV, of course!

The brain schtick always comes up in threads like this. It's cute, but
doesn't really mean much. You can use your brain and still get hit
by an idiot motorist.

Riding safely at night means doing everything possible to make yourself
visible. This is the U.S. we're talking about here, complete with lunatic
drivers (both drunk and sober); elderly drivers who should not be driving
in the daytime, let alone at night; and inexperienced drivers (young and
old) who look out for other vehicles, but don't always look for pedestrians
and cyclists very carefully, even in the daytime. It's a place where a
motorist
who engages in serial red light running will complain bitterly about a
bicyclist
not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.

Don't fall for the crap, and it is crap, about generator lights or LED
headlights
being sufficient; they may adequate in Germany and Holland, but not in the
U.S..
Don't skimp by buying useless LED flashers, rather than highly visible xenon
strobes. Don't listen to idiotic statements like "the human brain, properly
used,
is definitely the most effective and essential safety device," I want to
puke
every time I see this meaningless drivel posted on Usenet, since it's been
proven
to be so damn wrong so many times. There is never going to be a double-blind
study on the effectiveness of good lights versus lousy lights and the rate
of
bicycle-vehicle collisions; you're just going to have to rely on common
sense.

Your life depends on being visible to vehicles; these vehicles may be being
driven
by people who may have no business driving, but they are doing so
nevertheless.
They don't want to hit you, but if they can't see you, your chances of being
hit go
up dramatically. You want to be so visible that even the lamest, most
impaired,
driver cannot help but see and avoid you. Get good lights. Get a horizontal
flag.
Get an obnoxiously loud horn. Keep your brain inside a helmet. Yes, it's
true that
you can do all of this and still get hit. But common sense tells you that
you're a lot
less likely to be hit if you can be seen.

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:46:34 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
wrote:

"smokey" wrote in message
. com...

i taught motorcycle rider education for ten years and we always
told our students the most important safety items were the rider's
eyes and brain. interaction between those is what keeps you alive on
two wheels, no matter how they are powered. the other thing that
immediately comes to mind is keeping your machine in good shape. i
also like to wear my high contrast jerseys when weather conditions
limit visibility. YMMV, of course!

The brain schtick always comes up in threads like this. It's cute, but
doesn't really mean much. You can use your brain and still get hit
by an idiot motorist.

Now that is true meaninglessness - you can do *anything* and still get
hit by an idiot motorist. People have driven their cars into others
lving rooms! The fact remains that the best course of action is to
avoid getting in an accident in the first place, despite what bubble
wrap proponents such as yourself may bleat.

Riding safely at night means doing everything possible to make yourself
visible.

No, besides knowing how to ride properly, something which safety
zealots all too often show that they are clueless about, it means
taking reasonable steps to make yourself visible. If you wanted to do
"everything possible to make yourself visible" you would mount or pull
multiple car batteries and have several hundred watts being consumed
by lights facing in every direction (even upwards, you just never
know!). You must also make sure that every square centimetre ("this"
is not the U.S. "here") of surface be it skin, clothing or bicycle is
highly reflective. Better start preparing for your night rides at
noon!

This is the U.S. we're talking about here, complete with lunatic
drivers (both drunk and sober); elderly drivers who should not be driving
in the daytime, let alone at night; and inexperienced drivers (young and
old) who look out for other vehicles, but don't always look for pedestrians
and cyclists very carefully, even in the daytime.

Perhaps you should hop in your car so you can be immune from these
people. So what gadget do you attach to your bicycle in the daytime
instead of football stadium lights to assuage your exaggerated fears,
a siren? Perhaps you leave all those batteries on to power some giant
subwoofers so you can cruise around on your boom bicycle! Or perhaps
I'm way off base and you lug the batteries around for Daytime Running
Lights which you must consider a necessity since you do "everything
possible to make yourself visible".

My experiences indicate fewer incidents at night as long as I have a
front light on the bike. I usually use a single 1.25W Cateye
(sometimes a second one as backup) and will continue to do so. The
fact that you insist that one needs to run floodlights somehow makes
me even more confident about my decision.

It's a place where a motorist who engages in serial red light running will
complain bitterly about a bicyclist not coming to a complete stop at a stop
sign.

It is mostly so-called cyclists who bleat on and on about this. When
someone who purports to speak for most motorists complains about
cyclists as a group "behaving dangerously" or "not obeying traffic
laws" I usually smile at the hypocrisy. When cyclists maintain "if
only cyclists were perfect little angels, then motorists would
harass/hit/kill cyclists", I burst out laughing, just as I did while
reading your next mangled paragraph.

Don't fall for the crap, and it is crap, about generator lights or LED
headlights
being sufficient; they may adequate in Germany and Holland, but not in the
U.S..
Don't skimp by buying useless LED flashers, rather than highly visible xenon
strobes. Don't listen to idiotic statements like "the human brain, properly
used,
is definitely the most effective and essential safety device," I want to
puke
every time I see this meaningless drivel posted on Usenet, since it's been
proven
to be so damn wrong so many times. There is never going to be a double-blind
study on the effectiveness of good lights versus lousy lights and the rate
of
bicycle-vehicle collisions; you're just going to have to rely on common
sense.

Your life depends on being visible to vehicles; these vehicles may be being
driven
by people who may have no business driving, but they are doing so
nevertheless.
They don't want to hit you, but if they can't see you, your chances of being
hit go
up dramatically. You want to be so visible that even the lamest, most
impaired,
driver cannot help but see and avoid you. Get good lights. Get a horizontal
flag.
Get an obnoxiously loud horn. Keep your brain inside a helmet. Yes, it's
true that
you can do all of this and still get hit. But common sense tells you that
you're a lot
less likely to be hit if you can be seen.

You seem to think that you should can corner the market on idiotic
statements and meaningless drivel simply by posting copious amounts of
it! I'm always amazed at the mentality that wrapping yourself in
bubble wrap even while quite possibly not having a clue how to ride in
or out of traffic is the best way to be safe. It pays to realize that
this mentality is emotional, not logical and no amount of reasoning or
evidence can sway the irrational safety zealot from it's views.

--
Chris Bird

Thank you Chris Bird for a lovely tirade against the light nazis.

Safety is in experience and riding style, not equipment.

Many in the Cult of Visibility fail to understand that visibility issues can
often be made largely obsolete through route choice and riding style, even at
night. No doubt this will be an unpopular idea.

Visibility is such a war cry to some riders that they seem on the verge of
reaching some pretty absurd conclusions. Visibilty-mongers seem uncomfortable
with the idea of riding very quiet, dark streets with hardly a car in sight.
How can I be visible if there is nobody around to see me?

Dumbasses.

I have ridden almost every night for the past several years. Sometimes I have a
light, sometimes I don't. I won't recommend riding at night without lights, but
it certainly is possible with good route choice and application of the
invisible style. Theoretically you could ride in a such a way that it would
matter hardly at all if any driver saw you or not. It takes some experience and
knowledge to ride this style and still get where you're going in a reasonable
hurry. It also helps to know where the potholes are.

Ideally you have bright illumination lights front and dual flashers rear but
ride in a slightly less paranoid version of the invisible style anyway. Ride
quiet through streets and keep your interactions with motorists to a minimum.
Even with a bright headlight, drivers will still miss you (and you will still
miss potholes). Ask any motorcyclist, or any experienced night rider.

Robert

(Steven Scharf) wrote in message . com...
(ClueFinder) wrote in message . com...

(2) The $17 ultra-loud "Air Zounds 2" air horn. Weights about an once.
....
A very loud horn is indeed essential for commuting.
Where it is most effective is where cars are exiting
driveways of homes or businesses. My daily commute
goes past the side of a small strip shopping center
where drivers using the side exit routinely do not
stop for cyclists. Of course the alternative is for
the cyclist to constantly be yielding the right of
way to cars that aren't entitled to it, a wise thing
to do if you have no way of getting the attention of
the cars. The loud horn does get the attention of
these people and causes them to stop.

I don't buy this. I commute everyday through suburban and
urban areas and I don't use a horn nor do I finds myself
yielding all the time. If cars are coming out
of driveways and acting like they don't see you, you need
to ride out farther from the side of the road.

However, I do get the occasional left-turning car cutting me
off and so on - no different from when I drive a car.
I imagine I would enjoy using something like an AirZound
in these situations. Just for a week or so to get it out of
my system. Then I could pass the horn on to the next commuter
for a little passive-aggressive stress relief.

-Peter
NJ

On 17 Sep 2003 14:55:57 GMT, David Reuteler wrote:
yea, the aero hit from the child seat is insignificant, eh? a sort of
air scoop actually. the comparison wouldn't even be close. but even so

Maybe we're thinking of something different. I visualize
those little infant-seats that go directly behind the
rider; the rider breaks the wind for the seat (can I hear
a "Poor kid!" comment here, please?).

Maybe a very small rider would have the seat stick out
past his sides, or maybe the vision in my head is not
representative of actual child seats.

--
Rick Onanian

"Steven Scharf" wrote in message
om...

While I disagree with the orginal poster's premise,
the ... things he listed are very
effective safety devices.

As long as we are stretching the premises of the thread a bit, I'll chime in
that one of the best bicycle safety products on the market is effective
enforcement of the laws against drunken driving.