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So you wear hi-vis and put blinky lights on your bike....


F_in Ray Of Sunshine

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4 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

No, many other drivers are far too busy doing things beyond driving.  That is a fact of life........or sometimes not.  Cars are just another batch of 3000 lb missiles wandering around under some semblance of control.

Too true.  That's why I stopped riding on the road.  It doesn't matter what you do if the driver is not even looking.

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1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

No, many other drivers are far too busy doing things beyond driving.  That is a fact of life........or sometimes not.  Cars are just another batch of 3000 lb missiles wandering around under some semblance of control.

And they keep adding more touch screens and "features" in them to distract people even more.

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14 minutes ago, Indy said:

And they keep adding more touch screens and "features" in them to distract people even more.

I know, right?  Why don't they add some programs to disable all of that shit while you are moving unless there is a passenger.  

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2 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I know, right?  Why don't they add some programs to disable all of that shit while you are moving unless there is a passenger.  

They do, not that it's hard to defeat that, but adding that also adds other issues as they tend to then knee jerk the other way and disable to much stuff so then you are busy fighting the systems further distracting you.

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2 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I know, right?  Why don't they add some programs to disable all of that shit while you are moving unless there is a passenger.  

Both of our vehicles can do all that stuff hands free and eyes free. I don’t use it in the Pilot but my wife likes to call me on the way home from work just because she can. If I text her while she is driving it reads the text to her. How does it do that?

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Just now, Longjohn said:

Both of our vehicles can do all that stuff hands free and eyes free. I don’t use it in the Pilot but my wife likes to call me on the way home from work just because she can. If I text her while she is driving it reads the text to her. How does it do that?

My truck ain't that fancy.  

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1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

Both of our vehicles can do all that stuff hands free and eyes free. I don’t use it in the Pilot but my wife likes to call me on the way home from work just because she can. If I text her while she is driving it reads the text to her. How does it do that?

My truck does all that too, but it seems like I spend more time arguing with it than doing anything when I use the voice prompt stuff.

 

My son likes to send me text messages with cuss words so my truck is always cussing me out in a nice female British voice.

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2 minutes ago, Indy said:

My truck does all that too, but it seems like I spend more time arguing with it than doing anything when I use the voice prompt stuff.

 

My son likes to send me text messages with cuss words so my truck is always cussing me out in a nice female British voice.

My GPS on WAYS talks to me in a nice British or possible Australian voice. I let her give me directions to places I know how to get to just because I like her sexy voice.

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All the distraction stuff should go out of mind when you're entering an intersection, switching lanes, seeing someone driving erratically ahead, etc.  When I'm playing mp3's in my car and driving alone, I often have to restart the song or rewind a little bit because something takes my complete attention while driving and I'm no longer listening to the song.  Knowing the situations that call for complete attention are part of being a driver.

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1 hour ago, Indy said:

And they keep adding more touch screens and "features" in them to distract people even more.

The truck I test drove had all the “safety” stuff on it. If you drifted over the line in your lane, it gave you a thump through the steering wheel. All I could think was “If you need help keeping your car between the damned lines, you’ve got no business behind the wheel.”

The blind spot monitor was nice, but everything else is just to make you think it’s ok to text.

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You train to do things in a particular way.  If you break that training bad things happen.  All situations should take complete attention, just like the stop sign at the end of the street with virtually no traffic should be stopped for every time.

Last night a state police car pulled through a stop sign right in front of me as he exited a Starbucks pick up window.  About 2 seconds before his hand had been out the window taking his bag of goodies from the attendant so I was watching the car like a hawk as it's common as hell for folks to blow that stop sign.  I tapped my horn.

Of course he had to quick flash his light bar to show me who was in charge.

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8 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

The truck I test drove had all the “safety” stuff on it. If you drifted over the line in your lane, it gave you a thump through the steering wheel. All I could think was “If you need help keeping your car between the damned lines, you’ve got no business behind the wheel.”

The blind spot monitor was nice, but everything else is just to make you think it’s ok to text.

Yeah, out of all the stuff out there, the blind spot monitor is the only thing I want.  It would be nice to help to make sure I don't miss someone hanging out in a blind spot as my truck sits high enough, while it doesn't have a bad blind spot, a small car can sometimes be hard to spot.

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36 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Last night a state police car pulled through a stop sign right in front of me as he exited a Starbucks pick up window.  About 2 seconds before his hand had been out the window taking his bag of goodies from the attendant so I was watching the car like a hawk as it's common as hell for folks to blow that stop sign.  I tapped my horn.

I didn’t know Starbucks sold donuts?:scratchhead:

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41 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

You train to do things in a particular way.  If you break that training bad things happen.  All situations should take complete attention, just like the stop sign at the end of the street with virtually no traffic should be stopped for every time.

Last night a state police car pulled through a stop sign right in front of me as he exited a Starbucks pick up window.  About 2 seconds before his hand had been out the window taking his bag of goodies from the attendant so I was watching the car like a hawk as it's common as hell for folks to blow that stop sign.  I tapped my horn.

Of course he had to quick flash his light bar to show me who was in charge.

No, that was his way of showing he's a douche bag.

And I would've still flipped him off.

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3 hours ago, Reverend_Maynard said:

Too true.  That's why I stopped riding on the road.  It doesn't matter what you do if the driver is not even looking.

The problem is not that the driver is not looking. The problem lies with the mechanism of perception. Your image does impinge upon the driver's retina but you are not perceived by him, and your image is filtered out before it reaches that section of the brain where you could be recognised. The driver is programmed to search for images the shape, mass, and speed of a motor vehicle, and it matters not a whit or jot how many bright high viz clothes you wearm I'm afraid.

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1 hour ago, Longjohn said:

My GPS on WAYS talks to me in a nice British or possible Australian voice. I let her give me directions to places I know how to get to just because I like her sexy voice.

Well....I  don't know but this sounds kinda pervy.

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15 minutes ago, onbike1939 said:

The problem is not that the driver is not looking. The problem lies with the mechanism of perception. Your image does impinge upon the driver's retina but you are not perceived by him, and your image is filtered out before it reaches that section of the brain where you could be recognised. The driver is programmed to search for images the shape, mass, and speed of a motor vehicle, and it matters not a whit or jot how many bright high viz clothes you wearm I'm afraid.

In the case where the information is not processed. However, if the high vis fabric or blinking light intrudes upon the consciousness, then the driver will have an awareness. Also, in the case of minimal awareness, the awareness can be enhanced by the attention grabbing garb or flashing light. The advantage of hi-vis clothing exists in long range awareness not in the short range. IOW, the driver can become aware of the person sooner than if the clothing does not stand out against the background. "Official" hi-vis colors also act to "inform" drivers of the nature of the approaching potential obstacle.

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4 minutes ago, donkpow said:

In the case where the information is not processed. However, if the high vis fabric or blinking light intrudes upon the consciousness, then the driver will have an awareness. Also, in the case of minimal awareness, the awareness can be enhanced by the attention grabbing garb or flashing light. The advantage of hi-vis clothing exists in long range awareness not in the short range. IOW, the driver can become aware of the person sooner than if the clothing does not stand out against the background. "Official" hi-vis colors also act to "inform" drivers of the nature of the approaching potential obstacle.

3

Having been run into while dressed like a Court Jester...I'm not so sure. That said, I think a flashing light is essential in these days given the speed and density of traffic.

I've lost so many friends over the years and can understand those who feel it better to abstain from cycling because of this.

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1 hour ago, Indy said:

out of all the stuff out there, the blind spot monitor is the only thing I want. 

There’s an intersection I deal with every night on the way home. The two lanes I’m in merge on the right with two lanes of interstate off ramp. The people coming down the off ramp are trying to get over to where I am and I’m trying to get to the right where they are. It’s a giant X. I can turn my head like a goddamn owl and am still never sure if there’s anyone in the lane I’m trying to merge into.

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20 minutes ago, onbike1939 said:

Having been run into while dressed like a Court Jester...I'm not so sure. That said, I think a flashing light is essential in these days given the speed and density of traffic.

I've lost so many friends over the years and can understand those who feel it better to abstain from cycling because of this.

Agreed on the blinking light. I've got a Cygolite Hotshot Pro that is way more powerful than most of the common blinky lights. It is so powerful that some drivers are actually confused and have difficulty getting around me. In the daytime! 

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4 minutes ago, donkpow said:

Agreed on the blinking light. I've got a Cygolite Hotshot Pro that is way more powerful than most of the common blinky lights. It is so powerful that some drivers are actually confused and have difficulty getting around me. In the daytime! 

Now I know it is annoying to be run over....but some might say that inflicting permanent blindness is perhaps a little over the top. :runcirclsmiley:

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3 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I hate to be rude but it is better than getting run over. Sorry.

Yes, because a blinded driver is going to have a much better time of getting by you without hitting you.

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24 minutes ago, Indy said:

Yes, because a blinded driver is going to have a much better time of getting by you without hitting you.

You guys say this but I am talking daylight operations and the manufacturer is not making a device that will blind anybody. Considering I am flashing like a turn signal all the time, it is more off than on. Now if you want to talk headlights, I could burn some retinas but I aim my headlights correctly and am mindful of the situation.

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When I was riding home from work at midnight (I used to work), drivers were not quite sure what they were coming up on the first time and would almost stop and then carefully drive way out around me. Once they figured out what I was they still gave me lots of room. I usually only encountered one car on my nine mile ride home but one car is all it takes to run over you. I had several sets of blinks lights and a reflective cycling jacket. I just wish the dang deer would have showed me as much respect.

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15 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

When I was riding home from work at midnight (I used to work), drivers were not quite sure what they were coming up on the first time and would almost stop and then carefully drive way out around me. Once they figured out what I was they still gave me lots of room. I usually only encountered one car on my nine mile ride home but one car is all it takes to run over you. I had several sets of blinks lights and a reflective cycling jacket. I just wish the dang deer would have showed me as much respect.

Image result for running man electro

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4 minutes ago, donkpow said:

What we really need is an understated beam power hazard chart.

techlasers-beam-power-chart.jpg

"Can burn/cut black electrical tape" seems a good goal.  Stinging is not tough enough, and matches are fairly easy to ignite.

And why isn't "Cut a person in half" on that chart?

Tom

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2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

"Can burn/cut black electrical tape" seems a good goal.  Stinging is not tough enough, and matches are fairly easy to ignite.

And why isn't "Cut a person in half" on that chart?

Tom

It's low power lights. If you want to cut people in half, you'll need a dynamo hub.

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5 hours ago, donkpow said:

You could probably build something with lasers if you want to hurt somebody. The lights off of emergency vehicles are pretty bright.

Unfortunately the lasers that really damage they eyes tend to be invisible.  They tend to be in the IR band.  You can damage the eyes however even with a laser pointer in the visible range just like with any other really bright light.

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