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The science of being seen


dinneR

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What say you peoples. What works for you?

https://www.velonews.com/2018/10/bikes-and-tech/the-science-of-being-seen_472689

You’ve likely never heard of Darlene Edewaard. But if you even occasionally ride a bike on open roads with cars, she just might save your life. Edewaard is a Ph.D. candidate in the Human Factors Psychology program at South Carolina’s Clemson University and specializes in studying vision science and then applying that knowledge to transportation safety.

“Specifically, I study ways to enhance pedestrian and bicyclist conspicuity on roadways so that drivers can see them from farther distances and avoid collisions,” explained Edewaard.

The reason you’re reading about her now is that a few years back, after Trek president John Burke became upset about the increasing number of cyclists being injured or killed by motor vehicles, his company reached out to Clemson, hoping to find someone doing the exact type of research Edewaard specializes in.

“Trek visited our lab in February of 2015, and it was clear we all share the same goal — to find ways to save lives,” recalled Edewaard.“The rest fell into place.”

 

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Over half the group that I ride with have bright rear lights on their bikes day or night. Many also have front lights. I just added a front light myself.

I use them on both roads and bike paths. I find the lights very useful in conditions where people are riding in and out of shady areas.

I also eschewed the recent fad of wearing black cycling gear. A few years ago I almost ran over a cyclist at a yield sign who was wearing all black plus no lights or reflectors just before daybreak. WTF was he thinking?

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4 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

 

I also eschewed the recent fad of wearing black cycling gear. A few years ago I almost ran over a cyclist at a yield sign who was wearing all black plus no lights or reflectors just before daybreak. WTF was he thinking?

Only yesterday, right outside here, I saw a dude on the road dodging between jammed vehicular traffic wearing full camo FFS be as cool as you like, mate, but get a clue, will you? That is not clever.

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7 hours ago, JerrySTL said:

Over half the group that I ride with have bright rear lights on their bikes day or night. Many also have front lights. I just added a front light myself.

I used to think Planet Bike's blinky was awesome until I got a Hotshot from Cygolite. It packs a punch day or night. I'm not so hot on headlights for daytime use. I've seem them on other bikes. The best, IMO, are the ones that have a somewhat slow flash.

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I like the newer ones that turn on/off when you turn your Garmin on.  I think that is a good idea and simplifies it a bit.  Of course, more light use means more freaking batteries to keep charged.  Cycliq, Garmin, and Bontrager are making the ANT+ lights (probably others, too), and I think I might figure out to control them using my Di2 buttons as well.  I'm still happy with my old school NiteRider for my commuter, but maybe time to further explore being seen on the road.

Bontrager’s new lights are certainly a useful tool to achieve that end, and in an effort to make its daytime running lights easier to use, they’ve added ANT+ and Bluetooth communication to allow them to connect with certain Garmin Edge units to automatically power on at the start of a ride. The connection also provides control of the lights and shows real-time battery life through the Bontrager Light Control App that is downloadable at Garmin Connect IQ. Because at the end of the day (or during the middle of the day) your lights just might be the most important component on your bike.

Tom

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