UKH

If you (a single cyclist) were cycling eastwards on the A59 near Whalley around 22:30 tonight (Thurs 18 Aug 2021), you nearly got hit by a car.
You probably think cars were passing you too close.  They couldn't see you in the dark due to the angle of your rear light and your backpack.

Your rear light was a flashing red light on your helmet, and due to the angle, and you wearing a rucksack on your back, it was not visible when approaching (the rucksack was blocking the light).  I repeat: when approaching, you were not visible.  There were oncoming headlights which were not helping, I suppose if there had been no oncoming headlights I might have picked you out but we can't all have an empty road all the time. Your flashing red helmet light was visible from a distance, but when getting closer, the red light was blocked by the rucksack.

By all means, feel free to kill yourself (but perhaps consider the resources of the emergency services).  But please do  not do it under my wheels.  It was really quite upsetting for me as a driver.  I stopped at the next layby and did try and flag you down to explain and apologise but you simply sped on (you probably thought I was the village idiot or someone looking for a fight); the last 3 letters of my number plate are FET in case you're thinking of reporting me to the police.  I'd just had a wonderful evening with my new GF and it would have spoilt it terribly if I'd have been scraping you off the road.

In other circumstances, I've probably come across you at the CTF at Waddow Hall in the past/future and had an agreeable chat; perhaps in other circumstances  perhaps we could have had a chat about it there and you could have told me how you felt about it.

Please stay safe and improve your lighting!

It's quite sobering to realise how easy it is to obscure you're own rear light on a bike.  A timely reminder.

Yes, I used to think the back light on my helmet was a great idea, until my husband was behind me one night and said you couldn't see it. I did have one on my bike too, but it wasn't a great one. Now I have a very bright (almost too bright!!) one on the seat post.

Sometimes you genuinely think you are safer than you are!

Any regular cyclist really shouldn't need reminding.

It's borderline insane to be cycling along a dark road with only one rear light anyway. So many cyclists seem to have a deathwish. 

Bear in mind that the legal requirement is only for one light, and not that bright.  I find use of the term 'deathwish' unfortunate, but people seem happy to apply it to people going legally and carefully about their business.  There are of course poor and ill-equipped cyclists, but the frequency with which the term 'deathwish' is used rather suggests a large number of drivers ill-equipped to deal with competently with cyclists on busy, rush hour roads.  It's not difficult - give them as much room as you can, not as little as you think you can get away with.  Granted, unlit cyclists can be difficult to see, but pedestrians may also be in the road, either walking along it or crossing it, and have no obligation to be lit.  A driver has no entitlement to progress unimpeded.

Personally, I ride in the dark with at least two bright lights front and back, in daylight with at least one bright light front and back.  In recent years, I have nevertheless been the subject of a hit and run and both a left hook and right hook - in none of these did I have a chance.   All of them were in daylight, and all in light traffic conditions.

In the first, the driver had an alias and the prosecution failed.  In the second the driver did not have a licence, but the Met lost the documentation, and, in the third, there was no independent witness (despite the number of cars present at the time); I was in no condition to see other people, let alone ask them for details, and so the NIPS was not pursued.

I ride around 5,000 - 6,000 miles a year most years.  SWMBO has currently banned me from riding in London (where the most recent and  particularly nasty incident took place).

Finally, and to take issue a little with the OP, the driver nearly hit the cyclist.  That's different to the cyclist was nearly hit by a car.

I've cycled on and off for 40 years. Cycling on an unlit road was always a last resort and anytime I did it, I was always aware I was taking my life in my hands. You've got to be pragmatic. In a perfect world drivers would drive with due care and attention and spot even the stealthiest of camouflaged cyclists but this isn't how the world is.  Really, if circumstances dictate you need to ride on an unlit A-roads then you have a duty to yourself to be lit like a Christmas tree, otherwise you are just rolling the dice.

I appreciate good bike lights will seem expensive to some.

Taking issue with the term "death wish" is just semantics.

Agreed. Personally, I never set wheel to tarmac without being dressed in day-glow orange or yellow. I haven’t cycled in the dark for years and never will again, but if I did I’d have reflective tape all down the seat stays and my shoes and leg wear. If people cycle around at any time in completely dark kit then I think they are showing contributory negligence in the event someone runs into them from behind. That isn’t the same as saying the driver would usually be culpable. I’ll just duck down behind this parapet….

There seems to be a view among some 'proper' cyclists that hi-viz is for punters, and that it's cool to wear only black. I recently came across a nearly-invisible cyclist in broad daylight, in the shadow of some trees.  Black clothing, black bike and, it being daytime, no lights. Almost invisible, but fortunately I'd already spotted him before he entered the shade

One rear light may be the minimum legal requirement, but it's often inadequate.  I don't think many cyclists realise how difficult they may be to see, even for a driver who is cyclist-aware. Since the cyclist will always come off worst, it should be no comfort that they were legally in the right. If you need to argue legal liability it's already too late.

nniff asks that drivers give cyclists as much room as they can, but to do that they have to know the cyclist is there. "Death wish" may be a bit strong, but there does seem to be an alarming lack of a sense of self-preservation among many cyclists, many of them apparently serious riders who you'd think should know better.

I'm trained to Bikeability Level 3, but I try to avoid cycling on-road as much as possible, and never after dark. Always with hi-viz, and a sense of impending doom.

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Don't know how good these are, but £4.99 isn't a lot!

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIPXFLASHRED/planet-x-3w-beat-rear-bike-light

Came close to a collision this week. I was focusing my attention on a van coming towards me who was driving erratically,  shaping like he was about to turn right and possibly cut across/hit me. 

He then suddenly did turn right  just across in front of me but phew, he missed me.

That wasn't the near miss though,  in avoiding and watching him I didn't see the cyclist on a black bike, dressed all in black who was in the deep shadows immediately in front of him. That was a close one!

It wouldn't have been a high speed collision,  I was on my bike too.....

Never understood dressing like a ninja as a cyclist. I'll cycle in all weathers but hi vis jacket, double lights back and front in the dark or poor weather. It's noticeable that a lot of cycling kit is dark colours. Cuts down on the choice a lot wanting to be bright, but it seems a no brainer.

My personal favourite was a foul winter's night driving to Awesome Walls in Sheffield. Dark, rain lashing down and a guy dressed completely in black, no lights with a kiddie in the kiddie-carrier. Utter lunacy. 

for me it's a hi viz jacket and often black and white 'camouflage' trousers.  And lots of lights.  With the thought of "well if someone is looking at me and thinking I look like a tw@t then at least they've seen me"

Often read that its a relict from the early days of time trialling when racing on the public road was illegal & competitors dressed in black rather than club colours so they couldn't be identified. Not sure that's true but sounds possible

My father was a significant time triallist in the 1930s and all the pictures of him show him dressed all in black (apart from white rectangle on the upper arm indicating a veggie). I believe this was the regulation kit which the RTTC controlling authority imposed, and without which you would not be allowed to start. Not quite sure of the reasoning behind it, but something to do with low profile (not the bike!). It certainly wasn’t illegal in those times. The garments were usually made with alpaca fibre, I was told.

Maybe if the people in death machines actually looked where they were going and didn't act like dicks all the time then they'd not have to keep popping up on the internet to reaffirm victim blaming. 

I wear a massive reflective jacket in winter on the bike and still have at least one close call a week probably because I don't pay tax / should get a better job so I can afford a car / aren't using the cycle path / etc...

https://www.eta.co.uk/2017/10/20/the-british-curse-of-high-vis/

Dr Walker found that outfits in the study were treated exactly the same, almost to the centimetre.

Can you imagine how full (and dull) these forums would be if every time a driver nearly killed them they posted a passive aggressive thread? The internet would collapse. 

If you can't see a cyclist then you can't see a pedestrian either so drive appropriate to the conditions. 

That is a very simplistic black and white view of the world.  In reality accident occurrences are about probabilities and as a vulnerable road user, pedestrian or horse rider or cyclist, it makes sense to stack the probabilities in your favour.  The perfect, infallible driver simply does not exist because we are all human and all have human fallibilities.

I think all black is pretty rare amongst regular road cyclists, be it commuting or recreational. Personally, I go for contrast, usually a white or sometimes pink top with black shorts, always, with reflective tags and strips. I also run a rear light in the daytime and usually a front light. On the rare occasion I ride in the dark it will be with additional lights. I don’t think I’m unusual. Most of the people is see putting themselves in danger on bikes are kids.

This. I really, really wish drivers would care as much about cyclists’ safety while they are driving their f*cking cars as they do when they’re gobbling-off on the internet. 

Car drivers

Also car drivers

Not round here.  A lot of recreational cyclists I see wear dark street clothes, with no hi-viz and of course no lights.  All-black also seems pretty popular amongst the serious cyclists.  This is a semi-rural area in the North, where it rains a lot and often there is no street lighting.  They might as well wear camouflage.

In reply to thepodge:

I try to look where I am going, all I'm asking is that cyclists help me (and themselves) out by not rendering themselves invisible.

Quite, I commute daily (so unavoidably the dark in winter) I have a f*cktonne of lights and reflective gear, im an experienced and non aggressive road user yet motorist seem to actively try and kill me at least once a week.  It becomes somewhat wearing after a while.

Ah, it's this thread again...timely reminder to get an additional rear light for the coming dark times.  Glad you didn't end up with that on your conscience OP, sounds like it was waaaay too close. 

Hope you are OK nniff!

If they are actively trying to kill you, maybe you need to make yourself less visible to them.

This guy has listened to all these imperfect drivers who try to look where they are going and has worn his best high vis to keep him safe. 

Bet he'd look pretty good in the dark though.

Suitable clothing for the conditions is the key and having a reasonable set of lights at night is not massively onerous. It's not like the early 90s where good lights (pathetic compared to modern lights) were powered by D cell batteries and weighed a kilo each.

Although I totally agree with you that it would be great if many drivers were better around cyclists, not every driver is trying to kill us, that wouldn't make sense if we believe what we tell drivers when they spout shit about paying for the roads, ie. Most cyclists are drivers hence some drivers are cyclists.

Aargh, this really pisses me off too. I always have two lights both ends, just in case. You really need to do everything you can to be seen, just to improve your odds as much as you can. 

I still remember an incident years ago. I was on a motorcycle on a wet night in London, hyper aware as ever. I was about to turn right and a flicker caught my eye. A black guy, dressed in black, on a black bike with no lights. FFS, how is anyone supposed to see him? It's alright in a car, but on a motorcycle taking out a cyclist hurts! 

Perhaps he should have had the gumption to use a different type of Hi Vis?
(Hi Vis does come in different colours...)
 

I appreciate this is a joke, but my sense of humour is wearing a little thin after close pass after close pass. I don't know if motorists are really out to get me, don't give a shit, or just aren't paying attention or whatever, and frankly I don't care I just want to get home safely and I wish people would stop trying to drive several tonnes of metal into my squishy little body.

But anyway I agree with the OP cycling at night without adequate lighting is a stupid thing to do.

What are you on about ? If you can't understand that people are fallible and make human errors of judgement (whether they happen to be in their car that morning or they're out on their bike), it's not surprising you find roads so difficult to deal with in a sensible way.

Also, I think the OP was making a particular point about how easy it was to obscure your own rear lights.  I doubt many cyclists check how many different angles their 100 lumen rear light is obscured from ! 

Probably the same number of car drivers that check their brake lights every journey or the number of ones who obscure them with poorly mounted bike racks or the ones that have the indicators wired up the wrong way (if at all) on their trailer but you know, car drivers aren't perfect so you have to let them off. 

the Wehrmacht switched basic Tank paint colour from dark grey to yellow in the middle of the war.  Your picture shows precisely why that worked quite well!  (Admittedly their colour was darker and matt)

One of the things that has puzzled me with 'invisible' roadies. Would these same individuals who may work on the roads,in the emergency services or on busy construction sites shun Hi Viz attire when at work, I very much doubt it. I'm sure Health and Safety will dictate that Hi Viz is mandatory.

I mountain bike and try to avoid busy roads (the A59 especially) if at all possible, and I live only 3 miles from Whalley as it happens.

Something like 30 years ago I was driving from Edinburgh to Glasgow along the A8 on a properly dark night, and on one of the long unlit stretches of dual-carriageway near Harthill/Shotts I was suddenly aware of something to my right. It was a motorcyclist, dressed in black leathers, and with their lights turned off, hammering past me at 70mph or more. They must have known they were unlit, and I can only assume it was some kind of daredevil thing. I eased off my own speed (probably 55 or 60mph) to try and avoid catching them again should they slow down, and within a few seconds they were out of my headlights and invisible again, just as they had been until they'd drawn level. Had I moved to the right of my lane to avoid a rabbit or a bit of debris on the road as they came up behind me, I'd have sent them flying. It was pretty unnerving and even now, three decades on, I can still see them come past me in my mind's eye.

I abhor too much SAS/SWAT aspirant black gear in the outdoors, hills cycling etc.  I wanna go back to the 80s/think pink kind of era when slings and harnesses and all outdoor gear was more flamboyant!  Buying colourful gear when you were brought up to wear school uniform was so much more fun.  More dudes and dudesses

I don't buy anything black if I can possibly avoid it! Some years are easier for this than others, and the moment there is very little colourful hill gear around. However, the leggings and shorts I use for running and cycling are amazing! I have some which would make the 80s look dull! 😃

Dunno about that. Looks more flourescent than proper hi-vis so wouldnt be much use at night.

My bibs are black... but my jersey is so orange it could be seen from space... 😆

I have a running vest top that orange. I also have similar shorts, but I do draw the line at wearing them together!! I pair them with a different garish colours :-D

I'm not sure that you can call it "victim blaming" when calling out a cyclist not complying to the law, because a red light must be visible to the rear, and if it is obscured then it isn't visible, and thus the cyclist was breaking the law.  And legally, if hit, he wouldn't be a "victim", but rather it'd probably come up 50-50 because of the contributory negligence of not having the legal minimum of lighting visible.

It's the same as a car driver towing a trailer without lighting repeaters.

Indeed, the mind boggles to me why any cyclist defends cyclists breaking the law (even if inadvertent as seems to be the case here) as it gives cyclists as a whole a bad name.  Cyclists should call out bad cyclists, and drivers should call out bad drivers.

I'm going to expose my ignorance: what's the difference?

Flour is what you make cakes from

Whether it is reflective or not. Quite a few cycling jackets only have a small bit of reflective material if any so whilst possibly okay during the day (depending on the environment) they are bugger all use at night.

It's not a question of letting car drivers off.  However cars tend to be more visible than bikes even if the rear lights are obscured - they have large areas of reflective number plates and other reflective surfaces. And the consequences of a rear-end shunt for a car are likely to be no more than some inconvenience and an insurance claim, whereas for a cyclist ...

If you can't see a cyclist then you can't see a pedestrian either so drive appropriate to the conditions. 
 

very true but not everything is as simple as this I’m afraid. 
 

I’ve cycled most days for almost 40 years and I’m now of a very firm belief that I don’t care who’s right or wrong or who should wear this or that clothing or what lights to use. I just simply want to stay safe and on my bike. That said I always feel it’s my responsibility to be far more aware of who’s around me and what their doing than the other road users, result is it largely keeps me safe. 
 

only last week in one day I had two car drivers turn left right in front of me, the second one I couldn’t even see his rear number plate as he hadn’t passed by me when turning left. It was broad daylight, I was wearing a high viz yellow jacket. 
 

suppose moral of the story I try say is keep yourself safe whatever measures you need take, blame doesn’t take away the hurt