Bloody cyclists

Phil_aka_Pip

RocknRollDave said:

It's not just the cyclists, though. I lost count of how many idiots were driving around in the drizzly gloom without their lights on this morning.

Sidelights are sufficient in daylight (even gloomy daylight) to draw attention to your presence. If it's dark enough for you to need headlights to see where you're going, OK, use them, but in dull light all you're doing is making a glare that masks the presence of the pushbike or moped whose lights are not as bright as your dipped headlights.

joneve

RocknRollDave said:

It's not just the cyclists, though. I lost count of how many idiots were driving around in the drizzly gloom without their lights on this morning.

Too true. I spent nearly half an hour in the (basically) dark and pissing rain last night changing a headlight bulb as my Mrs. was off to Netball which involved driving down narrow, dark country lanes - no point taking the risk.

Note: don't buy a Mondeo because changing the headlights is a right cunt - you have to remove the whole light cluster. 

RocknRollDave

Phil_aka_Pip said:

RocknRollDave said:

It's not just the cyclists, though. I lost count of how many idiots were driving around in the drizzly gloom without their lights on this morning.

Sidelights are sufficient in daylight (even gloomy daylight) to draw attention to your presence. If it's dark enough for you to need headlights to see where you're going, OK, use them, but in dull light all you're doing is making a glare that masks the presence of the pushbike or moped whose lights are not as bright as your dipped headlights.

Bit academic on the M6, but I take your point...

randomhandclaps

Spotted this bloke exactly as the OP described, only to top it off hen was pulling a wheelie at the time.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4034/4544827697_6f73866999_z.jpg

crunchman

Going back to the original post, I'd give the police powers to confiscate the bike of anyone caught riding without lights, and they wouldn't be able to get it back without turning up at the police station with a set of lights, and money to pay a fine.

In London they could just have vans roaming the streets and chuck the bikes in the back of the van.  They would probably make several hundred pounds a night per van in fines and make a tidy profit.

If someone doesn't turn up to collect the bike in 3 weeks it gets auctioned and the police keep the proceeds.

They could also run the frame numbers of the bikes they confiscate against databases of stolen bikes.  I need to be careful how  I say this, but a lot of the lightless bikes you see seem to be ridden by young men with hoodies.  Might help in the fight against thievery if their bikes were checked against lists of stolen ones.

mike_l

joneve said:

 

Note: don't buy a Mondeo because changing the headlights is a right cunt - you have to remove the whole light cluster. 

I've seen worse, The PT Cruiser (IIRC) has to have the front bumper off.......

thermionic

equalsql said:

Col_Decker said:

I pass a chap every morning on the way to work. Rain or shine he's there. Now this guy is easily visible as he's lit up like a xmas tree, but still he insists on riding along the dual carriage instead of the cycle path. Why do that? Why put yourself in danger like that? A bit of a knob head perhaps.

Probably to avoid the broken glass, pedestrians, slippery wet leaves (and slugs) and (in winter) compressed/black ice that makes cycles ways a lot more dangerous to use on a daily basis. 

And don't forget the parked cars which block the cycle paths, open doors and pull out without indicating. Almost went over the bonnet of some old biddy who'd mislaid her brain on Sunday. Bloody motorists.

Fusionista

littlegreenman said:

I see them every morning as I walk to my bus stop. Idiots!

And I am a bicyclist meself, them dicks have a death-wish.

This

Fusionista

thermionic said:

equalsql said:

Col_Decker said:

I pass a chap every morning on the way to work. Rain or shine he's there. Now this guy is easily visible as he's lit up like a xmas tree, but still he insists on riding along the dual carriage instead of the cycle path. Why do that? Why put yourself in danger like that? A bit of a knob head perhaps.

Probably to avoid the broken glass, pedestrians, slippery wet leaves (and slugs) and (in winter) compressed/black ice that makes cycles ways a lot more dangerous to use on a daily basis. 

And don't forget the parked cars which block the cycle paths, open doors and pull out without indicating. Almost went over the bonnet of some old biddy who'd mislaid her brain on Sunday. Bloody motorists.

and this

equalsql

Col_Decker said:

I'd rather take my chance with a slug than a HGV

No chance, we have killer slugs around where I live.