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Friday, December 7, 2012

reflectors, reflected light, light


I found a rear bike reflector the other day by the side of the road. I find reflectors often. They seem to jostle loose. I zip-tied it to the back of my helmet. Why not? When I was a kid (even into my early thirties) I'd take off every reflector I could thinking they were uncool. Now I've got them just about everywhere. Still there seems to be a blind spot in front of me to the sides. Cross traffic at night (especially on dark roads) doesn't seem to see me well enough. Which maybe is okay because I see them and I slow down but I want it to be better/safer than that. Reflectors only light up when there's light shining on them. And cross traffic lights aren't facing the right direction. And bike lights, even the strong ones, don't provide much lateral light that a car driver might see. A glowing helmet would be interesting. At least, a white helmet probably helps. I'm considering a helmet mounted light.

3 comments:

John Romeo Alpha said...

I've really started to appreciate the pedestrians, runners, baby stroller pushers, and pet walkers who have added reflectors to themselves and/or things they are pushing or walking. A few have even clipped on flashing lights. It's not perfect, but they show up in front of me sooner, in contrast to the all-in-black non-reflectors. Drivers may sometimes feel the same. A light-where-you-look helmet solution has a lot of interest for me, I'll be watching for what you come up with.

mindful mule said...

Thanks, John. I've noticed the reflector/flashing-light/flashlight walkers, too. And I'm glad they're taking visibility and safety seriously. However, I also feel it is a little sad that the world of cars (and maybe sometimes bikes, too) has become so fast paced and out of touch with the natural human pace of walking that they should need to take such drastic measures. I'm almost to the point in my walking and running about town that I feel I should start using hand signals to indicate which direction I might be turning/heading.

mindful mule said...

After test night one, conclusion: get a "head"lamp and head reflector. At least several % better. I may write more…