I was riding to work this morning at just a little later than the usual time (had a sick dog to deal with) and while riding past the firehouse on Diamond Drive, noted that the sun was at about 160 degrees behind me as it rose above the treeline. Thinking about that for a minute, I realized that meant that motorists pulling out of side streets and oncoming traffic would have the sun directly in their eyes when looking in my direction. That situation may intensify as the days get shorter.
Perhaps that is obvious, but I wonder how many crashes are caused by people not exercising situational awareness in realizing that the oncoming motorist making the left turn really, honestly, "didn't see you".
Be careful out there, and employ both mental (situational awareness and heightened observation) and physical (bright jerseys? forward strobe lights? etc.?) countermeasures.
Speaking of this topic, I went over this once before.
5 comments:
Excellent point Khal.
There is a cyclist in town who has terrific, bright flashers front and back on his bike. would love to know what brand these are. They show up beautifully day and night. A commuter on Diamond who I see regularly.
I had exactly the same thoughts this morning as I rode in to work. About two years ago, I was almost run down on Diamond by a woman pulling out out of a side street. I was directly in front of her car when she abruptly started to pull out. I was lucky to be able to swerve and stay ahead of her until she finally saw me. The low sun was blocking her vision.
I know the cyclist who has the very bright flashing tail light. It is a Serfas USL-TL60 The Shield USB Tail Light.
Air horn?
Yes. Good words here. Almost nailed a bike myself the other day with the low-angle sun. Thank goodness I keep my eyes open for them as a cyclist myself.
The shadow knows. When your shadow is long, it points in the direction of threats. (Less effective for recumbents!)
I think lights during daylight help visibility all around. Most of my white LED lights have a flashing mode. I always have a forward flashing LED on during the day. I appreciate motor vehicle daytime running lights because it makes them much easier to see in my mirror.
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