lda (12/22/82)
I lived in Atlanta for five years. Three of those years a bicycle was about my only source of transportation. My rule has been to remember that 'I am invisible but NOT invulnerable' so don't fight with cars no matter how obnoxious they are. Larry burl!lda
rjk (12/22/82)
I had once heard of a device which pulses the headlamp of a bike at about 20 Hz. Supposedly enough to trigger an auto-driver's subconcious, but not enough to deteriorate the quality of illumination. The rise/fall time of incandescent lamps is long enough where this might actually work. Comments? Support? No?
mat (12/23/82)
I am NOT a cyclist. I AM a motorist. Saw the item on cyclists being invisible. Remember, all of you who are used to watching and riding bikes, that you ARE smaller than cars. Auto mirrors have VAST blind spots. When a motoist wants to change lanes, if he is at all sane, he checks his mirror. Then he glances over his shoulder. But he wants to keep his eyes forward, so he doesn't look very long, and he probably does't bring the rear quarter area into his central (foveal) vision. If he didn't see you in the mirror, he won't see you. Please DON'T ride on a motorists left rear quarter! Any studies done on visibility of cyclists depending on their clothing?
pmt (01/06/83)
Those gadgets are know as "headlight modulators". They sell for an over- inflated price ($40?), but I saw an article in a Popular Electronics not too many months ago on how to build one. Has anyone out there ever seen one in use? And does anyone know if they shorten the life of your headlight?