Please don't ride your bike on busy streets after dark

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey - if you are a cyclist or pedestrian who wants to increase your visibility, I highly recommend these jackets: https://www.bikelaneuprising.com/product-page/reflective-windbreaker

I drive and cycle, and cyclists who bike at night w/o lights are a real hazard to themselves and others. LED lighting is very cheap now. For riding at dusk and beyond, I have a front headlight, a back red flashing light, and a flashing string of LED lights wrapped around my bike frame. The Brightz brand makes all manner of bike lighting.

And that’s awesome that you do that. You’re being responsible. The problem is other riders aren’t.


But there’s no standardized lighting requirement, and no law enforcement to ensure that riders comply. And that’s what needs to change. We need laws, and enforcement to ticket violators. Obviously this doesn’t affect you because you’re already acting in a safe manner. But we need to require all riders to do what you’re already doing.

I really don’t understand the resistance that some cyclists here are putting up against registering/tagging and annual safety inspections of bikes to make sure they have safe lights. I don’t get it. Why oppose this?

We require cars to be registered, tagged and safety inspected every year to make sure their lights work. I cannot fathom why bike riders would be opposed to this. Dumbfounded.

Umm...I drive and bike. The difference is that my car's lights are part of my car. My bike lights are not part of my bike. They need to be removed very regularly to recharge. They are not installed at all, they are basically held on with rubber straps. Spoke lights are more part of the bike, and awesome and high visibility, but less standard. Why even inspect the bike itself in that case?

[Anonymous]

Please dony ride bikes thanks get am ev car

[Anonymous]

Yes on greater visibility for bikes but not just bikes - there should be some kind of regulation around the e-scooters that are everywhere. They zip in and out of traffic and are even less visible than bikes in the dark.

[Anonymous]

Do you people ever get tired of talking about your stupid bikes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wear a reflective vest, like people working on the streets do. Those dinky little lights on your bike ain't cutting it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you people ever get tired of talking about your stupid bikes?

Pretty sure a driver started this thread. Y’all ever get tired of destroying the earth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't drive your car on busy , multi-use streets after dark if your vision has declined to where it is difficult to see bicyclists or pedestrians. It is an accident waiting to happen when you cannot see someone legally using a crosswalk at 5:30pm after work, or a bicyclist in the bike lane at 5:30pm after work. This is actually not meant to be snarky- many of us, as we age, suffer from reduced ability to see our surroundings in the dark and if this is you, you need to take some responsibility for yourself and not drive a 2 thousand pound vehicle at 30mph through intersections where you cannot see clearly. Use public transport, or walk.

Wrong thread. This is about pedestrians and cyclists making sure they are visible at night. It’s very simple and has absolutely nothing to do with driver’s eyesight. It is difficult for a person with 20/20 vision to see a dark object against a dark background.

Not the wrong thread at all. If your car has working headlights, shining ahead as you drive, you can 10000% a person or a cyclist without reflective gear in your path. If you cannot- no shade- then you should not be driving at night or you need better glasses. Truly.

No, you can’t.

Sometimes the ONLY indicator I see of someone wearing all dark clothing on a bike or in a crosswalk is when their dark silhouette interrupts the headlights of oncoming traffic. Were it not for that momentary flicker of ongoing headlights, you sometimes CANNOT see them until you’re 50-75 feet away.


I can tell you don’t drive much. Because only someone with little or no driving experience would say what you’re saying.

I drive exclusively, I haven't biked in about a decade. But I can see bikers, even at night, even without giant neon flashing gear. And you need your vision checked. Also - if you're in a city, approaching a crosswalk, 75 feet should be plenty of time to come to a complete stop, otherwise you're likely speeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reflective gear is super important, but it gets dark at 5 PM now and some of us actually use bikes for transportation. "Stop doing your daily commute/errands" is not a reasonable ask any more than telling you not to drive after dark if you don't feel confident that you can see cyclists. We should wear brighter gear and more lights, and you should drive carefully and expect to share the road.

You can blame other people all you want (and we know cyclists love to blame everyone else for everything). But you'll be the person who's dead if a driver doesn't see you.

Right, but the OP says that cyclists seem to "pop up out of nowhere" which means she has a vision problem and shouldn't be driving at night. The fact that the person would be dead doesn't mean that no cyclists should ever ride at night ever or nobody should ever walk anywhere at night. Removing every other user that you don't want to slow down for from the transportation system is not the answer, even if you could technically kill them and probably get away with it.

When I’ve stopped at a stop sign to allow another car to proceed and then pull away from the stop sign and get T-boned by a cyclist who blew through the other stop sign - they ARE indeed popping up out of nowhere.

Because that vey thing happened to me at 37th and Warren st NW.

A cyclist ran into me as I was leaving a stop sign and hit the right front fender of my car. It was at night, they didn’t stop, and she ran into me in the intersection. It caused $3,700 damage to my car, and she had serious injuries and went to the hospital. Then she didn’t even offer to pay my deductible for the damage.


So yes, cyclists DO “come out of nowhere”. All the time.

The side, they came from the side. Unless it was Dr. Who teleporting from nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reflective gear is super important, but it gets dark at 5 PM now and some of us actually use bikes for transportation. "Stop doing your daily commute/errands" is not a reasonable ask any more than telling you not to drive after dark if you don't feel confident that you can see cyclists. We should wear brighter gear and more lights, and you should drive carefully and expect to share the road.

You can blame other people all you want (and we know cyclists love to blame everyone else for everything). But you'll be the person who's dead if a driver doesn't see you.

Right, but the OP says that cyclists seem to "pop up out of nowhere" which means she has a vision problem and shouldn't be driving at night. The fact that the person would be dead doesn't mean that no cyclists should ever ride at night ever or nobody should ever walk anywhere at night. Removing every other user that you don't want to slow down for from the transportation system is not the answer, even if you could technically kill them and probably get away with it.

When I’ve stopped at a stop sign to allow another car to proceed and then pull away from the stop sign and get T-boned by a cyclist who blew through the other stop sign - they ARE indeed popping up out of nowhere.

Because that vey thing happened to me at 37th and Warren st NW.

A cyclist ran into me as I was leaving a stop sign and hit the right front fender of my car. It was at night, they didn’t stop, and she ran into me in the intersection. It caused $3,700 damage to my car, and she had serious injuries and went to the hospital. Then she didn’t even offer to pay my deductible for the damage.


So yes, cyclists DO “come out of nowhere”. All the time.

That cyclist was biking illegally and not following traffic laws, which has nothing to do with their reflective clothing or lack thereof. No one expects you to necessarily anticipate someone blowing through a stopsign. That's not what this thread is about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't drive your car on busy , multi-use streets after dark if your vision has declined to where it is difficult to see bicyclists or pedestrians. It is an accident waiting to happen when you cannot see someone legally using a crosswalk at 5:30pm after work, or a bicyclist in the bike lane at 5:30pm after work. This is actually not meant to be snarky- many of us, as we age, suffer from reduced ability to see our surroundings in the dark and if this is you, you need to take some responsibility for yourself and not drive a 2 thousand pound vehicle at 30mph through intersections where you cannot see clearly. Use public transport, or walk.

Wrong thread. This is about pedestrians and cyclists making sure they are visible at night. It’s very simple and has absolutely nothing to do with driver’s eyesight. It is difficult for a person with 20/20 vision to see a dark object against a dark background.

Not the wrong thread at all. If your car has working headlights, shining ahead as you drive, you can 10000% a person or a cyclist without reflective gear in your path. If you cannot- no shade- then you should not be driving at night or you need better glasses. Truly.

This is just silly. Go drive around at 6pm and tell us how easy it is to see people. It can be quite difficult no matter how careful you are.

I did, tonight, about 2 hours ago. I could see fine. My older brother, however, doesn't drive at night anymore because his night vision has deteriorated since he turned 55 or so.

[Anonymous]

I'm a frequent bicyclist and I'll admit it is very hard to see bicyclists even with lights.

But it's easier if you look up from your phone, go at or below the speed limit, and pay attention. So not something done very often by drivers on DC streets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please don't drive your car on busy , multi-use streets after dark if your vision has declined to where it is difficult to see bicyclists or pedestrians. It is an accident waiting to happen when you cannot see someone legally using a crosswalk at 5:30pm after work, or a bicyclist in the bike lane at 5:30pm after work. This is actually not meant to be snarky- many of us, as we age, suffer from reduced ability to see our surroundings in the dark and if this is you, you need to take some responsibility for yourself and not drive a 2 thousand pound vehicle at 30mph through intersections where you cannot see clearly. Use public transport, or walk.

Wrong thread. This is about pedestrians and cyclists making sure they are visible at night. It’s very simple and has absolutely nothing to do with driver’s eyesight. It is difficult for a person with 20/20 vision to see a dark object against a dark background.

Not the wrong thread at all. If your car has working headlights, shining ahead as you drive, you can 10000% a person or a cyclist without reflective gear in your path. If you cannot- no shade- then you should not be driving at night or you need better glasses. Truly.

This is just silly. Go drive around at 6pm and tell us how easy it is to see people. It can be quite difficult no matter how careful you are.

It IS quite difficult which is why you need to slow down, drive a smaller car that can stop more quickly, or preferably both. This isn’t suburbia, you can’t drive your Suburban around at 45 or even 35MPH and expect everyone to wear a beacon for your convenience of tearing through their neighborhood.

This little hissy fit from cyclists is very tiresome. Do more to make yourself visible to drivers -- or don't! It's totally up to you. I'm just telling you that what bicyclists are doing now to make themselves seen in the dark, generally speaking, isn't working. You'll pay the price for that, not me.

You'll sit in jail for vehicular manslaughter and have to live with the fact that you killed someone biking legally in the bike lane because you were too proud to admit you could no longer see in the dark, or you refused to pay proper attention to your surroundings, or both

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you people ever get tired of talking about your stupid bikes?

Pretty sure a driver started this thread. Y’all ever get tired of destroying the earth?

I get it, you ride a bicycle. Is that really the entirety of your personality?

[Anonymous]

I love how some drivers here are casually ok with killing people. Real psychopaths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you people ever get tired of talking about your stupid bikes?

Pretty sure a driver started this thread. Y’all ever get tired of destroying the earth?

I get it, you ride a bicycle. Is that really the entirety of your personality?

Driver: let's start a thread on bicyclists
Dumb Driver: why are you talking about bicyclist