Cars can't see us or don't give a shit about us

[Breto]

riding with high beams on during the day will get you pulled over by the cops here.
And honestly, you could be riding in a chicken suit and i promise you car drivers still won't see you.

Years ago I remember riding in a mass protest ride called the lights on rally. We were protesting because they wanted to pass a law that made it compulsory to ride with your headlight on. So to explain this protest, in those days batteries and charging systems on most of the bikes were less than a reliable set up. Many bikes suffered constant loss and I know a heap of guys that owned newer gold wings at that stage which we all new as Christmas trees that ended up on the side of the road with flat batteries. Anyway the other thing was they wanted all motorcycles to be imported with no headlight on off switch. So as they are now really. So for us back in the day, accidents were proven to happen between cars and bikes regardless of lights on or off and now you had no choice in the matter. They were on all the time. We did push our point. We were defeated in the end but there was always a choice. Those that wanted to have them on and those that didn’t. I don’t think we’ve had much of a decline in motorcycle v’s cars over the years. The tell tail is the steady rise in third party insurance premiums every year. But the simple fact is yes they don’t see us most of the time. It’s up to us to put our selves in a position where they can. That at least covers your ass to a certain extent. The rest is up to scanning and buffer zones as Tash has said. We are specs in the eyes of drivers. I didn’t see him was a classic and still is. We just have to be careful while we enjoy motorcycling. And as always, to all my friends out there in the motorcycling world, stay safe and alert. 👍😎

 

[Charliemurphay]

The best offense is a good defense in my opinion. This may sound slightly sadistic but I find myself watching a LOT of motorcycle YouTube crash compilations. I play a “game” where I try to guess what’s going to happen in each clip to see if I can predict the situation. There are a few surprises but most of the time they are the common scenarios (left turning cars at lights, cars coming into bikes lane, etc…). Riding not necessarily conservatively but at least aware of those situations and not putting yourself in them or being cognizant of when you are will go a long ways to keeping yourself out of trouble. That being said there are still plenty of times where there’s not much you can do to prevent or react and then it’s up to your gear to save your skin.

 

[Breto]

AGATT…👍😎

 

[Max Kool]

AGATT…👍😎

All for it, but let’s not make it mandatory

 

[Breto]

It’s mandatory in my head,,,as always it’s each to their own mate…👍😎

 

[edgelett]

All for it, but let’s not make it mandatory

yep agree there.
but as with Breto, for me I just won't ride without it.
I do believe in mandatory helmets though and I'm glad they're mandatory here (actually helps keep the cost of medical insurance/bike insurance down too)

but understand they're not mandatory everywhere so hopefully people are making informed decisions before they ride

 

[R. Warshawsky]

All for it, but let’s not make it mandatory

I agree with Max, always a tension in letting people make their own serious mistakes versus telling them to do the right thing.

 

[K9F]

Not something I abide to myself but many do follow this simple rule:

Dress for the slide not the ride!

 

[Breto]

Yeah the other one I always say is you slide in hide…very similar…helmets well I have always worn one and I never ride without one…I had mates that did and I’ve seen some terrible injuries that have reinforced my love of the lid…mind you, Any helmet that actually makes the Australian design standards and is sold here is only tested to the equivalent of 30kph anyway…but I’d rather have it there than risk my skull…once again, that’s just me…👍😎

 

[Deleted member 706]

We are invisible and they are trying to kill us.
Don't you forget it.

 

[Breto]

Mmmm…well most, granted not all motorcyclists drive cars. You can tell the drivers that do because they are motorcycle aware. You can watch their driving behaviour and you’ll think to yourself yeah this guy or girl rides. The rest, well maybe…👍😎

 

[Pdiddy]

A variation on the "ride like everyone is trying to kill you" saying. I tell new riders to ride like your invisible. A good following distance, head up, eyes scanning all the time and where you look is where your going to go, on a motorcycle.

 

[Breto]

A variation on the "ride like everyone is trying to kill you" saying. I tell new riders to ride like your invisible. A good following distance, head up, eyes scanning all the time and where you look is where your going to go, on a motorcycle.

Yep target fixation is a real thing…in these days of ABS brakes looking at an out or an exit instead of the impending danger will help you. You can still steer out of a situation when braking under ABS…👍😎

 

[Pmcb41]

I live in South Dakota, we have long cold winters, yet there are bikes in the road year round. I started riding at 16 in Chicago and have well over 500000 miles on bikes. 1 accident at 16, speeding on corner. I wear helmets when it’s cold or early spring when there still sand on highways.
What I have learned:
Drive like everyone is trying to kill you.
Rarely ride with others.
Speed is your friend on the highway.
Don’t be a jerk to others.
Don’t encourage jerks to ride.
Alway let your intentions be known to others on the road.
Never let anyone convince you that more laws make you safe.

 

[Zilonis]

Please don’t ride with high beams on during the day. Or even worse a strobing headlight. It doesn’t make you more visible it just pisses off the car in front of you

I honestly do not ride with high beams on myself however some states do recommend this.

I'm in Massachusetts and they're one of those states.

Massachusetts Motorcycle Manual
see page 20, 2nd paragraph, also below:

HEADLIGHT The best way to alert motor vehicle drivers of your presence on a motorcycle is to keep the headlight on at all times. Research shows that during daylight hours a motorcycle with its headlights on becomes twice as noticeable to oncoming drivers. Riders should consider using their motorcycle’s high-beam lights during daylight hours for added visibility.

There must be some merit to riding with high beams if it's being recommended on a state level 🤷‍♂️

 

[ferraiolo1]

Thats new england, after spending some time riding up there the other weekend, I can take anything they suggest seriously.

The drivers and the way the roads are designed are some of the worst I've ever encountered.

 

[Zilonis]

Damn bro, cut me down for trying to help? OP made a thread about cars not being able to see us and unfortunately he was in an accident.
I'm just trying to share legitimate information from credible sources that could potentially increase our visibility to, idk maybe help prevent an accident?

LMAO Maybe I should be the ambassador?!

Unfortunately I, and millions of others, have to deal with these "worst" drivers every day. You're not wrong about the them and the roads but some of us actually have to live in it, every day. Not everybody lives out in Amishtown 🌽👩‍🌾🌽

I'll reiterate that I don't use my high beams during the day, but that's because the FTR already has an LED headlight. Were I to be on a bike with a lesser bulb such as a halogen I would 1000% use that high beam all of the time.

 

[ferraiolo1]

Lol claims I make a dig and then makes a dig at me for where I currently live, nice. And by “they” I meant your legislators and department of transportation. Not “you”

I’ve lived up and down east coast in several areas in and out of cities I’ve encountered it all with the thousands of miles I’ve riden.

hi beams won’t help. Just like how loud pipes don’t, personal awareness and defensive riding do.

 

[Zilonis]

Lol claims I make a dig and then makes a dig at me for where I currently live, nice. And by “they” I meant your legislators and department of transportation. Not “you”

I’ve lived up and down east coast in several areas in and out of cities I’ve encountered it all with the thousands of miles I’ve riden.

hi beams won’t help. Just like how loud pipes don’t, personal awareness and defensive riding do.

Hey man I'm not here advocating for everyone to use high beams in the daytime but if you're saying I'm wrong altogether I'm going to engage in discussion.

"High beams won't help" is a subjective opinion. There are many out there that would disagree with you yet you're refuting the idea as if it's completely unfounded?

I can see cars better when their lights are on, same with motorcycles, even more so when their High beaming me. This is especially evident in low light conditions during the day.
Source - my eyeballs


The below comes directly from the FTR1200 Owners Manual:
IGNITION/LIGHT KEY SWITCH
Motorcycle riders must remain as visible as possible at all times.
To aid in this, the headlight must be on at all times while operating.
The headlights automatically operate when the engine is running.
Do not modify the ignition/light switch wiring to circumvent the
automatic headlight feature

So, If Indian believes a light makes us more visible at all times logic would indicate that a brighter light would amplify ones visibility.
low beams = visible
high beams = more visible

Which star is most visible at night? The brightest one lol


*drops mic*

 

[ferraiolo1]

Not sure why that’s in the manual, being you can’t turn the headlight off on the ftr or any modern bike. It was made a law about 20 or so years ago in most states that there has to be a light on. That’s why bikes that only have one headlight usually have a drl, like our bikes, incase the main headlight bulb burns out, you’re still legal.

but it’s the high beams that still can distract drivers depending on when they are used. If you drive your car around with high beams on, you will most likely get pulled over.

the high beams/strobing light theory is nothing new, the adv Guys love to debate it on the forums, in the end they still have people not see them, even with their Florescent gear.

sorry I don’t have a mic to drop