Using High Beams For Safety

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ofblong
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#11 Unread post by ofblong »

Skier wrote:
TrueFaith wrote:For the same reason you have to dim that white light when approching cars at night. Because the beam is directed higher and shines at eye level - hence it is more noticeable, even in daylight. If you approch someone with a flashlight beam directed towards the ground it won't be noticed anywhere near as much as it is if you shine it directly into their eyes. High beam and low beam refers to the angle of the beam, not the intensity of it.
Many vehicles use a higher wattage bulb for the highbeam.

What worries me about blasting other motorists with a very bright light aimed at them is the fact it's hard to ignore: target fixation.

My anecdotal evidence is running with your highbeam on all the time doesn't improve visibility one lick.
During the day it does. Most "normal" people look at the white line when faced with a brighter light. Course there are always idiots out there. Either way one brighter than normal light makes people NOTICE you not miss you.

Oh and there is NO state i know of that makes it illegal for motorcycles to use high beams during the day. Cars yes motorcycles no. At night it is different because of the nature of our eyesight during those hours.
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#12 Unread post by Johnj »

Kansas Drivers Handbook wrote:1. When you meet another vehicle at night, your must lower your headlight beams
(dim your lights) within 500 feet of them.
2. Lower your headlight beams (dim your lights) when following another vehicle
within 300 feet.
3. Lower you headlight beams (dim your lights) when you are driving on well
lighted streets.
4. Use your lower headlight beams (dim your lights) when driving in a fog, and
reduce your speed. Driving with your high light beam (your bright lights) in a
fog is like shining your lights on a mirror, and light is reflected back into your
own eyes and has a tendency to blind you.
5. Avoid looking directly into the lights of cars you are meeting. Instead, watch
the right hand edge of the road. You can be partially blinded for several seconds.
6. Slow down when facing the glare from approaching headlights.
7. Be sure that you can stop whenever necessary, within the distance you can
see clearly ahead.
8. The lights, NOT PARKING LIGHTS, on your car must be lighted when traveling
on the highways from sunset to sunrise, and at any other time when persons
and vehicles cannot be seen clearly from a distance of 1,000 feet.
Check 2 and 3. And as of last year you must have your lights on whenever your wipers are in use.
People say I'm stupid and apathetic. I don't know what that means, and I don't care.
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#13 Unread post by Skier »

ofblong wrote:
Skier wrote:
TrueFaith wrote:For the same reason you have to dim that white light when approching cars at night. Because the beam is directed higher and shines at eye level - hence it is more noticeable, even in daylight. If you approch someone with a flashlight beam directed towards the ground it won't be noticed anywhere near as much as it is if you shine it directly into their eyes. High beam and low beam refers to the angle of the beam, not the intensity of it.
Many vehicles use a higher wattage bulb for the highbeam.

What worries me about blasting other motorists with a very bright light aimed at them is the fact it's hard to ignore: target fixation.

My anecdotal evidence is running with your highbeam on all the time doesn't improve visibility one lick.
During the day it does. Most "normal" people look at the white line when faced with a brighter light. Course there are always idiots out there. Either way one brighter than normal light makes people NOTICE you not miss you.

Oh and there is NO state i know of that makes it illegal for motorcycles to use high beams during the day. Cars yes motorcycles no. At night it is different because of the nature of our eyesight during those hours.
The problem of being noticed is your average driver will target-fixate on that bright light, trying to figure out what is blinding them.

As far as I know there are no laws exempting motorcycles from a state's "dim your headlight" rules, but I'm only familiar with Idaho and Washington laws.
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#14 Unread post by TrueFaith »

Keep in mind that we are talking about high beam use during the DAY for safety. A lot of you seem to think I am advocating high beam use at ALL TIMES, which I am not. During daylight hours most states allow (and recommend) that bikers use their high beams for enhanced visibility. At night it is not only unnecessary, but annoying to other drivers. During the day, however, a high beam will catch a driver's eye sooner than a low beam will and will not have the same blinding effect that it would at night.

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#15 Unread post by Skier »

TrueFaith wrote:Keep in mind that we are talking about high beam use during the DAY for safety. A lot of you seem to think I am advocating high beam use at ALL TIMES, which I am not. During daylight hours most states allow (and recommend) that bikers use their high beams for enhanced visibility. At night it is not only unnecessary, but annoying to other drivers. During the day, however, a high beam will catch a driver's eye sooner than a low beam will and will not have the same blinding effect that it would at night.
Please show me a state law specifically exempting motorcycles from the "dim your headlight" laws.
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#16 Unread post by TrueFaith »

This is from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Motorcycle Manual:

HEADLIGHT:
The best way to alert motor vehicle drivers of your presence on a motorcycle is to is to keep the headlight on at all times. Riders should consider using their motorcycle's high beam lights during daylight hours for added visibility.

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#17 Unread post by ofblong »

Johnj wrote:
Kansas Drivers Handbook wrote:1. When you meet another vehicle at night, your must lower your headlight beams
(dim your lights) within 500 feet of them.
2. Lower your headlight beams (dim your lights) when following another vehicle
within 300 feet.
3. Lower you headlight beams (dim your lights) when you are driving on well
lighted streets.
4. Use your lower headlight beams (dim your lights) when driving in a fog, and
reduce your speed. Driving with your high light beam (your bright lights) in a
fog is like shining your lights on a mirror, and light is reflected back into your
own eyes and has a tendency to blind you.
5. Avoid looking directly into the lights of cars you are meeting. Instead, watch
the right hand edge of the road. You can be partially blinded for several seconds.
6. Slow down when facing the glare from approaching headlights.
7. Be sure that you can stop whenever necessary, within the distance you can
see clearly ahead.
8. The lights, NOT PARKING LIGHTS, on your car must be lighted when traveling
on the highways from sunset to sunrise, and at any other time when persons
and vehicles cannot be seen clearly from a distance of 1,000 feet.
Check 2 and 3. And as of last year you must have your lights on whenever your wipers are in use.
those say DRIVING not Riding.

Either way this is what michigan says.
HEADLIGHT
The best way to help others see
your motorcycle is to keep the
headlight on — at all times
(although new motorcycles sold in
the USA since 1978 automatically
have the headlights on when
running). Studies show that, during
the day, a motorcycle with its light
on is twice as likely to be noticed.
Use low beam at night and in fog
which reading the last sentance they are saying use high beams during the day. But its kinda grey at the same time because they dont exactly come right out and specifically say it.
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#18 Unread post by Skier »

I double checked the WA motorcycle manual and they suggest using the highbeam during daytime. The Idaho manual does not mention it.

ofblong: Unless specifically exempted motorcycles must follow the same laws for cars.

The quoted section isn't clear and it may be skirting around the legality of using a highbeam during daytime.

I don't see how pointing a stronger light at a driver is going to help them notice you: many accidents where the rider's right of way was violated was due to a poor judging of the rider's speed. Adding more reference points, such as running lights in front or driving lights, can make your motorcycle seem bigger than it is. Running a brighter light won't.
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#19 Unread post by TrueFaith »

As I said before:

If you approch someone with a flashlight beam directed towards the ground it won't be noticed anywhere near as much as it is if you shine it directly into their eyes.

Hence brighter light directed towards the eyes = more noticeable.

Why is this concept so hard to grasp? A stonger (or in this case higher angled) beam will always be more noticeable. The sooner a motorist can see you, the more chance he has of avoiding you. That is why the RMV of Massachusetts recommends high beams for bikers during the daylight hours. Obviously the state's anecdotal evidence suggests this is a prudent measure to enhance a motorcyclists visibility during the day, or they would not recommend it's use.

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#20 Unread post by Skier »

TrueFaith wrote:As I said before:

If you approch someone with a flashlight beam directed towards the ground it won't be noticed anywhere near as much as it is if you shine it directly into their eyes.

Hence brighter light directed towards the eyes = more noticeable.

Why is this concept so hard to grasp? A stonger (or in this case higher angled) beam will always be more noticeable. The sooner a motorist can see you, the more chance he has of avoiding you. That is why the RMV of Massachusetts recommends high beams for bikers during the daylight hours. Obviously the state's anecdotal evidence suggests this is a prudent measure to enhance a motorcyclists visibility during the day, or they would not recommend it's use.
I do not think I was clear enough earlier: in the daytime, running your highbeam can improve your visibility to other vehicles. However, it will not increase the ability of other motorists to judge your speed. They will still violate your right of way. Yes, they saw you, but their brains decided you are still too far away and too slow to be a problem. This is why I suggested adding more lights in a "light triangle" to give other motorists an easier time figuring out your vehicle's size, distance and speed.

To restate another danger of using your highbeam during the daytime: it can make drivers look longer at the light source, trying to determine what it is. This is less time spent scanning other traffic and more time of going where they are looking: right at you.
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